At a glance:

• No national law on repatriation but there is a national policy and framework for the return of belongings/cultural items – however Indigenous Nations and other communities need to ask the nation state they reside in to make the claim on their behalf – and for their government to make clear that the belongings should return to the Nation or community
• The independent Colonial Collections Committee advises the Minister of Education, Culture, and Science on repatriation requests who makes the final decision
• The Dutch government have committed to paying for belongings in state-owned collections to return home within six months of a decision being made
• Currently, the policy and framework does not include Ancestors (human remains). A new 2023-25 programme ‘Towards a Policy for How to Deal with Human/Ancestral Remains Collected in the Colonial Context in Museums in the Netherlands’ is aiming to address this and create an inventory of all Ancestors held in Dutch collections
• There is a growing focus on repatriation, so it is a good time to approach

Jump to:

1. Overview
2. How to Make a Claim
   1. Belongings/Cultural Items
   2. Ancestors (Human Remains)
   3. Archives
3. Projects to be aware of
4. Where to find collections

Overview

There are many thousands of colonial collections in Dutch museums, including the National Museum of World Cultures, Museum Bronbeek, and the Rijksmuseum. But there are also colonial collections in smaller museums around the country.

The Dutch have had a very complicated history with colonialism. Some have had difficulties thinking about their colonial histories, and others don’t want to talk about them anymore, feeling that colonialism was in the past. Nationally, there has been somewhat of a shift and ‘owning up’ to Netherland’s colonial past in recent years. In December 2022, Prime Minister Mark Rutte apologised for the past actions of the Dutch State: to enslaved people in the past, everywhere in the world, who suffered as a consequence of those actions, as well as to their daughters and sons, and to all their descendants, up to the present day. Just a few months later, on 1 July 2023, the Dutch King Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands issued an apology for the country’s involvement in the slave trade, asking forgiveness for the “clear failure to act in the face of this crime against humanity.” Several Dutch municipalities have also apologised for their role in the slave trade.

How to Make a Claim

Belongings/Cultural Items

There is no national legislation on repatriation, but there is a national policy and framework for the return of belongings/cultural items which focuses on redress and repair. Both the Colonial Collections Committee and the Colonial Collections Consortium were created as a result of this policy.

For Dutch state-owned collections the process for making a claim is as follows:

• Indigenous Nations and communities need the nation state they reside in to represent them in their claim
• The nation state must make a formal repatriation claim to the Dutch Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science. They should make clear in their request that the belonging(s) should be returned to the Indigenous Nation or community
• The Ministry then notifies the museum involved and the Colonial Collections Committee
• The museum will undertake research into the legal status of the belonging(s) and their provenance
• The Colonial Collections Committee is an independent advisory body that has three core members and two additional experts, depending on the nature of the claim. They will assess whether there was an ‘involuntary loss of possession’. What would be counted as involuntary loss is very broad (see below)
• The Committee then send their advice on the case to the Minister of Education, Culture, and Science who makes the final decision on whether the belonging(s) will be returned. Their decision is final and cannot be appealed within the Netherlands
• The Dutch government have committed to pay for belonging(s) to be shipped home within six months of a decision being made, for state-owned collections

In September 2024, the Colonial Collections Committee published their ‘Rules of Procedure Governing the Processing of Applications for the Restitution of Colonial Collections’ which sets out the three ‘categories’ upon which the Committee will determine whether involuntary loss of possession occurred:

• If involuntary loss of possession occurred within the context of Dutch colonial rule, the Committee will recommend unconditional restitution.
• If involuntary loss of possession occurred within the context of colonial rule by another power, the Committee will weigh up the interests involved, with the basic premise being to rectify injustice.
• If no involuntary loss of possession occurred within the context of colonial rule or if this cannot be determined with a reasonable degree of certainty, the Committee will weigh up the interests involved.

However, there have only been unconditional returns thus far – even when they have not involved involuntary loss under Dutch colonial rule.

Municipal and regional museums can also choose to use the Colonial Collections Committee for advice but they are able to receive repatriation claims directly from Indigenous Nations. If they utilise the Colonial Collections Committee for repatriation work, they have to follow their advice. If Indigenous Nations are working to claim belongings from both state-owned and non-state-owned museums, they may be able to be packaged and shipped together under the Dutch government funded shipment to save costs.

Ancestors (Human Remains)

The policy outlined above does not include the repatriation of Ancestors (human remains), however they are being returned upon request and anybody can submit a claim – meaning you do not have to go through a nation state.

The Pressing Matter Project referred to later on this page, is currently undertaking a 2023-2024 work plan: ‘Towards a Policy for How to Deal with Human/Ancestral Remains Collected in the Colonial Context in Museums in the Netherlands’. There will be an inventory of all Ancestors held in Dutch collections made available as well as a new national policy.

Archives

Currently, archival material is not eligible for repatriation. However, the Dutch government are now developing a tailored approach for archives. The Raad Voor Cultur (Council for Culture) who provide recommendations to the Dutch government regarding cultural policy produced the report ‘Dealing with Shared Sources from Colonial History’ in 2024 which provided ‘advice on redress and restitution in relation to colonial archives’. The Ministry of Education, Culture, and Science is now working on creating a new national policy based on this report, which will be accompanied by a working programme and a budget to support it.

Projects to be aware of

The Colonial Collections Consortium

The consortium is a partnership between five organisations with expertise in colonial collections. The consortium supports institutions administering collections in provenance research by sharing knowledge, answering questions and providing stakeholders with a network. You can contact the Bureau who can assist with finding collections in the Netherlands. They are currently working to create a searchable public database of all five of the organisations’ collections.

Report on Colonial Collections Committee – Commissie Koloniale Collecties

One of the first major repatriations from the Netherlands happened in July 2023, when the first recommendations from the Colonial Collections Committee were approved by the Culture and Media State Secretary. As a direct result of this action, 478 cultural items are being returned to Indonesia and Sri Lanka. Both countries are previous Dutch colonies.

Pressing Matter Project

One project to keep an eye on in the Netherlands, is the Pressing Matter Project. The project may include repatriation but is more broadly looking at ‘practical guidance for museums on colonial collections.’

‘Pressing Matter investigates the potentialities of ‘colonial objects’ to support societal reconciliation with the colonial past and its afterlives, and to deal with conflicting claims by different stakeholders for these objects within museums.’

‘Pressing Matter is a four-year international research programme about colonial heritage and its legacies, financed by the Dutch National Science Agenda (NWA) and coordinated from the Vrijie Universiteit Amsterdam. Partners are the Wereldmuseum, Museum Bronbeek, Museum Vrolik, Rijksmuseum, the museums of Utrecht University and Groningen University, Foundation Academic Heritage and the NIOD Institute for War, Holocaust and Genocide Studies.’

Currently the Pressing Matter Project is undertaking a 2023-2024 work plan: ‘Towards a Policy for How to Deal with Human/Ancestral Remains Collected in the Colonial Context in Museums in the Netherlands’. This programme has two main activities; a broad inventory of ancestors in collections across the Netherlands, and a series of workshops to look at the field across Europe and a public discussion/consultation on human remains in museums.

Where to find collections

Below is a list of links to online collections databases at some of the major museums with colonial collections.

National Museum of World Cultures

Museum Bronbeek

The Rijksmuseum

There is also a large part of the national collections available to search on this online database.

You can also get in touch with the Colonial Collections Consortium who are aiming to provide a network to connect museums and experts in source countries and the Netherlands.