PM Silveria Jacobs
PHILIPSBURG--Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs has called “highly premature” the resubmission of the petition on behalf of the Parliament of St. Maarten to the United Nations’ Special Rapporteur on Contemporary Forms of Racism, Racial Discrimination, Xenophobia and Related Intolerance, and the Working Group of Experts on People of African Descent.
However, Chairperson of Parliament Grisha Heyliger-Marten said in an invited comment that she was simply executing the mandate outlined in the motion of November 5, 2020, which “mandates the chair of Parliament to communicate with any and all third parties on its behalf where it concerns all matters related to this motion and it’s execution.”
The petition was first filed on March 9, 2021, by the Washington -based law firm
Choharis Law Group and was amended and reinstated on February 16, 2022. The petition requests an investigation into violations of a UN mandate right to a full measure of self-government for the people of St. Maarten.
Jacobs said in a press statement on Friday that she learned on the evening of Wednesday, February 23, that an amended or adjusted petition was submitted on behalf of the Parliament of St. Maarten without prior consultation with the parliamentary Committee for Constitutional Affairs and Decolonization (CCAD), the Parliament as representatives of the people, or the Government of St. Maarten.
Jacobs said that after the initial petition was submitted to the UN, the local discussion surrounded the non-inclusion of the Constitutional Affairs and Decolonization Committee, the Parliament and the people of St. Maarten.
“As a representative of the people of St. Maarten, Members of Parliament have a duty to ensure that laws and practices are consistent with common ethical principles and local legal obligations being met. As such, Prime Minister Jacobs is of the opinion that the necessary consultation did not take place and that this should still be done, prior to submission of any petitions on behalf of St. Maarten,” it was stated in the release.
“These actions without the necessary dialogue between the above-mentioned stakeholders, especially in this new era of improved relations being forged between St. Maarten’s government and the State Secretary of Kingdom Relations [and Digitization – Ed.] Alexandra van Huffelen, can be seen as counterproductive to open and transparent dialogue between Kingdom partners.
“Parliament at all times is expected to champion the rights of the people whom they represent. However, it should be done in consultation with and approval of its members in a strategic manner.”
Additionally, Jacobs and the Council of Ministers are still awaiting the comprehensive multi-annual plan which was promised in accordance with MP Heyliger-Marten’s motion related to the petition of June 30, 2021, wherein the timeline and proposed actions would be submitted to government for review.
“Once received, an extensive review will be carried out and comprehensive feedback provided by the government of St. Maarten via the Prime Minister to the House of Parliament. As such, this action of re-submission of the petition, supposedly on behalf of the Parliament and by extension the people of St. Maarten, is deemed highly premature, and we look forward to this being rectified soonest in the interest of openness and transparency between the executive and legislative branches of government,” Jacobs said.
Unfortunate
Heyliger-Marten told The Daily Herald that it is unfortunate that there seems to be a difference of interpretation and expectations between the Chair of Parliament and both the Chairlady of the CCAD and the Prime Minister. She said the updated petition was booked in on February 18 and was therefore available to Parliament for more than a week. “As Chair of Parliament, I was simply executing the mandate outlined in the motion of November 5, 2020.”
She said, “Since the petition aims to get clarity on the COHO [Caribbean Body for Reform and Development] from an international legal perspective, it also is in line with the motion that was unanimously passed by Parliament on July 8, 2020, which resolves that the COHO should be in compliance with local, Kingdom and international laws. As for my coalition partners, if they are disappointed at me for not sharing the amended petition with them before re-submitting it, then I humbly apologise for this.”
Changes to petition
Since the petition was first filed, a request had been sent to the Dutch government to respond. The request is usually general questions for which answers are being sought, which occurred throughout 2021.
This newspaper understands that changes to the resubmitted petition include the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination (CERD) report in summary form, and what the reaction was from the Dutch government. The CERD recommendations indicated that the Netherlands would have to dialogue with the Dutch countries and work towards (more) autonomy and elimination of racism/inequality.
The COHO statement to which former State Secretary for Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops objected was toned down. A few citations were added for the UN High commission for Human Rights about the legacies of slavery and showed that events that were happening in St. Maarten and the other Dutch Caribbean countries were linked to that legacy of colonialism and slavery.
Also added were a table of contents, updated conclusions and more data about conditions in the island’s environment, elderly, children and prison, amongst other things.
