UN’s Zwarte Piet critic is an ‘unpaid volunteer’ says Belgian paper / Amsterdam mayor was right to licence Sinterklaas parade: highest Dutch court

The United Nations official who said the Netherlands' Sinterklaas festivities should be scrapped because Zwarte Piet is a throw-back to slavery is a volunteer who is not paid by the UN and does not speak on behalf of the organisation, according to Belgian newspaper De Morgen.

There had been an outcry in the Netherlands since Verene Shepherd made her comments about Zwarte Piet and racism on a television programme in October 2013. But according to UN spokesman Xabier Celaya in De Morgen, Shepherd is an 'independent expert chosen by member states'.

Sinterklaas is also celebrated in Belgium and the festivities there also include Zwarte Piet.

• Primary Source

Wikipedia: Sinterklaas http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sinterklaas

UN: OHCHR: Your Human Rights: Racism: WGAfricanDescent: Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent http://www.ohchr.org/EN/Issues/Racism/WGAfricanDescent/Pages/WGEPADIndex.aspx

Blog: Gulf Stream Blues, 23.10.13: Dutch rally around 'Right to be racist' http://gulfstreamblues.blogspot.co.uk/2013/10/dutch-rally-round-right-to-be-racist.html

DutchNews.nl, 23.10.13: Save Zwarte Piet petition claims 500,000 likes in a few hours http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2013/10/save_zwarte_piet_petition_clai.php

De Volkskrant, 18.08.14: Don't politicise Sinterklaas celebrations (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE148783-Don-t-politicise-Sinterklaas-celebrations

Dutch News.nl, 11.08.14: Zwarte Piet activist quits negotiations http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/08/zwarte_piet_activist_quits_neg.php

Dutch News.nl, 12.11.14: Amsterdam mayor was right to licence Sinterklaas parade: highest Dutch court http://www.dutchnews.nl/news/archives/2014/11/58124.php/

De Volkskrant, 13.11.14: Fanatics have ruined Dutch St. Nicholas fest (via Euro|Topics) http://www.eurotopics.net/en/home/presseschau/archiv/aehnliche/archiv_article/ARTICLE153585-Fanatics-have-ruined-Dutch-St-Nicholas-fest

---