Sunday, 8 December 2013 - 09:51

Human trafficking, prostitution in Dutch Caribbean to be investigated

The Second Chamber has adopted a motion to initiate an independent inquiry into human trafﬁcking and prostitution in the Dutch Caribbean. The motion was brought by the ChristianUnion and the Labour Party PvdA.

Member of Parliament (MP) Gert-Jan Segers of the Christian Union and co-signer Roelof van Laar of the Labour Party PvdA said an investigation is warranted because the countries Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten and the Dutch public entities Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba were mentioned as destinations and departure points for human trafﬁcking in the “Trafﬁcking of Persons” report of the United States Department of State.

The ChristianUnion and PvdA are concerned about human trafﬁcking that takes place via the islands and the presence of forced prostitution and sexual abuse, which often are linked to human trafﬁcking.

According to Segers and Van Laar, little is known about the extent of human trafﬁcking and forced prostitution on the islands. Segers said during the handling of the 2014 draft Kingdom Relations budget last week that he was sure the issues had the attention of the Dutch Government, but that he wanted to obtain a view of the policy effects to curb human trafﬁcking and forced prostitution, the cooperation with the other countries in this area and the care for victims.

The motion called on the Dutch Government to consult with the governments of Aruba, Curaçao and St. Maarten and to cooperate with Bonaire, St. Eustatius and Saba.