THE HAGUE - Dutch Undersecretary of Justice and Security Ankie Broekers-Knol acknowledges that there is still room for improvement with regard to combating human trafficking in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom, but believes that it is primarily a matter for the countries themselves, whereby the Netherlands, if desired, can provide support.
This is apparent from her answer to the written questions of the members of the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament Ceder, Bikker (both Christian Union), Van den Berg and Kuik (both CDA).
The Undersecretary says that first and foremost, it must be stated that tackling human trafficking is a national matter. This means that Curaçao, Aruba and Sint Maarten are themselves responsible for the approach and for the policy choices made in it. The Netherlands is responsible for tackling human trafficking in the Caribbean Netherlands. The Netherlands does work closely with the other countries in the Kingdom on tackling human trafficking.
The Undersecretary did stress that the tackling of human trafficking has long been high on the agenda for the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. For example, on 28 January 2009, the first Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation to prevent and combat human trafficking and human smuggling was signed. This MoU stipulates, among other things, that cooperation between the countries will be intensified and that priority will be given to combating human trafficking. The last evaluation of the MoU took place in 2018 on the occasion of a three-day conference on Bonaire with multidisciplinary partners. The revised MoU was adopted during the Judicial Four-Party Consultation (JVO) of January 2019.
The images outlined in the reports of the Law Enforcement Council on tackling human trafficking and human smuggling in the Caribbean Netherlands, Curaçao and Sint Maarten are recognized. The cooperation and good official contacts also gave the undersecretary the impression that the countries are currently not yet able to sufficiently implement all the agreements made in the MoU.
“For the Caribbean Netherlands I can indicate that in recent years efforts have been made to implement multidisciplinary checks in vulnerable sectors, improve support for victims of human trafficking and increase awareness among professionals, the target group itself and the general public. Handbooks have also been drawn up for the reception and guidance of victims of human trafficking,” says the undersecretary.
As a result of previous reports, significant steps have been taken in improving the information position, for example by introducing and operationalizing the thematic register in the Caribbean Netherlands.
During the next Conference of Ministers of Justice, the ministers of the countries will discuss the possibilities of further strengthening the approach to human trafficking in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The results of the JVO will be embedded in the revision of the MoU in 2022.