THE HAGUE--The Dutch delegation attending the Inter-Parliamentary Consultation of the Kingdom IPKO this week in St. Maarten is doing its job in a careful manner, and in no way acts disrespectfully, it stated in a press release on Thursday.
“Taking a definite standpoint before the handling of the law has started makes it look like the work of both the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament and the Parliaments of Curaçao, Aruba and St. Maarten would not be necessary anymore. We are carefully performing our jobs. That does not show disrespect, to the contrary. The voters of all countries of the Kingdom have a right to this,” the statement said.
Several members of the Dutch Caribbean delegations expressed their discontent in the media about the stance of the Dutch delegation during the IPKO meetings on issues such as the migration from Venezuela to Curaçao and Aruba, and the draft Kingdom Law to establish a dispute regulation for the Kingdom.
The members of the parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten accused their Dutch colleagues of dodging their responsibilities by refusing to lift the Venezuela migration issue to the level of the Kingdom. Concerning the dispute regulation issue, the Dutch Caribbean parliaments are disappointed that the Dutch delegation does not want to take a position on the fact that the recently-submitted law proposal deviated from what was agreed on during a previous IPKO.
Dutch delegation leader Jan Paternotte said on Thursday during the IPKO that the meetings were always conducted in an open, honest and respectful manner in the past. “However, that has not been the case in the past few days. Some statements in the media make it unnecessarily difficult to cooperate. The Dutch delegation is here with the intention to cooperate,” he said.
In response to a number of media reports, the Dutch delegation found it important to release an official statement on Thursday in regard to the law proposal to establish a dispute regulation (“geschillenregeling”) for the Kingdom and to make clear where things are.
The Kingdom Government has submitted the draft law to the Second Chamber. In accordance with the law procedure, the law proposal has also been sent to the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten. In the past years, the delegations at the IPKO have made a joint effort to persuade the Kingdom Government to take its responsibility to submit a Kingdom Law Dispute Regulation proposal.
“Members of each of the four parliaments are now in the position to do their job as a representative of the people by making use of the possibilities that the Kingdom Law trajectory offers to give an important law the necessary attention that it deserves,” it was stated.
The Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations of the Second Chamber recently expressed the desire to seek advice from the Kingdom Council of State regarding the law proposal in question. As soon as the preparatory phase in writing is completed, the plenary handling can take place in the Second Chamber.
Special delegates of the three Dutch Caribbean parliaments and the Ministers Plenipotentiary can participate in the plenary meeting. The delegates can submit motions and amendments, but they cannot vote.
“The Dutch delegation is looking forward to a fundamental debate, also in terms of content, on the law proposal, starting in the Second Chamber, with the participation of the colleagues of the parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten.”
The intention is to have the plenary meeting in the Second Chamber take place prior to the IPKO meetings that will be held in The Hague in June this year.
