THE HAGUE--The Dutch Caribbean countries’ right of self-determination has been in place since the establishing of the United Nations (UN) Charter in 1945 and up to this day the right still exists. This right has been acknowledged by the Dutch government multiple times and by now is even considered an “unwritten Kingdom right”.
Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops stated this in response to written questions submitted by Member of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party. Bosman had asked for detailed information about the decolonisation process of the former Netherlands Antilles and the position of the Dutch government regarding the right of self-determination.
Knops explained that further legal analysis of Article 73 of the UN Charter showed that the right of self-determination of the Dutch Caribbean islands is of a post-colonial nature. However, this legal outline of the status has no legal consequences for the islands, because they can still unilaterally decide to depart the Kingdom.
“This unilateral possibility of departure has, in any case since the process to independence of Suriname in 1974-1975, been acknowledged multiple times by the partners within the Kingdom,” stated Knops. He noted that this possibility had been so widely accepted that it has the status of “unwritten Kingdom right”.
Approval of the Kingdom partners is necessary if a country/island opts for a change of constitutional status within the Kingdom. “If a Caribbean country/island doesn’t want to leave the Kingdom, but change its status within the Kingdom, then it can, in all freedom and based on the right of self-determination, make its choice for a desired status and enter into consultations with the other partners in the Kingdom.”
According to Knops, negotiations about future constitutional relations between a colonial territory and the state that governs the territory are not part of the execution of the right of self-determination by a colonial territory. “Negotiations taking place in no way means that automatically the free choice of a colonial territory for a specific political status is being limited.”
Responding to Bosman’s questions about UN Resolution 1514 that deals with decolonisation, Knops explained that if a territory is no longer listed by the UN as a colonial or non-self-governing territory, Resolution 1514 no longer applies. This situation is applicable to the Netherlands Antilles and Suriname since the integration into the Kingdom with the signing of the Charter in 1954.
Bosman had also asked about another UN resolution, number 1541, in regard to the integration of St. Eustatius into the Netherlands without the people of the island having chosen specifically this option in a referendum. UN Resolution 1541 deals with the right of self-determination in a colonial phase.
“The integration of St. Eustatius took place in 2010, long after the colonial phase was concluded for the Netherlands Antilles with the establishing of the Charter and the subsequent removal from the list of non-self-governing territories,” Knops noted. The right of self-determination remained in the post-colonial phase after 1954. The UN removed Suriname and the Netherlands Antilles from the list of non-self-governing states in 1955.
Knops described the process that resulted in a change in the constitutional status of St. Eustatius. A majority of the Statia people during the 2005 referendum chose to stay in the Netherlands Antilles. However, this option appeared unachievable considering the outcome of the referenda in Curaçao, St. Maarten, Bonaire and Saba.
The Statia Island Council then moved to expressing its willingness to arrive at new constitutional relations. Statia’s representatives on various occasions approved the proposals for new constitutional relations during the decision-making process that involved all islands and Kingdom partners.
International law recognises a range of democratic methods to determine the will of a people, and even though the integration of St. Eustatius within the Dutch Constellation was not the first choice of the Statia people, they did, through their representatives, make a final choice as part of a democratic process, Knops stated.
MP Bosman in his list of questions several times referred to and quoted from the written statement the Dutch Kingdom submitted to the International Court in February 2018 in which the Dutch government shared its view on the right of self-determination.
Knops emphasised that the written statement did not concern the Dutch Caribbean, but a legal procedure at the International Court on the decolonisation process of Mauritius, a former French/British colony which obtained independence in 1968.
Because the written statement did not directly concern the Dutch Caribbean, the islands were not consulted. The written statement was merely a process document in an advisory procedure and was made public by the International Court at the start of the hearing.
