THE HAGUE, 26/10/06 - The Lower House wants the Netherlands to stop sending servicemen with young children on missions abroad. The motion can have far-reaching consequences for the deployment of Dutch troops.

Socialist (SP) MP Krista van Velzen submitted the motion, which specifies that male servicemen with a child under 5 should be eligible for exemption from missions abroad. Since this rule already applies to women in the armed forces, a majority considered that discrimination existed between fathers and mothers.

According to Van Velzen, Defence State Secretary Cees van der Knaap appealed himself in June in the feminist magazine Opzij for the mission exemption to be extended to fathers. The Christian democrat (CDA) state secretary was however unhappy with the motion. He warned that a large proportion of the army consists of young fathers.

The motion does not make it compulsory for parents of young children to stay at home but offers them a choice between being sent abroad or not. If they do not wish to go, alternative work must be found for them temporarily.