WILLEMSTAD - Members of Parliament Don Ceder (ChristenUnie) and Raoul White (GroenLinks/PvdA) have submitted a motion urging the government to extend the planned small-scale TBS (psychiatric detention) facility on Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius to also serve the CAS countries: Curaçao, Aruba, and Sint Maarten.
The motion calls on the State Secretary to ensure that residents of the CAS islands can also serve their TBS measures within the region, rather than being transferred to the Netherlands.
Currently, there are no TBS facilities in the Caribbean, meaning convicts are sent to the Netherlands. Ceder considers this undesirable and advocates for a regional solution. During the debate, he specifically asked whether the CAS countries could be involved in the development of the TBS facility and gain access to the planned facility on the BES islands.
The State Secretary responded cautiously to the motion, stating that a decision on the matter would be postponed until the Justice and Security budget discussions. He emphasized that the CAS countries are autonomous and responsible for their own forensic care.
Despite the call from Parliament, the involvement of the CAS countries in the development of the TBS facility remains unclear.
With this motion, Ceder and White hope to create a regional solution where all Caribbean parts of the Kingdom can access the facility. However, State Secretary Zsolt Szabó advised against the motion.