THE HAGUE – The Netherlands considers it unlikely that a high-security forensic psychiatric clinic comparable to those in the European Netherlands can be established in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, despite acknowledging that existing treatment facilities are inadequate.
Dutch State Secretary for Justice and Security Claudia van Bruggen disclosed this position in written answers to parliamentary questions concerning the availability of forensic psychiatric treatment in Curaçao, Aruba, Sint Maarten and the Caribbean Netherlands.
Instead of establishing a large specialized institution, the Dutch government is working with the Caribbean countries on a multiyear program intended to develop treatment arrangements appropriate to the region's circumstances.
According to Van Bruggen, the relatively small populations of the Caribbean islands make it difficult to establish a fully equipped forensic psychiatric institution operating according to the European Dutch model.
The State Secretary indicated that alternative solutions are being explored through a Kingdom-wide program covering forensic psychiatric care, TBS measures and psychiatric treatment for juvenile offenders.
The initiative is intended to address longstanding weaknesses in the availability and implementation of specialized treatment for offenders with serious psychiatric disorders.
The Netherlands has committed financial resources, expertise and organizational support for a period of four to five years to support the program manager and the Kingdom-wide component of the initiative.
It is also financing a separate local project team for the Caribbean Netherlands, consisting of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba.
A Kingdom-wide program manager was appointed in April 2026, and initial activities have already begun.
These include professional training initiatives, particularly in psychiatric and psychological reporting, which can play an important role in criminal proceedings involving defendants with mental health conditions.
Under the program, participating countries are expected to develop an overarching plan of action alongside individual plans tailored to their respective circumstances.
Each country will have a project team responsible for identifying priorities and determining how improvements can be implemented within its justice and healthcare systems.
The objective is to develop an integrated approach involving the institutions responsible for criminal justice, forensic assessment, psychiatric treatment and the execution of judicial measures.
Progress will be discussed regularly during the Judicial Four-Party Consultation, known as the Justitieel Vierpartijenoverleg (JVO), which brings together the justice ministers of the Netherlands, Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten.
The multiyear program has been established as a standing agenda item at these meetings, allowing the four countries to review developments, record agreements and monitor their implementation.
Van Bruggen said the Dutch House of Representatives would receive a further report during October concerning the September 2026 meeting of the justice ministers.
The State Secretary also addressed the division of responsibilities within the Kingdom.
Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten are autonomous countries and remain responsible for their own criminal justice systems, including the imposition and execution of criminal sentences and forensic psychiatric measures.
The Dutch Ministry of Justice and Security has direct responsibility for the Caribbean Netherlands.
Nevertheless, Van Bruggen emphasized that the countries of the Kingdom cooperate and provide assistance to one another.
The issue also has an important human rights dimension.
In April 2016, the European Court of Human Rights delivered its judgment in the Murray case, finding that the Kingdom of the Netherlands had violated Article 3 of the European Convention on Human Rights in connection with the treatment of a prisoner serving a life sentence.
The case raised serious concerns about the absence of adequate psychiatric treatment and a realistic prospect of rehabilitation for prisoners with mental health conditions.
Van Bruggen confirmed that the Dutch government remains aware of the judgment and its implications.
She disclosed that the Kingdom submitted a new action plan to the Committee of Ministers of the Council of Europe on September 30, 2026, outlining measures being taken in response to the case.
The Committee of Ministers is responsible for supervising the execution of judgments delivered by the European Court of Human Rights.
The State Secretary said the action plan would be published by the committee.
The parliamentary questions also highlighted the limited availability of information about offenders awaiting specialized psychiatric treatment in the Caribbean.
Van Bruggen could not provide a comprehensive number of individuals awaiting TBS treatment in the autonomous Caribbean countries.
For comparison, she reported that approximately 270 individuals in the European Netherlands were waiting in correctional institutions for admission to specialized TBS treatment facilities.
These figures concern the European Netherlands and should not be interpreted as representing the situation in Curaçao or the other Caribbean islands.
The Dutch government's position leaves several important questions unresolved, including what form high-security forensic psychiatric treatment will ultimately take in the Caribbean, where patients requiring specialized care will be accommodated and how the participating countries will finance the necessary facilities over the longer term.
The program's success will depend on whether the countries can translate their cooperation into practical treatment arrangements that meet both judicial requirements and the needs of patients.
For Curaçao, the initiative could provide an opportunity to strengthen forensic psychiatric services through regional cooperation rather than attempting to establish an expensive specialized institution independently.
However, no specific completion date for a regional treatment facility or detailed country-by-country investment plan was announced in the parliamentary answers.