Delegation leader William Marlin.
PHILIPSBURG--A ten-person delegation, which includes nine Members of Parliament (MPs), left for the Netherlands to participate in the Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultations IPKO set for June 1-5, in The Hague.
The Netherlands is the host country. Delegations from the Parliaments of Aruba, Curaçao, and the Netherlands will also be participating.
The St. Maarten delegation consists of First Vice Chairman of Parliament, Chairman Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations and delegation leader William Marlin; MPs Rolando Brison (UP); Grisha Heyliger-Marten (independent); Melissa Gumbs (PFP); Sarah Wescot-Williams (UD); Chanel E. Brownbill (US Party); Christophe Emmanuel (independent); Akeem Arrindell (independent); Solange L. Duncan (independent); Ludmilla N.L. de Weever (independent) and Parliament’s Secretary General Garrick Richardson. The plenary sessions of the IPKO can be followed live via the Parliament’s official Facebook page, @sxmparliament.
IPKO will begin on Thursday, June 1, with opening remarks by the Chairperson of the IPKO, followed by speeches by the three delegation leaders of the Parliaments of the Countries. The opening speeches will be open to the public.
The four parliamentary delegations will be discussing a number of topics that include: recent developments in each country; a presentation by the quartermasters, John Leerdam, Peggy Brandon and David Brandwagt regarding the to be established National Slavery Museum; processing the colonial and slavery past: “filling in the space behind the comma,” Kingdom Conference; a presentation by Ed Nijpels on advice Climate Table Bonaire; and a presentation by the Ombudsman concerning a progress report on the report “Concerns of Caribbean students.” The programme will include work visits focused on climate change.
“The delegation of St. Maarten has been preparing for the last few weeks for its participation in these meetings. The Committee of Kingdom Affairs and Inter-Parliamentary Relations requested the necessary information from the government in writing and subsequently met with the government in a closed-door meeting to further discuss the topics,” the Parliament of St. Maarten said in a press statement.
The Inter-Parliamentary consultations will conclude on Monday, June 5, with the signing of an agreement list and a joint press conference by the four delegations. Today, Wednesday, May 31, the St. Maarten delegation will host and participate in a Tripartite meeting with delegations from the Parliaments of Aruba and Curaçao. The objective of this meeting is to prepare for the IPKO and to discuss topics of mutual interest.
