Statement St. Maarten and the Netherlands as released following talks in The Hague on Wednesday evening:
"St. Maarten and the Netherlands jointly tackle the strengthening of law enforcement in St. Maarten. St. Maarten Minister of Justice Richardson and his Dutch colleagues Minister of Home Affairs and Kingdom Relations Plasterk and Minister of Security and Justice Van der Steur have discussed this today [Wednesday, ED.]
"The Judicial Four Parties Consultation (periodic consultation between the Justice Ministers of St. Maarten, the Netherlands, Curaçao and Aruba) have agreed earlier this year that the law enforcement needs to be strengthened. The Ministers emphasize that strengthening of the St. Maarten Police Force KPSM and an effective trackling of border-transgressing and undermining crime and corruption is in the best interest of the people of St. Maarten and of the Kingdom.
"The protocol establishing the Integrity Chamber and strengthening of the law enforcement, as agreed upon by St. Maarten and the Netherlands on May 24, 2015, remains in effect. An independent Integrity Chamber will be established for St. Maarten. Other agreements will be worked out to give content to the protocol regarding the tackling of border-transgressing and undermining crime, money laundering, drug trafficking, armed robberies, human trafficking and smuggling."
