WILLEMSTAD – PAR Member of Parliament Shaheen Elhage is pressing Prime Minister Gilmar Pisas to explain how the Curaçao government intends to defend the country’s autonomous position within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, particularly when Kingdom positions on international affairs directly affect Curaçao.
In a letter dated September 17, Elhage formally submitted a series of questions to Pisas through Parliament President Fergino Brownbill, making use of Article 96 of Parliament’s Rules of Order.
The questions follow an open letter sent to the Curaçao government on July 2, 2025 by eight local organizations, including medical and human rights organizations. According to Elhage, the organizations called on the government to adopt its own reasoned and independent position, based on Curaçao’s autonomy, after the Dutch government asked Curaçao to consider measures concerning products originating from territories illegally occupied by Israel.
Elhage states that, more than a year later, the organizations have still not received a substantive response from the Curaçao government.
The parliamentarian links the matter to a motion adopted by the Curaçao Parliament on September 7, 2026. According to the letter, Parliament objected to the lack of consultation with Curaçao concerning a Kingdom position at the United Nations General Assembly.
The motion described the lack of consultation as unacceptable and called on the government to take a stronger and more independent position in defending Curaçao’s autonomy and its status as an autonomous country within the Kingdom when national interests are involved, including on international platforms.
Elhage argues that the issue exposes a broader question about what Curaçao’s autonomy means in practice. In his view, Curaçao cannot emphasize autonomy only in domestic affairs while remaining passive when Kingdom decisions on foreign and international matters could directly affect the island, its population and its interests.
He maintains that Curaçao should be properly consulted when Kingdom positions concern matters that directly affect the country. The same principle, he argues, should be reflected in how the Curaçao government represents local organizations and citizens within the Kingdom and internationally.
Elhage has submitted four questions to Pisas. He wants to know whether the government will finally provide a substantive response to the July 2025 open letter; what steps it will take to implement Parliament’s September 7 motion; how it will ensure Curaçao is properly consulted on future Kingdom positions affecting its interests; and whether the government intends to defend Curaçao’s own positions, organizations and population more consistently within the Kingdom and on international platforms.
According to Elhage, the debate should not be interpreted as being either for or against the Netherlands.
“The issue is about Curaçao and the responsibility of our government to defend the autonomy we have as a country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands,” the PAR parliamentarian argues in the letter.
He says Parliament has already signaled that insufficient consultation within the Kingdom is unacceptable and that it is now up to the Pisas government to demonstrate that the message has been heard and will result in concrete action.
“Autonomy is not only a principle that we must defend with words. Autonomy must be defended with action, both locally, within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and internationally,” Elhage states.
The PAR parliamentarian has asked Pisas to answer the questions within a reasonable period and no later than four weeks.