Netherlands minister for Legal Protection LeFranc Weerwind, said that the Dutch government will apologize next month for its role in slavery during its colonial history. 

According to media reports, the Dutch government also plans to spend 200 million euros to raise awareness about the role of colonial powers in slavery and to spend 27 million euros to open a slave museum.

The decision follows a recommendation from an advisory panel last year that the government acknowledged the transatlantic slave trade between the 17th and 19th centuries as a crime against humanity, for which the Dutch government apologized.

United Nations General Assembly Resolution 62/122 established the Transatlantic Slave Trade and Slavery Awareness Programme and designated March 25 each year as the International Day of Remembrance for Victims of Slavery and the Transatlantic Slave Trade.  Remembrance Day ceremonies and events will be held at UN Headquarters in New York and UN offices around the world on that day.