Exploitation of Asian migrants in The Hague: ‘Diplomatic privileges are a cover for modern-day slavery’

“They often work sixty hours a week and are not paid for their overtime,” says Wendy* from welfare organization SHOP, the knowledge and expertise center on sex work and human trafficking in the Haaglanden and Hollands-Midden region. Because of her active role in the Asian migrant community, and because the victims confide in her, she does not want her real name published in this newspaper.

The same applies to her colleague Kristel*. “In conversations with migrants, the bigger problems often come to the fore,” she says. “For example, they tell us that they only earn €600 a month. They often don’t realize that they are victims of exploitation, or they are ashamed and deny it.” Through SHOP Asia, Wendy and Kristel are trying to reach this Asian target group in the Hague region. Between 2020 and 2025, they spoke with more than 1,200 Asians, mainly migrant workers. Most of them, more than 80 percent, were Chinese nationals, followed by Filipinos and Thais.

Embassies

One of the sectors in which this exploitation takes place is the diplomatic world in The Hague. This is according to both SHOP and FairWork, a national non-profit organization that fights against the exploitation of migrant workers. Karen from the Philippines shared her story earlier in a FairWork podcast. An ambassador takes her and his family with him when he is stationed in The Hague. Karen signs a handwritten contract with him, stating that she will earn €1,800 per month for a 40-hour working week.

But things turn out differently. Karen works sixteen hours a day, seven days a week. For this, she receives 500 euros in cash per month. The rest is deposited into a bank account in her name, but she does not receive a bank card. Karen is not allowed to cook for herself; her dinner consists of leftovers from the ambassador’s family, which she has to fish out of the trash. The ambassador’s wife keeps a constant eye on her. She is not allowed to leave the apartment and has to stay in the car when she takes the children to school with the driver.

Karen’s story is not an isolated one. Between January 2020 and October 2025, eleven domestic workers employed by diplomats working at an embassy or international institution in The Hague reported exploitation. This is according to figures shared with this newspaper by FairWork. Six migrants are from the Philippines, while the others are from Indonesia, Malaysia, Algeria, Senegal, and Spain. In 2016, the Volkskrant newspaper already drew attention to this issue. At that time, it emerged that 26 private servants had reported labor exploitation in the Netherlands between 2011 and 2016.

Sanctions?

Franny Parren is program coordinator for FairWork’s “Tackling Exploitation Behind Closed Doors” (Aanpak uitbuiting achter de Voordeur) initiative. According to her, tackling exploitation by diplomats is complicated. “What makes this story complicated is that diplomats enjoy immunity. They are covered by the Vienna Convention. In practice, this makes it difficult to punish them.”

This is also evident from data from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (BuZa). De Volkskrant reported in 2016 that not a single diplomat had been sanctioned. It is not known how many sanctions were imposed between January 2020 and October 2025, because BuZa ‘does not comment on individual cases.’ However, the ministry does say the following: ‘After a report has been made, the possibility of filing a complaint and referring the alleged victim to agencies such as FairWork for further assistance is initially pointed out. In addition, each case is examined to determine whether further mediation by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs is necessary and possible. If this is the case, a meeting with the diplomatic mission, international organization, or diplomat may take place. In cases of abuse, diplomats were not allowed to hire a new private servant.’

On July 1, 2024, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tightened its policy: ‘The possibility of employing new private servants has since been discontinued.’ According to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, there are currently 35 private servants employed, which will decrease in the coming years as a result of the revised policy. ‘Furthermore, there are three international organizations that have an explicit right to private servants, as this is laid down in the seat treaty,’ according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Servants who are still employed have had a meeting with the ministry. ‘Employees are being made aware of their rights in the Netherlands (…) and checks are also being made to ensure that their salaries are paid in full and on time into their bank accounts. If this is not the case, the ministry will contact the diplomat concerned,’ according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

Under the radar

The exploitation remains under the radar because Asian migrant workers rarely report their dire situations. According to Kristel from SHOP, this is partly due to their cultural background. “In Asian culture, it is customary to obey a superior. And people are afraid to talk about their situation. They are not used to trusting authorities, so they do not report abuses.”

Research conducted by the Dutch National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Human Beings in April this year also shows that only 2 percent of reports of exploitation lead to an investigation by the police. Wendy from SHOP explains that the reluctance to report is due to the criminal justice process. “Many migrant workers don’t think it’s worth the effort. The police offer no guarantee that anything will be done about it, and a court case can take up to two years, with all the consequences that entails. During this period, someone can lose not only their job, but also their work permit. In some cases, the migrant also loses their housing, which is often arranged through the employer.”

Immune from prosecution

Yasmine Fernandez works as a social worker at FairWork and speaks to many victims from Amsterdam and The Hague. “We provide information and training to both employers and employees: what are your rights and how do you protect them?” Fernandez also provides information to embassies. “Many diplomats have domestic workers. Through information sessions, we inform diplomats about the rights their servants have in the Netherlands.”

Angel Tsang is a lawyer in The Hague and regularly assists Asian victims of labor exploitation. “The largest groups come from Vietnam, the Philippines, China, and Indonesia. They are mainly exploited in restaurants, nail salons, and massage parlors.” Tsang has assisted two people who were exploited by diplomats. “They were underpaid. As a lawyer, there wasn’t much I could do, because you’re up against an embassy with diplomatic immunity.”

Lawyer Pendong Jalandoni recognises this too. “I have handled several cases involving the exploitation of embassy staff. Most of my clients were of Filipino origin and had to deal with unpaid wages, long and heavy working hours, or accidents at work where the employer failed to fulfil its duty of care. The difficult thing about these types of cases is that the other party consists of diplomats. This makes it difficult to bring the dispute before a Dutch court.” Jalandoni explains that this is partly due to bailiffs who are ‘reluctant’ to summon diplomats. ”Without serving a summons, it can be difficult to bring a case before the court.”

The organization Migrante Netherlands represents Filipino migrants in the Netherlands. Migrante helped several Filipino migrants who were exploited by diplomats in the Netherlands. “In one case, it involved five Filipinos who worked at an embassy of a Middle Eastern country,” says a spokesperson. “Their passports were confiscated, they worked long hours without days off, and were paid less than what was stated in their contracts. They were not allowed to leave the embassy compound nor talk to anyone else. After five years of misery, they were able to escape with the help of members of the Filipino community and Migrante. We helped them file a human trafficking case against the embassy. Due to their diplomatic immunity, the perpetrators were not brought to justice.”

For domestic worker Karen from the FairWork podcast, things turned out well. After she managed to escape, she reported the incident to the police. The diplomat in question eventually paid Karen the wages he had withheld. She now has a Dutch residence permit.

Improving the situation

When asked how the situation for victims can be improved, experts give varying responses. The spokesperson for Migrante Netherlands says: “Our experience has shown that diplomatic privileges are all too often used as a cover for modern-day slavery, wage theft, and other serious violations of migrants’ rights. Although diplomatic immunity is intended to uphold mutual respect between states, it must never be used to perpetuate impunity. We call on the Dutch government to ensure that no embassy is above the law and to provide clear mechanisms for the protection of all workers, regardless of the diplomatic status of their employer.”

“Policy should focus more on protecting and compensating victims,” says Kristel from SHOP. “In addition, more effort should be put into accessible information and awareness. We also see that exploiters are constantly coming up with new ways to get around the rules. They often know when the Netherlands Labor Authority is coming and then hide the migrant workers who normally sleep on mats above the business in vacation homes until the inspections are over.” Franny Parren of FairWork advocates for a structural reporting process, because arranging shelter does not always go well: “And reporting labor exploitation must yield results. So not only should the company be fined, but the victim should also be able to claim withheld wages. That does not always happen, which discourages people from reporting.” Parren’s colleague Yasmine Fernandez hopes that the residents of The Hague will become more aware of the signs of exploitation: “If your neighbor has an au pair who never goes outside, or if you come back from a party and see an employee leaving a restaurant at 4 a.m., even though they work until midnight, then something is going on.”

Nadya, from Indonesia, was eventually helped by an au pair agency. After the agency heard about the exploitation, Nadya was removed from the family. The Indonesian woman who was forced into sex work was freed from her predicament by the police after a client reported suspected exploitation. The perpetrator was sentenced to 21 months in prison.

Update 17-11-2025:
In response to the article, council members Vincent Thepass and Hera Butt of GroenLinks submitted written questions to the Municipal Executive of The Hague. The council members want to know whether the Municipal Executive was aware of the reports from eleven domestic workers who were exploited by diplomats. They also ask whether the Municipal Executive intends to contact the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The article was also discussed on NPO Radio 1, on the program ‘Met Mandy!’. Monica Lam, investigative journalist at Den Haag Centraal, and Franny Parren, program coordinator ‘Tackling Exploitation Behind Closed Doors’ at FairWork, joined the studio. You can here listen to the item.

If you know or are someone who is being exploited, please contact FairWork, the Netherlands Labor Authority (0800 5151), or the police (0900 8844) for assistance.

* Names have been changed to protect their privacy.

This article was produced with the support of the Stimuleringsfonds voor de Journalistiek (Journalism Stimulation Fund).