International

SP Member of Parliament Sharon Gesthuizen wants to see the Netherlands doing more to contribute to the international fight against child abuse. Gesthuizen was responding to revelations by renowned Dutch crime reporter Peter R. de Vries regarding a convicted Dutch paedophile who was able to establish a children’s home in Cambodia. ‘Why did the Dutch ambassador not inform the Cambodian authorities of his past when they finally arrested the man?’ she asks. ‘And could convicted paedophiles not be subjected to greater surveillance when they travel to high-risk countries such as Cambodia, Thailand and the Philippines?’

A television documentary made by Peter R. de Vries showed how a man convicted in the Netherlands for sexual abuse of children was able with no difficulty to travel to Cambodia and set up a children’s home. When the man was arrested for abusing children, the Dutch embassy neglected to inform the Cambodian authorities of the man’s past. Worse still, they appeared to be completely unaware of the earlier conviction.

“According to the child defence group Terre des Hommes, the Netherlands is generally lax,” says Gesthuizen. “That is quite a reproach. In the interests of the children, but also in the interests of the convicted paedophile, extra vigilance should be exercised when such a man travels to a high risk country.”