Civil Servants and the Constitution

We are a group of Dutch civil servants who are deeply concerned about: the ongoing Israeli offensive in Gaza-which the International Court of Justice has labeled as plausible genocide-; and the Dutch policy herein. You may know us from the sit-ins that take place every Thursday at noon in front of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs in the Netherlands. As civil servants, we understand the importance of international law. We took an oath to the Constitution, including Article 90 which states that the government shall promote the international rule of law. It is up to politics to set out policy. But politics also has to abide by our Constitution and international treaty obligations. It is up to government officials to point out to politicians when policies (potentially) violate international law. And we take that task - that duty - very seriously. We expect our government to work tirelessly to ensure consistent compliance with international law. Specifically, we make four demands to ...