WILLEMSTAD – The Curaçao Parliament is preparing for a busy week with four meetings scheduled between September 7 and 11, including the formal opening of the 2026-2027 parliamentary year and debates on slavery, labor abuse and public access to Curaçao's beaches.
Parliament will begin its activities on Monday, September 7, at 9:00 a.m. with the final public meeting of the 2025-2026 parliamentary year. In addition to handling incoming documents and approving minutes from previous meetings, members will debate the Kingdom's decision on March 25, 2026, to abstain from voting on a United Nations resolution concerning slavery.
That debate was requested by Members of Parliament Suzy Camelia-Römer, Giselle Mc William and Fergino Brownbill. The request was originally submitted in April.
Monday's meeting will conclude with Parliament President Brownbill formally closing the 2025-2026 parliamentary year.
A day later, on Tuesday, September 8, Parliament will hold a solemn meeting marking the official opening of the new 2026-2027 parliamentary year. The ceremony begins at 9:00 a.m. and will be presided over by Brownbill.
Parliament's substantive work will continue on Thursday, September 10, when the Central Committee meets with the Minister of Social Development, Labor and Welfare to discuss labor abuse. The meeting begins at 9:00 a.m.
The labor abuse discussion was placed on the agenda following a request submitted in May by MPs David Seferina, G.J.A. Doran and S.F. Pieternella.
The parliamentary week will conclude on Friday, September 11, with a public meeting focused on one of Curaçao's recurring public-policy debates: access to the island's beaches.
Members will meet with the Minister of Traffic, Transport and Urban Planning and the Minister of Public Health, Environment and Nature to discuss government policy concerning public access to Curaçao's beaches.
The beach-access debate was requested by MPs Quincy Girigorie, Shaheen Elhage, Giselle Mc William and Suzy Camelia-Römer in May.
All four meetings will take place in Parliament's meeting hall at Wilhelminaplein 4 in Willemstad.
The schedule makes the first week of the new parliamentary year immediately substantive, with Parliament moving from the ceremonial opening to debates involving Curaçao's position within the Kingdom, workers' rights and the longstanding question of public access to the island's coastline.