THE HAGUE - Questions from the Members of the Dutch Parliament Özütok, Diks and Van Ojik (all from the GroenLinks party) to the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, Foreign Trade and Development Society and the Undersecretary for the Interior and Kingdom Relations about Venezuelan conflict gold traded via Curaçao and Aruba (submitted July 5, 2019)
1. Do you know that gold from Venezuela is still traded via Curaçao (despite a ban) and Aruba? 1) If so, are these report correct?
2. Do you have insight into the nature and extent of the gold trade in the Caribbean Netherlands and Sint Maarten?
3. Can you explain how it is possible that Curaçao has exported at least 130,000 kg respectively in the last five years and Aruba has traded nearly 30,000 kg in the last two years, while neither Curaçao nor Aruba have gold mines?
4. Has the legal origin of these large quantities of gold been established and is it guaranteed that this gold will not be laundered through the countries? If not, what measures have been taken against this?
5. How does the trade of Venezuelan conflict gold through Curaçao and Aruba and possibly other Caribbean parts of the Kingdom relate to the Dutch recognition of Mr Guaidó as Venezuelan president and the Gold Covenant drawn up by the Netherlands in 2017, promising that the signatories will adhere to the guidelines for multinational companies of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD guidelines) and UN Guiding Principles for Business and Human Rights for corporate social responsibility?
6. Do you share the opinion that Venezuela does not comply in any way with the requirements of corporate social responsibility and that Venezuela is guilty of illegal mining, oppression and exploitation? If so, should it not be inferred that Venezuelan gold should not have been traded since 2017?
7. What measures do you intend to take, in close consultation with the Caribbean parts of the Kingdom and the Dutch Caribbean, to combat the import, transit and trade in Venezuelan conflict gold to prevent the Netherlands from trading in conflict minerals and indirectly related human rights violations?
8. How is it prevented that conflict minerals from Venezuela are traded in another way via the Netherlands?
