WILLEMSTAD - Igualdat Kòrsou (Equality Curaçao) is grateful for the Members of Parliament Giselle Mac William and Stephen Walroud for submitting a Bill on the Adjustment of Legal Marriage to the Parliaemnt of Curaçao. This is a bill prepared by the legal team of Igualdat Kòrsou, which was presented to Mrs. Mac William during the Curaçao Pride Walk October 2018, with support from the FOKO and Curaçao Gay Pro organizations. This bill makes it possible for all adult couples in Curaçao, who want this, to get married.
When parliament adopts this bill, Curaçao will comply with the European Court of Human Rights judgment of 2015, which requires all its affiliated member states to ensure that cohabiting couples have the same rights in their country, regardless of their sexual orientation.
With this, Curaçao is also taking a major step forward in combating homophobia and discrimination against people with a non-heterosexual preference, which is contrary to the current Constitution of Curaçao, the Constitution of the Kingdom and many treaties in which Curaçao participates.
Igualdat Kòrsou emphasizes that this law does not violate the religious marriage and the marriage of couples who are already traditionally married at the Civil Registry, but that it opens the way for same-sex couples to enjoy the rights and duties associated to a civil marriage.
This is also in line with the principle of the separation of Church and State, which is the basis for the constitution, laws and democratic system of Curaçao. Equal treatment of all residents of Curaçao is one of the most sacred principles of our democracy.
Igualdat Korsou praises the courage and principle of attitude on this theme of these two Members of Parliament, and trusts that the majority of their colleagues will follow their example. With this, Curaçao is joining the growing group of modern countries that want to combat all forms of unlawful discrimination, of which homophobia is one of the most persistent alongside racism and sexism.
