05/04/2023 ‘Verjaring beschermt foute instituties’ – NRC
Naomi Ormskerk and Nicole Immler published an opinion piece in reaction to the ruling in a claim brought to the court by women who had suffered institutional abuse within a religious institution. Thousands of girls were forced to perform hard labor in Catholic ‘charitable institutions.’ The ruling of ‘statute of limitations’ is misplaced in this case of institutional suffering.
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11/01/2023 ‘Zowel de slachtoffers van misbruik als kerkelijke instituties hebben een rol in het herstel’ – Trouw
Naomi Ormskerk wrote an opinion piece on how forced labor and exploitation within Catholic institutions have caused significant suffering, for example, among girls in the institutions of ‘De Goede Herder’. In addressing this harm, both the victims and the responsible institutions have a role to play in the process of restitution and reconciliation.
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28/11/2022 ‘Een historisch excuus aanbieden, hoe doe je dat? Deze vijf zaken kunnen het maken of breken’ – Trouw
Nicole Immler in Trouw on how to offer apologies for historical injustices. Rianne Oosterom writes about the debate surrounding apologies for the history of slavery and asks how it can be done properly. Professor Nicole Immler often observes the same mistakes being made when offering apologies for historical injustices.
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27/11/2022 ‘Mensen gaan boven economische belangen’ – NRC
Obiozo Ukpabi wrote an opinion piece where she calls on Shell to reckon with its controversial legacies in the Netherlands and Nigeria. Ukpabi writes in reaction to the decision of the four Nigerian widows who sued Shell for their alleged complicity in human rights violations in the Niger delta, to drop their case. After years of litigation they see no more options to seek redress for the ‘unavoidable consequences of the destructive logic of profit over people’.
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12/11/2022 ‘Hoe de discussie over het slavernijverleden van de brievenrubriek naar de voorpagina verschoof’ – Trouw
In this article, Rianne Oosterom reconstructs how the Dutch slavery past moved from the letters page (with a letter from Volkskrant reader Roy Kaikusi Groenberg) to the front page of the public debate. Recently, the Dutch cabinet announced that it will offer formal apologies for the role of The Netherlands in the slavery past. Nicole Immler provided Oosterom with commentary on this decision.
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21/08/2022 ‘Herdenken om te verbinden in de meerstemmigheid’ – Impact Magazine
On this special occasion Nicole Immler gave a lecture on ‘Commemorating to Connect in Multivoicedness’. The organisers of the commemoration wished to reflect on the question of renewal of their commemorative tradition. How can we do this in a way that remains relevant for a younger generation when, in future, there will be no more survivors of the atrocities to commemorate with?
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03/02/2022 ‘De rechter liet afstandsmoeders in de kou staan. En wat doet de overheid?’ – Trouw
Empathy from the Court is not enough when the State refuses to recognise institutional failures. This opinion piece by Niké Wentholt and Nicole Immler analyses missed opportunities in ruling on Birthmothers v The State.
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1/7/2021
As of July 1, 2021 , our principal investigator Nicole Immler has been appointed professor of Historical Memory and Transformative Justice at the University of Humanistic Studies. The new chair responds to the juridification of society, and aims to contribute to a more human-centred approach to social justice.
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01/07/2021 Podcast on the Keti Koti debate – Podcast Pluralistiek
Nicole Immler participated in a podcast hosted by the University of Humanistic Studies (Utrecht). On the 1st of July each year, the celebration of Keti Koti marks the abolition of slavery in Suriname. Nicole and student Farach Winter talked about the importance of dialogue and the meaning of reparations, especially in light of the ongoing debate on recognition of the colonial history of the Netherlands.
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15/06/2021 ‘Het gesprek over Srebrenica is nu aan ons’ – Trouw
Niké Wentholt and Marrit Woudwijk wrote an opinion piece on the need for debate after legal procedures. They argued that two recent legal developments with regard to the 1995 genocide in Srebrenica demonstrate the limitations of legal procedures and therefore this momentum should be used as an opportunity for a broader debate on recognition and justice.
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