THE HAGUE, Dec. 4 (Xinhua) -- During a debate in parliament on Tuesday night, the Dutch government survived a no-confidence motion related to its support of the UN migration pact.
The motion by the far-rightist Forum for Democracy (FvD) was rejected with 18 votes in favor and 117 against. The FvD was only supported by the far-rightist Party for Freedom (PVV) of Geert Wilders.
FvD leader Thierry Baudet submitted the motion at the beginning of the debate. He called the cabinet's decision to sign the UN Global Compact for Safe, Orderly and Regular Migration "completely irresponsible and unacceptable and with far-reaching long-term consequences for Dutch society".
"We are governed by a few weak people," said Baudet. He warned that the pact would encourage immigration and that migrants would derive rights from it with the help of lawyers. Most other parties did not agree with him.
"It is a diplomatic document," Malik Amzani of government party VVD (liberals) responded. "The VVD has urged the cabinet that there should be no direct or indirect legal consequences for the Netherlands."
"We do not see what is wrong with better regulation of migration and combating human trafficking," said Maarten Groothuizen of government party D66 (democrats).
The UN migration pact to regulate and cover all dimensions of worldwide migration was approved by the UN in 2016 and will be adopted during the conference in Marrakesh on December 10 and 11, although several countries like the United States, Hungary, Austria, the Czech Republic and Bulgaria have rejected the pact.
The outcome of the debate in the Dutch parliament was actually already clear in advance. Next week, the Dutch government will agree with the pact in Marrakesh. The Dutch will however out of precaution come up with an additional declaration, known as EOP, to prevent unintentional legal consequences, although it is a non-legally binding pact.
