In this contribution, the justification of restorative practices in prison is first discussed from a normative perspective. On the basis of Lippke’s retributive theory of imprisonment it is argued that modern, humane retributive sanctioning entails an obligation to provide prisoners with opportunities to engage in restorative practices. Second, restorative practices in prison are examined from the perspective of possible impacts on the empowerment of prisoners and their experience to move away from crime and do good. Finally, it is argued that in order to yield positive effects, restorative practices in prison need to be supported by a safe and healthy living environment.

The Dutch Custodial Institutions Agency (DJI) strives for a more restorative prison culture in the Netherlands, incorporating a more victim-oriented and restorative way of working in prisons. To this end, DJI has asked for a plan and process evaluation of three restorative courses among (juvenile and adult) prisoners in the Netherlands: Puinruimen, SOS and DAPPER. This article first offers an overview of the most important findings of this evaluation which was finalized in 2016. Based on the findings of the plan evaluation, a cautious yet clearly positive picture emerges of the design and substantiation of each of the three courses examined. That is, an extensive description and substantiation exists of each course. In addition, evidence exists in the (limited) scientific literature for one of the goals that each of these courses have formulated: to increase prisoners’ awareness of the consequences of crime for victims. The literature also suggests that creating trust among participants and a safe group process during the course is helpful in attaining the goals formulated. The process evaluation of the execution of the three courses in practice further strengthens the cautious, yet positive picture painted by the plan evaluation. An examination of the experiences of the courses’ participants lends further support to the observation that these courses can attain part of their goals. For example, after the course participants were more positive about the added value of victim-offender mediation for them personally than before.
Aside from these findings, this article also argues for a deeper consideration of the constructive roles that both emotions guilt and shame can play in the restorative process of prisoners during these courses. The article ends with a number of recommendations for restorative courses in prison and a sketch of the current state of affairs in the Netherlands regarding these courses.

The rationale behind refugee law is that people who fear persecution in their home country can seek and find a safe haven in another country. The situation in Eritrea with its national service and wide-spread human rights violations is reason why many Eritreans flee their country. A vast number of them want to apply for asylum in European countries. After a risky journey over the African continent where they face risks of kidnappings, trafficking for ransom, and situations of inhuman and degrading treatment, they reach Europe. Some of them continue their journey to the Netherlands. The central question in this article is whether or not their safety and well-being are at stake once they arrive in the Netherlands. Situations of involvement of and intimidation by the Eritrean regime in the Netherlands, diaspora tax that is forcibly collected, involvement of the Orthodox Church and indications of human trafficking have been reported in media and reports, by individuals and organisations. In this article the outcomes of a research on the concerns about the well-being of Eritrean asylum seekers in reception centres among employers of organisations responsible for their safety and well-being are presented and discussed. Data were collected and discussed during four focus group meetings with a total of 33 professionals. The concerns are divided in three groups: 1) Concerns about the capacities and possibilities to integrate in Dutch society, 2) Concerns about religion and rituals, and 3) Concerns about indications of human trafficking. These concerns are further elaborated based on which the conclusion is drawn that more tailored support and assistance is required for successful integration of Eritreans in Dutch society, their empowerment and resilience against threats and challenges in Dutch society.

Like many other European countries the Netherlands experienced a major influx of refugees in the fall of 2015. A majority of the population supported providing shelter to the refugees, but not without worries and anxieties about the effects of that influx, which sometimes lead to limited, local forms of social unrest. A study was started to shed more light on the worries and fears that existed in the population, on the assumptions these were based upon and on whether these worries and fears could lead to social unrest on a larger scale. The study was explorative, based on an eclectic, multi methods approach. The findings show that worries and anxieties were not limited to those who were opposed to the influx of migrants, but existed among supporters as well. The worries and anxieties were of a diverse nature, on topics like security, livability, economics, perceived (in)justice and socio-cultural aspects of life. A clear, credible answer or policy from the government was missed. When compared to the findings of earlier studies on the influx of migrants, some worries and anxieties seemed closely connected to what might be expected, in other cases a distinct ‘disconnect’ was found. These could be understood however when distorting mechanisms were taken into consideration that have been described in studies of more general security perceptions. As the worries and anxieties on the influx of refugees resonated other existing worries, anxieties and fears in society, a ‘cocktail of concerns’ was created that, given the right trigger, could have led to social unrest on a larger scale.

In this article the following question is answered. What is the modus operandi of human smugglers that smuggle Syrian migrants to the Netherlands in de period 2014-2016? Content analysis of police and Royal Marechaussee files, interviews with experts and Syrian migrants and literature research has revealed that: Syrian migrants in first instance use the South-Eastern route overseas from Turkey to Greece, for which they pay 1200-4000 euro to a smuggler, depending on the quality of the boat. From Greece some travel over land on the Balkan route. Several means of transportation are used on this route, with smugglers asking prices ranging from tens to hundreds of euros. Also they travel large parts on their own. Others are smuggled by airplane, for which they need (false) documentation. Smuggling by plane tends to be successful when departing from a small airfield, when made a detour through visa-free countries and/or a good quality (false) travel document. Prices range from 2.000 to 14.000 euros. Migrants mostly pay cash through irregular ‘banks’, a third party that plays an important facilitating role within several smuggling networks. These networks consist of several cells, with in these cells leaders and ‘employees’ and are located on migration routes and ‘hubs’ like Istanbul, Athens and Milan. The South-Eastern route is mostly in hands of Turkish criminal networks, and the continuation of the journey by airplane or through Milan over land is in hands of Syrian Dutch smugglers, the Balkan route seems to be mainly operated by individual smugglers. Within these smuggling networks the most important roles are: the recruiter, who is responsible for making contact with migrants on migration hubs or social media. The organizer/leader who coordinates activities along the smuggling route and calls employees to account. And finally the driver. Responsible for transporting the migrants and instructing them. Based on these findings several recommendations were made that can be found in this article or full research rapport.

This contribution describes the legal basis for revoking or denying a residence status to asylum seekers and individuals in possession of a status who are considered war criminals, ‘common’ criminals or terrorists, in what way the Dutch government tries to identify these persons, and what the nature and size of this group is. The authors conclude that identifying alleged war criminals and jihadists is particularly complex and that there is a tension with respect to the use, necessity and desirability of making available concrete tools in the form of indicators to first line professionals for the purpose of identifying jihadists. The presence of unwanted but unremovable (criminal) asylum seekers is undesirable from the perspective of society. The suggestion is made to provide them, under certain conditions, with a temporary residence status.

The Mobile Security Monitor (MSM) is a form of migration policing in the border areas of the Netherlands, carried out by the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee (KMar). The MSM has a complex legal and policy framework, merging migration control aims with certain elements of crime control. This raises the question how the officers carrying out the MSM interpret the exact aim of the instrument and their own accompanying powers and what this means for the way they carry out their task. Our results show that many officers see ‘catching criminals’ an important part of their job and that in order to achieve this, they sometimes make ‘creative use’ of their wide-ranging powers. Although similar results have been found in research with the police, KMar officers differ because of their ability to combine migration law and criminal law powers. This fits in with the process of crimmigration and the broader tendency of ad-hoc instrumentalism, which refers to a way of thinking about law and legal procedures in which the formal distinction between legal domains is considered less important and criminal justice actors can freely choose the most effective instrument to deal with the situation at hand. This means that the formal ground for a decision is not always transparent, especially not for people that are subjected to the MSM. Moreover, criminal law enforcement contains many more legal and procedural safeguards than administrative controls.

In this exploratory study, two questions are addressed. Firstly, examining police files on honour based violence (HBV), do we find conflicts that take place in asylum centers, and if so, what can we learn from those files? Secondly, to what extent can these police files provide insight into the role of HBV in the lives of refugees in the Netherlands? What are the possibilities and limitations and how can they be dealt with in future research?
We apply the importation and deprivation models within total institutions on asylum centers and zoom in on honour based conflicts within these centers. The conflicts revolved around family life and morality issues, and resulted in both threats and physical violence. Among younger victims, their choice of partner was the main stumbling block, while later in the course of life conflicts arose from divorces and new relationships. Distinguishing between importation and deprivation factors within these HBV cases turned out to be difficult for two reasons. Firstly, within Dutch policy HBV is primarily viewed as violence within (extended) families and often originating from conflicts regarding partner choice and morality. This focus corresponds to importation rather than deprivation. Secondly, many cases showed interaction between the two factors, for example the many different backgrounds of the inhabitants of the asylum center can be viewed as both importation and deprivation. Future research should look into (a combination of) different data sources to shed light on the role of deprivation, because deprivational factors are more susceptible for (short term) policy measures to help prevent unnecessary stress and causes of conflict, whether honour based or not.

In this article, we try to answer the question of how and why the stories of the victims of attacks by the guerrilla movements in the 1970s in Argentina are currently silenced in the public sphere. We analyse how this collective denial is negotiated in human rights discourse. In particular, we show how strategic and essentialist silences as well as denial (literal, interpretative, implicatory) feature in political debates about human rights and political violence.

The two editors of this issue conducted an interview with professor emeritus International law and Human Rights Theo van Boven. Van Boven was UN Special Rapporteur against Torture and he served as Director of Human Rights of the United Nations. In these and his other positions, Van Boven fought for the rights of victims of gross human rights violations and throughout his career he experienced first-hand how regimes try to cover up and deny their crimes. The interview focuses on his experiences with the former military junta in Argentina. Van Boven notes that in comparison to other regimes, the junta had developed the most sophisticated strategy of denial. Van Boven reflects on the regime’s vocabulary of denial, the political dimensions of denial and the implications for the victims. He is open and sincere about his experiences as Director of Human Rights of the United Nations and explains how victim rights, such as the right to truth, can clash with the bureaucratic and political reality within the United Nations.