Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties reports:

The island governments of Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba are not accepting the government’s decision to retain the position of Kingdom Representative.

During the BES Summit, delegations from three islands decided to formally protest in The Hague. They emphasized that maintaining the Kingdom Representative (RV)—especially in its role of overseeing good governance—violates the agreements they made with then-State Secretary Van Huffelen. Some summit participants expressed unflattering comments about the national government.

Earlier this year, Van Huffelen’s successor, Szabo, unilaterally decided to revoke the agreement reached in March 2024 after two days of negotiations. Upon further consideration, he felt it was not a good idea to divide the tasks of the Kingdom Representative—as recommended by the Council of State—between the governors and the Minister of the Interior and Kingdom Relations. The island governments reacted furiously. A delegation immediately traveled to The Hague, but Szabo declined to meet them because an advisor had accompanied them.

For a while, there was a quiet hope that Eddie van Marum, as the new State Secretary for Kingdom Relations, would listen to the islands’ concerns, but last week this proved not to be the case. It also became clear that the new-style RV would oversee good governance more closely and would be given far-reaching powers to do so. The delegations participating in the BES Summit unanimously concluded that they would do everything in their power to secure their rights.

Meanwhile, the WoIBES Act, which sets out the new tasks and powers of the RV, has been submitted for online consultation. One of only three respondents is former clerk of the court Willem Cecilia. He writes, among other things: “Maintaining the Kingdom Representative constitutes a vote of no confidence in the local government and a serious infringement of Bonaire’s local autonomy. Constitutionally, this creates an anomaly that undermines the island’s special status, while internationally sending the wrong message in light of the jus cogens right to self-determination and UN resolutions.”

Dossier Koninkrijksrelaties.

In March 2024, the island governments reached an agreement with State Secretary Van Huffelen that the position of Kingdom Representative would be abolished.