Welcome to the web site of The Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Nairobi

Message from Maxime Verhagen on Human Rights Day

Men, women and children, no matter who they are, no matter where they live, no matter what they do, have rights that can never be taken away from them. Governments around the world have an obligation to protect and promote these universal rights, but in many instances, they fail their own citizens.

The tenth of December marks the worldwide celebration of Human Rights Day. It’s not a day we can afford to let pass unnoticed! Today, we honour those people who are brave enough to stand up for their rights and the rights of others, despite the resistance they encounter. In many countries, human rights defenders work in extremely difficult circumstances, at great personal risk, and they deserve our full support.

The Dutch government wants to lend a helping hand to human rights defenders all over the world. We do this through our embassies, which support local human rights defenders and their organisations. And as foreign minister, I regularly urge local authorities to improve the situation of human rights defenders and give them the protection they deserve. Last month, the Dutch government presented Ms Shadi Sadr, a human rights activist from Iran, with the second annual Human Rights Defenders Tulip. This award is a clear token of respect for and recognition of the important work that human rights defenders do.

The European Union has a part to play in all this as well. The EU has issued guidelines to ensure the protection of human rights defenders. As of today these guidelines will be published on the websites of all Dutch embassies worldwide, to raise awareness of their existence and facilitate access to them.

We do this so that human rights defenders know they are not alone in their struggle and that they have friends to turn to, to support them in their work. Their courageous efforts must not go unnoticed. Not on the tenth of December, or any other day.

 Ensuring Protection - European Union Guidelines on Human Rights Defenders

On this site you will find information about the services offered by the Embassy as well as information and links to web sites containing information about both the Netherlands and Kenya.

This site has two main areas with information and facts:

• a section in Dutch, for Dutch nationals living in or visiting Kenya and;
• a section in English about Embassy services and information about the Netherlands and Kenya, for Kenyan nationals and other non-Dutch speakers.

Should you have any additional queries, please feel free to contact us.

Every effort has been made to keep the information contained in this site as up to date and comprehensive as possible. However, if you do notice inaccuracies or omissions please inform us:

Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands Nairobi
(visiting address: Riverside Lane)
P.O. Box 41537
00100 Nairobi, Kenya

Telephone: +254 20 42 88 000
Telefax: +254 20 42 88 264
E-mail:  nlgovnai@africaonline.co.ke

For a complete list of telephone numbers, opening hours and a map visit our contacts page.