The Party for Neighbourly Love, Freedom, and Diversity or The Charity, Freedom and Diversity Party (''Partij voor Naastenliefde, Vrijheid en Diversiteit'', PNVD) was a Dutch

political party A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...

with no representation in parliament, and only three known members . It is commonly called the ''"pedopartij"'' ("pedo party") in the media, due to its advocacy for legalization of

child pornography Child pornography (also called CP, child sexual abuse material, CSAM, child porn, or kiddie porn) is pornography that unlawfully exploits children for sexual stimulation. It may be produced with the direct involvement or sexual assault of a ...

and the lowering of the

age of consent The age of consent is the age at which a person is considered to be legally competent to consent to sexual acts. Consequently, an adult who engages in sexual activity with a person younger than the age of consent is unable to legally cla ...

. PNVD was originally founded on 31 May 2006 by three self-described pedophiles. Its motto is "

sapere aude ''Sapere aude'' is the Latin phrase meaning "Dare to know"; and also is loosely translated as “Have courage to use your own reason”, "Dare to know things through reason", or even more loosely as "Dare to be wise". Originally used in the '' F ...

" ("Have courage to use your own reason"). PNVD has not participated in any election. In 2006, it did not receive the 30 signatures from each of the 19 Dutch electoral regions it would need to get on the ballot for the 2006 elections. On 14 March 2010, the party was dissolved. The party was restarted on 7 August 2020, with its website. Its former leader Marthijn Uittenbogaard has announced he will not be a part of the party.

Platform

According to their official statement, the PNVD's platform aimed to maximize diversity and liberty. They proposed allowing individuals, from the age of 12, to vote, have sex, gamble, choose their place of residence, and use soft drugs. Hard drugs would be legal at 16, as that would be the new

age of majority The age of majority is the threshold of legal adulthood as recognized or declared in law. It is the moment when minors cease to be considered such and assume legal control over their persons, actions, and decisions, thus terminating the contr ...

. They also intended to eliminate

marriage Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

in the law, permit public nudity anywhere in the country, make railway travel free, and institute a comprehensive

animal rights Animal rights is the philosophy according to which many or all sentient animals have moral worth that is independent of their utility for humans, and that their most basic interests—such as avoiding suffering—should be afforded the s ...

platform. They were opposed to

immigration Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, ...

and religious elementary schools.

Sexuality

The PNVD sought to have the legal

lowered to 12, and, in the long run, completely eliminated (except in dependent or intrafamilial relationships). They reason that only "coerced" or "dangerous" sexual activity should be punished. They also aimed to equalize the legal age where one can perform in pornography with the legal age of consent. Prostitution would be legal at the age of 16. The PNVD wanted to legalise private use of

(calling outlawing thereof "censorship" in the platform) and allow non-violent pornography to be screened on daytime television. Their platform also included legalization of humans engaging in sex with animals. Treasurer Van den Berg claimed that, "Rearing is also about introducing children to sex". Because of their controversial viewpoints on children and sexuality, they were often called the "paedo-party" by the people and in the media. Also, the party's platform called for separate imprisonment facilities for

sex offender A sex offender (sexual offender, sex abuser, or sexual abuser) is a person who has committed a sex crime. What constitutes a sex crime differs by culture and legal jurisdiction. The majority of convicted sex offenders have convictions for crim ...

s, arguing that the country would otherwise have indirect torture laws.

Animal rights

The PNVD ultimately aimed to establish a universal

treaty A treaty is a formal, legally binding written agreement between actors in international law. It is usually made by and between sovereign states, but can include international organizations, individuals, business entities, and other legal per ...

guaranteeing all animals basic rights. In addition, the party planned to heavily restrict

animal testing Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...

and completely prohibit the consumption of meat and fish: they viewed the killing of animals, no matter what purpose it serves, as

murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the ...

. Industries currently depending on the sale of animal meat would receive provisional financial support from the government. Hunting and fishing for sport would also be banned. The party also supported laws criminalizing the "sexual maltreatment" of animals.

Controversy and legal challenges

Many of the party's positions, particularly those involving children, were widely unpopular among the Dutch public. In a May 2006 opinion poll, 82% of respondents wanted the Dutch government to stop the party from competing in the elections. The anti-pedophile foundation "Soelaas" petitioned the courts to ban the party, but the judges ruled in the PNVD's favour. "The freedom of expression, the freedom of assembly and the freedom of association … should be seen as the foundations of the democratic rule of law and the PNVD is also entitled to these freedoms," the court said in a statement. The party's ties to paedophile activism have also drawn much attention: Marthijn Uittenbogaard (who also starred in the controversial documentary '' Are All Men Pedophiles?'') was earlier the treasurer of

Vereniging MARTIJN Vereniging Martijn (; "Martijn Association"; stylized as MARTIJN) was a Dutch association that advocated the societal acceptance of pedophilia and legalization of sexual relationships between adults and children. Establishment The organization ...

, an organization which advocates romantic and sexual relationships between adults and children, and all of its founders have identified as pedophiles. The treasurer, Ad van den Berg (then 43), was convicted in 1987 for a relationship with an eleven-year-old boy. He was fined and given a suspended prison sentence. The Dutch television show " Netwerk" monitored Van den Berg for three months. They discovered that he still has an under-age boyfriend. In June 2006, Norbert de Jonge was expelled from his

special education Special education (known as special-needs education, aided education, exceptional education, alternative provision, exceptional student education, special ed., SDC, or SPED) is the practice of educating students in a way that accommodates th ...

course at the

Radboud University Nijmegen Radboud University (abbreviated as RU, nl, Radboud Universiteit , formerly ''Katholieke Universiteit Nijmegen'') is a public research university located in Nijmegen, the Netherlands. The university bears the name of Saint Radboud, a 9th century ...

, owing to his involvement with the party and identification as a pedophile. The party's name was abbreviated as NVD at its formation, but shortly thereafter, the security company sought a legal order to have the party change their initials, saying that the party using the same abbreviation violated their trademark and harmed their reputation. The challenge was successful, and the party changed its initials to PNVD.

References

External links