State Secretary Raymond Knops (second from left) during a debate with the Second Chamber’s Permanent Committee for Kingdom Relations on Wednesday. (Suzanne Koelega photo)
THE HAGUE--The fact that repair work takes place at the Pointe Blanche prison in preparation for the return of some fifty prisoners from abroad is positive, but Dutch State Secretary of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Raymond Knops says St. Maarten’s law enforcement system requires larger, structural investments.
The agreement that St. Maarten has to pay per November 1, 2018, the bill of having the prisoners locked up in Curaçao and the Netherlands is a good incentive for the local government to get the reconstruction work at the Pointe Blanche prison done, he said during a debate with the Second Chamber of the Dutch Parliament on Wednesday.
Because of the severe damage Hurricane Irma caused to the Pointe Blanche prison, 59 inmates were transferred to prisons in Curaçao and the Netherlands early November 2017. With the outer wall having caved in and the extensive damage to the building itself, authorities decided to transfer the more dangerous prisoners.
Curaçao and the Netherlands bore the cost of these prisoners for a year, but not anymore, said Knops. Per November 1, 2018, the bill goes to Philipsburg. The intention was for the inmates to return to St. Maarten per that date, but the prison was not ready to receive them, he explained.
Once the ongoing reconstruction at the prison has been completed, the inmates will be able to return. Knops did not give a date for this return, but he said that the fact that the bill was now going to Philipsburg was a good incentive for the St. Maarten authorities to repair the prison.
However, repairing the prison is not enough. St. Maarten needs to structurally reserve sufficient funds on its budget and make substantial investments in its law enforcement system. “The situation in St. Maarten has not been what it should be for years. The prison was already in bad shape, but the hurricane damage made the deficiencies even more visible,” said Knops.
The St. Maarten government until now has done little about the urgent calls by the Dutch government, the St. Maarten Progress Committee that supervises the execution of the Plans of Approach for the prison and the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM, and the Council for Law Enforcement to invest in the overall law enforcement system. In practice this means reserving funds on the budget.
“There is barely any progress. It’s not that nothing is happening, but it is too little and it takes too long. Without those investments, you create a risk for your community. Even though law enforcement is an autonomous task, I will keep reminding the St. Maarten government of its responsibility. The Netherlands is providing assistance, but it starts with the political goodwill of the St. Maarten government,” said Knops.
Member of the Second Chamber Nevin Özütok of the green left party GroenLinks expressed her deep concerns about the human rights situation at the St. Maarten prison and the police cells. “The inhumane detention conditions have already resulted in several slaps on the wrist of the St. Maarten government and the Kingdom. Yet, St. Maarten doesn’t adhere to agreements to make investments.”
André Bosman of the liberal democratic VVD party asked Özütok what in her opinion should happen to improve the human rights. “St. Maarten so far has refused to substantially invest in the law enforcement system. What does GroenLinks think about intervention by the Kingdom?”
Özütok replied that a severe violation of human rights and the continuous inhumane detention facilities would be a reason for GroenLinks to support intervention. She asked Knops if he didn’t find it worrisome that St. Maarten inmates who were housed abroad for more than a year would have to return to an inhumane detention situation. “Should the St. Maarten prison not be placed under stricter supervision?”
The Dutch and St. Maarten governments in October 2018 signed an agreement to have a series of improvement measures carried out at the prison. Because “putting things on paper is not sufficient,” Knops said he would keep a close watch on whether St. Maarten stuck to its word to implement the measures which should result in “significant” improvements at the prison.
Dutch Minister of Justice and Security Ferd Grapperhaus informed the Second Chamber the following day, Thursday, that he would be visiting St. Maarten, Curaçao and Aruba in May to discuss further avenues of cooperation with the individual ministers of justice.
