Equality lacking between the Netherlands and Dutch Caribbean, says Council of State

Residents of the Caribbean islands need to feel more equal to the Netherlands, according to the Council of State. The organization, one of the most important policy advisors to the executive and legislative branches of Dutch government, published a "spontaneous" memo out the Charter for the Kingdom of the Netherlands. This document sets out the relationship between the Netherlands, Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten and is celebrating its 70th anniversary this year.

The distribution of resources is extremely unequal, the Council's Advisory Division wrote in the document released on Wednesday. "The Netherlands has the upper hand in almost every respect (population, economy, finances, administrative strength), which leads to numerically unequal proportions."

This cannot be completely fixed, but a few measures could help the residents of the Caribbean islands in the Kingdom feel more equal. One of these measures would be to let residents of the Caribbean nations with Dutch citizenship vote in the elections for the Tweede Kamer, the lower house of Dutch parliament. Currently, the rule is that only people who have lived in the Netherlands for ten years or have worked in “public service” can vote.

As opposed to the three Caribbean countries in the Kingdom, the three Caribbean islands considered more like municipalities do have a voice in the Tweede Kamer and European Parliament elections. These are Bonaire, Sint Eustatius, and Saba, whose island councils also help determine the composition of the Eerste Kamer, the Dutch Senate.

Three plenipotentiary ministers are currently allowed to represent Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten in the Council of Ministers of the Kingdom. “Not an easy task,” as the Dutch ministers are in the majority, the Council of State wrote. As such, the plenipotentiary ministers should be given more opportunities to express their opinions.

According to the Council of State, changing the Charter or the Constitution is not necessary. That time and energy can be better invested in legislative possibilities to change national laws, youth regulations, and municipal ordinances.

Prime Minister Dick Schoof has already received the policy statement. He wrote on X, “The Cabinet is going to study the advice.”