ROTTERDAM, 18/11/03 - Social Affairs Minister Aart Jan de Geus has proposed discontinuing the emancipation policy portfolio in the next cabinet formation. The task of standing up for disadvantaged groups should be divided among all policy areas.

"Emancipation increasingly affects all areas of cabinet policy, such as the labour market, education, integration and aliens policy. It is my ambition to shape this integral approach to such an extent over the next few years that a special portfolio becomes unnecessary," declared De Geus, who manages this portfolio. In the previous cabinet, there was even a separate state secretary for emancipation matters.

De Geus considers that emancipation has entered a new phase that focuses primarily on women from ethnic backgrounds. "In the 21st century, the situation for all women in the Netherlands should be that their presence in all areas of society is taken for granted. "