WILLEMSTAD - On January 12th, Fundashon Nos Grandinan (FNG) submitted an additional formal request to the Government of Curaçao, seeking the exploration of an intergovernmental arrangement concerning the General Old Age Pension (AOV) pursuant to Article 38 of the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
FNG notes that an earlier formal request was submitted on January 5th, seeking the extension of applicability of Article 23 of the European Social Charter to Curaçao, with the aim of explicitly anchoring the rights of older persons as human rights. The request of January 12th constitutes a substantive follow-up step, directed at structural solutions for the position of older persons within the Kingdom.
The immediate reason for this additional request is the observation that the AOV in Curaçao, despite recent policy measures, structurally lags behind old-age provisions in other parts of the Kingdom and, when measured against objective standards, remains below the poverty threshold. According to FNG, this is not merely a national issue, but a matter of legal equality and coherence within the Kingdom.
Article 38 of the Charter provides the possibility for intergovernmental arrangements between the countries of the Kingdom in order to safeguard shared interests. Such an arrangement may focus on standard-setting, indexation methodologies, linkage to objective benchmarks such as the subsistence minimum, as well as governance and oversight, without entailing financial redistribution between the countries.
FNG emphasizes that, at this stage, the request for an intergovernmental arrangement is focused on the AOV. However, the broader social security system inherently also includes provisions such as the AVBZ, survivors’ benefits and supplementary pension schemes, including pension funds. Taken together, these systems form the foundation of income security and dignified ageing and may, where necessary, become the subject of intergovernmental coordination at a later stage.
FNG further points out that persistent structural shortcomings in the AOV raise concerns not only within the Kingdom, but are also internationally visible and subject to scrutiny in light of applicable international human rights norms. Structural deficiencies in social protection may expose the Kingdom of the Netherlands as a whole to international criticism and accountability.
Precisely in order to prevent such escalation, including the need to resort to ultimum remedia such as Kingdom-level legislation on the AOV or other forms of Kingdom intervention, FNG considers it prudent and in the common interest to opt in a timely manner for an intergovernmental arrangement pursuant to Article 38 of the Charter.
Such an arrangement allows for coordination and standard-setting without undermining the financial autonomy of the Caribbean countries Aruba and Sint Maarten, nor that of the BES islands, while contributing to stability, legal equality and the reputational protection of the Kingdom as a whole.
FNG emphasizes that this request forms part of a phased and constructive approach, beginning with the normative and constitutional framework and subsequently working step by step towards sustainable and legally anchored solutions. The request is aimed at strengthening the legal position and legal protection of older persons, as well as their general protection, and at safeguarding dignified ageing, legal certainty, social security and subsistence security for all older persons in Curaçao, with full respect for the policy autonomy of the countries within the Kingdom.