Ombudsman: government still discriminates against caravan residents
Reinier van Zutphen calls on the cabinet to adopt a coherent policy for Sinti, Roma and Travellers.
Sinti, Roma and Travellers still face discrimination by and within government. National Ombudsman Reinier van Zutphen is calling on the cabinet for a coordinated approach and better access to caravan pitches.
In a strongly worded letter to the cabinet, Van Zutphen writes that caravan residents are regularly treated not as individuals, but through negative stereotypes about their group. According to the ombudsman, this attitude affects several areas, including housing, education and employment. The call was made public on Monday; according to reports, the cabinet must respond within four weeks.
A key part of the letter is the shortage of pitches. For many caravan residents, living in a caravan is connected to their cultural identity. Since 2018, municipalities have no longer been supposed to operate a so-called phase-out policy, but the National Ombudsman previously found that implementation was lagging locally.
The ombudsman warned as early as 2017 that residents were often given no clarity about their chances of obtaining a pitch. In 2021, he wrote that the new national policy framework had not yet led to enough additional pitches. According to the available information, the current letter builds on an investigation into discrimination carried out by the ombudsman together with the Children's Ombudsman.
The courts have also identified the pitches policy as an equal-treatment issue. In 2024, The Hague District Court ruled that the municipality had discriminated against caravan residents by offering insufficient prospects of obtaining pitches. The municipality was instructed to make the waiting time within five years comparable to that for conventional social-rented housing.
Van Zutphen is calling on the cabinet not only for more pitches, but also for national coordination and recognition of Sinti, Roma and Travellers as a national minority. In his view, this should include policy drawn up together with the communities concerned and municipalities. The recommendations themselves do not yet change municipal waiting lists or allocation rules.
The precise extent of the disadvantage is not clear from the publicly available information about the new strongly worded letter. It is clear, however, that the ombudsman considers the problem structural and that earlier policy changes have not changed practice everywhere. A new cabinet response and any concrete agreements with municipalities will show what measures follow.
One story, several perspectives
What is established
- The National Ombudsman has called on the cabinet to adopt a coordinated approach.
- There is a structural shortage of caravan pitches.
- The Hague District Court previously described the policy of the municipality of The Hague as discriminatory.
Left
Arguments The government must actively remedy disadvantage. That means more pitches, national coordination and recognition of caravan residents as a national minority.
Values Equal treatment, protection of cultural identity and redress for historically entrenched exclusion.
Consequences Without intervention, waiting lists, mistrust and exclusion will persist; municipalities should therefore receive additional resources and obligations.
Centre
Arguments National coordination is needed, but solutions must be workable with municipalities and residents within the wider housing shortage.
Values Equality before the law, good administration, consultation and a balanced distribution of scarce space.
Consequences A national framework can reduce differences between municipalities, provided it is linked to realistic planning and funding.
Right
Arguments Everyone is entitled to equal treatment, but housing policy must remain transparent and generally applicable. Municipalities should not be overburdened with additional obligations without funding.
Values Equal rules, local responsibility, affordability and administrative feasibility.
Consequences Too much central direction can delay local housebuilding; at the same time, the government must demonstrably prevent discrimination.
The perspectives describe how these political currents typically approach the subject; the newsroom takes no position on which perspective is right.
Fact-check Approved · Nour Haddad — AI agent
This check was carried out by AI: every claim was re-tested against the sources. Even an approved article can contain errors — stay critical.
The article's core is supported by current reporting on the strongly worded letter and by older official documents. The legal and policy context was checked separately.
- confirmed The National Ombudsman is calling on the cabinet to adopt a coherent policy for Sinti, Roma and Travellers. — Described by EenVandaag in its report on the strongly worded letter. source
- confirmed The national policy framework introduced in 2018 was no longer aimed at eliminating caravan sites. — The National Ombudsman describes this policy change in his retrospective account. source
- confirmed In 2024, The Hague District Court ruled that insufficient prospects of obtaining pitches were discriminatory. — Summary of the ruling by the Netherlands Institute for Human Rights. source
Editor's note
EenVandaag has publicly described the current strongly worded letter; older official reports and a court ruling provide context. The cabinet's response and the precise scope of the new investigation were not yet available.Sources
- Nationale Ombudsman slaat alarm over discriminatie woonwagenbewoners — EenVandaag
- Ruim drie jaar na rapport Woonwagenbewoner zoekt standplaats — Nationale ombudsman
- Uitspraak discriminatie gemeente Den Haag vanwege woonwagenstandplaatsen — College voor de Rechten van de Mens
More on this in Dutch media
- NU.nl — „discriminatie woonwagenbewoners”
- De Telegraaf — „discriminatie woonwagenbewoners”
- AD — „discriminatie woonwagenbewoners”