Objection with regard to the reservation and statement made by Qatar upon accession: (May 15, 2019)
"The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has carefully examined the reservation and the statement made by the State of Qatar upon accession to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, as communicated by the Secretary-General via depositary notification C.N.260.2018.TREATIES-IV.3 of 21 May 2018, and wishes to communicate the following.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands notes that Qatar does not consider itself bound by the provisions of Article 3 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, for they contravene the Islamic Sharia with regard to questions of inheritance and birth.
Further, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that the statement made by the State of Qatar with respect to Article 8 of the Covenant in substance constitutes a reservation limiting the scope of the rights of trade unions in Article 8 of the Covenant, by applying that provision only in conformity with the national legislation of the State of Qatar.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that such reservations, which seek to limit the responsibilities of the reserving State under the Covenant by invoking provisions of the Islamic Sharia and national legislation, are likely to deprive the provisions of the Covenant of their effect and therefore must be regarded as incompatible with the object and purpose of the Covenant.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands recalls that according to customary international law, as codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to the reservations of the State of Qatar to the Covenant.
This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the State of Qatar."
Objection with regard to the declaration made by Myanmar upon ratification (October 3, 2018):
"The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has carefully examined the declaration made by the Republic of the Union of Myanmar upon ratification on 6 October 2017 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that the declaration made by the Republic of the Union of Myanmar in substance constitutes a reservation limiting the scope of the right of self-determination of all peoples in Article 1 of the Covenant, by applying that provision only in conformity with the Constitution of Myanmar.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that such a reservation, which seeks to limit the responsibilities of the reserving State under the Covenant by invoking provisions of its domestic law, is likely to deprive the provisions of the Covenant of their effect and therefore must be regarded as incompatible with the object and purpose of the Covenant.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands recalls that according to customary international law, as codified in the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, reservations incompatible with the object and purpose of a treaty shall not be permitted.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to the reservation of the Republic of the Union of Myanmar to the Covenant. This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Republic of the Union of Myanmar."
With regard to the reservation made by Pakistan upon ratification, the Secetary-General received the following communication from the Netherlands (April 15, 2009):
"The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has carefully examined the reservation made by the Government of Pakistan upon ratifying the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. It is the understanding of the Kingdom of the Netherlands that the reservation of Pakistan does not exclude or modify the legal effect of the provisions of the Covenant in their application to Pakistan."
Objection with regard to the declaration made by Pakistan upon signature (October 7, 2005):
"The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has examined the declaration made by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan on 3 November 2004 upon signature of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, done at New York on 16 December 1966.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands would like to recall that the status of a statement is not determined by the designation assigned to it. The application of the provisions f the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights has been made subject to the provisions of the constitution of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan.
This makes it unclear to what extent the Islamic Republic of Pakistan considers itself bound by the obligations of the treaty. It is of the common interest of States that all parties respect treaties to which they have chosen to become parties and that States are prepared to undertake any legislative changes necessary to comply with their obligations under the treaties. A reservation as formulated by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is thus likely to contribute to undermining the basis of international treaty law.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that the declaration made by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in substance constitutes a reservation.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to the declaration made by the Islamic Republic of Pakistan to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, without Pakistan benefiting from its declaration."
Objection with regard to the statement made by China made upon ratification (April 23, 2002):
"...the statement made by the Government of the People's Republic of China to article 8.1 (a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has examined the statement and would like to recall that, under well established international treaty law, the name assigned to a statement whereby the legal effect of certain provisions of a treaty is excluded or modified, does not determine its status as a reservation to the treaty. The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that the statement made by the Government of the People's Republic of China to article 8.1 (a) of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights in substance constitutes a reservation.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands notes that the application of Article 8.1 (a) of the Covenant is being made subject to a statement referring to the contents of national legislation. According to the Vienna Convention on the Law of Treaties, a party to a treaty may not invoke the provisions of its internal law as justification for its failure to abide by the treaty. Furthermore, the right to form and join a trade union of one's choice is one of the fundamental principles of the Covenant.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to the reservation made by the People's Republic of China to the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. This objection shall not preclude the entry into force of the Covenant between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and China."
Objection made on December 20, 1999:
"The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands has examined the declarations made by the Government of Bangladesh at the time of its accession to the International Covenant on economic, social and cultural rights and considers the declarations concerning Articles 1, 2 and 3, and 7 and 8 as reservations.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands objects to the reservation made by the Government of Bangladesh in relation to Article 1 of the said Covenant, since the right of self-determination as embodied in the Covenant is conferred upon all peoples. This follows not only from the very language of Article 1 of the Covenant but as well from the most authoritative statement of the law concerned, i.e. the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Any attempt to limit the scope of this right or to attach conditions not provided for in the relevant instruments would undermine the concept of self-determination itself and would thereby seriously weaken its universally acceptable character.
Furthermore, the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands objects to the reservations made by the Government of Bangladesh in relation to Articles 2 and 3, and, 7 and 8 of the said Covenant.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands considers that such reservations which seek to limit the responsibilities of the reserving State under the Covenant by invoking national law, may raise doubts as to the commitment of this State to the object and purpose of the Covenant and, moreover, contribute to undermining the basis of international treaty law.
It is in the common interest of States that treaties to which they have chosen to become parties should be respected, as to object and purpose by all parties.
The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore objects to the aforesaid reservations made by the Government of Bangladesh.
These objections shall not preclude the entry into force of the Convention between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Bangladesh."
Objection with regard to the declarations and the reservations made by Kuwait upon accession (July 22, 1997):
[Same objection identical in essence, mutatis mutandis, as the one made for Algeria.]
Objection with regard to the interpretative declaration made by Algeria concerning article 13, paragraphs 3 and 4 upon ratification (March 18, 1991):
"In the opinion of the Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the interpretative declaration concerning article 13, paragraphs 3 and 4 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights must be regarded as a reservation to the Covenant. From the text and history of the Covenant it follows that the reservation with respect to article 13, paragraphs 3 and 4 made by the Government of Algeria is incompatible with the object and purpose of the Covenant. The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands therefore considers the reservation unacceptable and formally raises an objection to it.
[This objection is] not an obstacle to the entry into force of [the Covenant] between the Kingdom of the Netherlands and Algeria."
Objection made on January 12, 1981:
"The Government of the Kingdom of the Netherlands objects to the declaration made by the Government of the Republic of India in relation to article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and article 1 of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, since the right of self determination as embodied in the Covenants is conferred upon all peoples. This follows not only from the very language of article 1 common to the two Covenants but as well from the most authoritative statement of the law concerned, i.e., the Declaration on Principles of International Law concerning Friendly Relations and Co-operation among States in accordance with the Charter of the United Nations. Any attempt to limit the scope of this right or to attach conditions not provided for in the relevant instruments would undermine the concept of self-determination itself and would thereby seriously weaken its universally acceptable character."
On 6 July 2017, the Kingdom of the Netherlands notified the Secretary-General as follows of its decision to withdraw its reservation with respect to article 8 (1) (d) of the Covenant made upon ratification:
"… the Kingdom of the Netherlands, for Aruba, Curaçao, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean part of the Netherlands (the islands of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba), withdraws the reservation made with respect to Article 8, paragraph 1, under d, of the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights…"
The reservation made upon ratification read as follows:
"Article 8, paragraph l(d)
The Kingdom of the Netherlands does not accept this provision in the case of the Netherlands Antilles with regard to the latter's central and local government bodies."
Territorial Application to Netherlands Antilles notified on December 11, 1978.
Reservation made upon ratification:
"[With respect to Article 8, paragraph 1 (d),] the Kingdom of the Netherlands does not accept this provision in the case of the Netherlands Antilles with regard to the latter's central and local government bodies. [The Kingdom of the Netherlands] clarify that although it is not certain whether the reservation (...) is necessary, [it] has preferred the form of a reservation to that of a declaration. In this way the Kingdom of the Netherlands wishes to ensure that the relevant obligation under the Covenant does not apply to the Kingdom as far as the Netherlands Antilles is concerned."
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