The Hague Humanity Hub joins consortium that aims to develop ‘Better Conflict Resolution Capabilities’ for the Netherlands
The Hague Humanity Hub is excited to be working on a new initiative to provide better ways to solve pressing conflicts in Dutch society. The 34-partner consortium proposing the initiative have developed a unique systemic plan and have applied for funding to the Dutch National Growthfund The plan involves multiple innovation centers to develop evidenced-based routes to justice leading to a huge increase in the speed and level of satisfaction with outcomes of conflict resolution in the Netherlands. The programme was launched at the Nieuwspoort on March 8.
The need for better routes to conflict resolution is clear: with over 5 million ‘conflicts’ taking place in the Netherlands.
According to the programme team, the Netherlands is suffering from a lack of efficiency and innovation within its judicial processes. For example, the team points towards slow transitional plans on making the agricultural sector more environmentally-friendly, or building houses.
The consortium also highlights that the judicial system in the Netherlands is overloaded, with a shortage of over 800 staff (including judges). Perhaps most descriptive of current issues around access to justice in the Netherlands is the statistic that only 32% of current conflicts are successfully solved via an agreement or court order.
By 2030, the consortium aims to have built the foundations for innovative justice methods that are people-centric, sustainably financed, and that help strengthen trust in government and institutions. In addition to improved trust and wellbeing, the reforms will likely also unlock around 0.16% of GDP growth – around 160 billion euros annually!
Jill Wilkinson, Managing Director of The Hague Humanity Hub says: “We’re delighted to be working together within this consortium: finding new capabilities for settling conflicts within Dutch society is not only a hugely important task to support confidence in the legal system, but is also integral to our mission to contribute to a more peaceful and just world through community”
As part of the coalition, The Hague Humanity Hub’s role is to facilitate engagement with stakeholders from justice workers and practitioners, to justice leaders and the international justice community.
Prof. Dr. Maurits Barendrecht, Netherlands Director of HiiL, says: “We are thrilled to work with The Hague Humanity Hub. Their expertise on engaging the network of peace and justice leaders in The Hague is vital to build the bridges to justice institutions needed for the development of better conflict resolution.”
The consortium is led by the Hague Institute for the Innovation of Law (HiiL), and includes universities, NGOs, and civil society organisations representing citizens and businesses. For more information, and a full list of contributors, check out the initiative’s website. A decision on funding from the Dutch National Growthfund regarding the project plan is expected in July of this year.
