The Dutch government’s decision to conceal asylum reports threatens justice, oversight, and public trust

In a troubling move toward greater opacity, the Schoof cabinet has decided to stop publishing ambtsberichten – the official reports by Dutch civil servants on human rights conditions, security situations, and asylum grounds. What was once a tool of transparency and accountability is now being locked away, hidden from the press, parliament, and the public.

DiEM25 in the Netherlands says: this is a dangerous slope. Where facts disappear, arbitrariness grows. And where governments no longer have to justify their actions, democratic control vanishes.

Ambtsberichten determine lives

These reports are essential. They are used to assess asylum applications and form the backbone of Dutch migration policy. When someone from Afghanistan, Eritrea, or Syria applies for asylum, the IND (Immigration and Naturalisation Service) consults these documents to judge whether it is “safe” to return. That is precisely why transparency is vital: citizens, judges, lawyers, and journalists must be able to scrutinise this information — and ensure that the Netherlands does not send people back to torture or death.

By hiding these reports, the government plunges its policy into darkness. History has shown that ambtsberichten have contained errors — sometimes even politically motivated distortions. In 2007, for instance, Dutch policy toward Iraqi asylum seekers was based on overly optimistic and incorrect assessments. Without transparency, such mistakes cannot be exposed or corrected.

Democracy cannot survive behind closed doors

This decision is part of a broader trend of democratic erosion. The Schoof cabinet, now in a caretaker role, symbolises a technocratic governance model devoid of transparency, empathy, and responsibility — a cabinet without a mandate, without vision, but with a dangerous tendency toward authoritarian reflexes.

Secrecy is presented as “efficiency” or “security,” but in reality, it is poison to public debate. Democracy thrives on light, on open discussion, on dissent. By hiding the official reports, the government denies society the right to think critically, to hold power to account, and to correct it when needed.

DiEM25 calls for transparency

DiEM25 fights for an open, just, and democratic society. That’s why we believe this decision must be reversed immediately. The official reports must remain public. Not because we are naïve about state interests, but because we believe transparency is the cornerstone of trust.

What we need now is not closed-door governance, but a radical recommitment to public accountability. When government policy affects lives — and it does — that policy must be visible to those it affects: the people.

Democracy behind closed doors is no democracy at all.
Make the ambtsberichten public.

Note: “Ambtsberichten” is used in this article to refer to a particular kind of official report, distinguished from other types of government communications.

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