THE HAGUE - Dutch Member of Parliament for the D66 party Maarten Groothuizen will again ask parliamentary questions about the treatment and reception of Venezuelan refugees in Curaçao. Since the last parliamentary questions, in 2018, the situation has not changed enough, he says. "The Netherlands must offer more intensive assistance and better supervision."
Groothuizen was on the island for the first time last week and was shocked by the circumstances in the barracks where Venezuelan refugees are being held. He is also disappointed with the implementation of procedures and the progress of new reception.
“I have seen how eleven people are detained in a room 23 hours a day and only allowed one hour outside to air. That sometimes for four months. That is an unheard of situation in the Kingdom of the Netherlands and below levels. We even have a minimum standard for people who have to serve a prison sentence.”
During his visit, Groothuizen also saw that although new improved cells have been built, they are not yet in use because the locks are missing. “They are still waiting for that. I find that so remarkable because it is not a very large project and it has been running since March.”
According to Groothuizen, the same case also applies to the implementation of the asylum and deportation procedures: “People from the IND (Dutch Immigration and Naturalization Service) have given training in Curaçao. But then I hear stories of refugees being held for longer because they cannot afford a return ticket. That is not possible.”
As a Kingdom partner and EU country, according to the D66 Member of Parliament, the Netherlands has “a responsibility and must therefore take a step up in improving and monitoring the situation for Venezuelan refugees in Curaçao.”
The only question is whether new parliamentary questions will take care of this. Earlier in an interview with Caribbean Network, Undersecretary Knops said "that the reception of Venezuelan refugees is a country affair and therefore a responsibility of the islands themselves and not of the Netherlands.”
“I find that a bit odd coming from Mr. Knops," Groothuizen responds. “We have agreed in the Kingdom that there is a guarantee function when it comes to human rights and that this is not a country affair but a Kingdom affair. That means that the Netherlands, as the largest country in the Kingdom, cannot just look away.”
The Venezuelan refugee crisis on Curacao has been ongoing since 2014 and since 2018, Curaçao and the Netherlands have been criticized several times by human rights organizations.
The Ombudsman of Curaçao, Keursly Concincion, also concluded in 2018 that Curaçao's violation policy violates the European Convention on Human Rights. Since 2017, the government has taken over the aliens’ procedure from the UN refugee organization UNHCR. The Ombudsman showed in the destructive report of 2018 that this procedure is not yet in effect.
“The fact that Mr Groothuizen is discussing the situation of Venezuelan migrants in the Dutch parliament is a positive development in itself,” Concincion responds. “It seems to me that there must now be concrete cooperation at implementation level in order to achieve the desired improvements. The Curaçao parliament also has a role to play in this.”
There are also countless parliamentary questions about the situation. But still little has changed, to what extent do the parliamentary questions of Groothuizen make sense?
“You never know that,” says Groothuizen. “But I also think politics is a matter of repeating and putting on the agenda. I really do not believe that my questions will change the situation immediately.”
Undersecretary Knops says that after the political recess (2 September) he will "further inform the parliament about the precise use of the reserved amount of 23.8 million euros and the agreements with the islands on this.”
Written by Natasja Gibbs
