THE HAGUE, WILLEMSTAD - In his report to the Dutch Parliament, the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations, Raymond Knops spoke about the Four-Party Consultation which is a meeting with the four ministers of Justice of the Kingdom.

Minister Knops held bilateral discussions with the Ministers of Justice of Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten.

He spoke with them about the challenges in the field of law enforcement and security, arising in part from the situation in Venezuela. Collaboration on improving (aliens) detention was also discussed.

At the request of members of the standing committee on Kingdom Relations of the Dutch Parliament who were part of the delegation at the beginning of January 2020 at the IPKO, Minister Knops spoke with the Minister of Justice of Curaçao about the long-term residence of at least one person in aliens detention at the SDKK prison. The Ministry of Justice of Curaçao has set the goal of allowing foreign nationals to stay in detention for as short a time as possible. The Minister of Justice of Curaçao indicated that this objective was indeed not achieved for at least one person. He has stated to me that the person concerned has been on the Interpol list, which influences his residence and (possible) deportation.

The Ministry of Justice of Curaçao, supported by the National Agency of Correctional Institutions, is working on a project and implementation plan to optimize the detention of foreigners. This is expected to be implemented in the second quarter of 2020. For this the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations reserved a total of 2 million euros. According to Minister Knops, the Minister of Justice of Curaçao has assured him at the end of 2019 to also include measures in this plan to improve the (living) conditions in the detention of aliens through, among other things, meaningful daytime activities and the construction of a multifunctional space, in which legal assistance can be provided.