Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte on Monday made an official apology for his country’s past involvement in slavery.
“We recognize slavery in the clearest terms as a crime against humanity,” Rutte said at a news conference in The Hague.
He lamented that “the Dutch state had allowed, encouraged and profited from slavery for centuries.”
The Prime Minister said that “slavery caused great suffering that continues to affect people’s lives today, and for this I apologize on behalf of the Dutch government.”
- Advertisement -
“People were commodified, exploited and trafficked in the name of the Dutch state,” Rutte added.
