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Published On: Wed, Mar 8th, 2023

MP Heyliger-Marten pushes for changes to the Kingdom Charter

PHILIPSBURG — Drastic reforms to the Kingdom Charter should be the only relevant topic for the next Inter-Parliamentary Kingdom Consultation (Ipko), Independent Mp Grisha Heyliger-Marten stated in a press release: “There are stacks and stacks of documentation pointing out that the Kingdom Charter does not and cannot work, and is not in compliance with international law.”

During the most recent IPKO-meeting in Curacao, MP Heyliger-Marten expressed her dissatisfaction with the fact that “the discussion about changing the Kingdom Charter seems to be avoided.”

All governments within the kingdom complain about the Charter’s structure and its deficient articles, but nobody seems to want to address the problems, the MP stated.

In Curacao, MP Heyliger-Marten attended the IPKO for the fourth time, noting that its participants “keep beating around the bush without making any changes for the betterment of our people, just to keep the fata morgana alive of  a so-called functioning kingdom based on equality.”

Heyliger-Marten said that she is tired of this repetitive process. ”It is time for our parliaments to call a spade a spade. We need to make definitive decisions about where we want to go with our respective populations and the kingdom, why and how.”

The MP pointed to the article 73 fact sheet, motions from all parliaments in the kingdom, court proceedings, and reports from the CERD (Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination), saying: “I don’t know what else is needed to substantiate that we cannot continue with these dysfunctional and abusive relationships within an unlawful Kingdom Charter.”

Changing the Charter to something that abides by international law is not complicated, Heyliger-Marten says. “List the articles in the Charter that violate international law and cause complications in the relationship between the kingdom partners and either scrap or amend them. It is really that simple because we know exactly which articles we are talking about.”

The independent MP does not want to stop there and calls for a screening of all current laws within the kingdom to check whether they comply with international law. She intends to send a letter with the relevant request to the chair of parliament in Philipsburg, Prime Minister Silveria Jacobs, the Dutch Parliament and First Chamber and the Kingdom Council of Ministers.

Heyliger-Marten furthermore stated that she is pleased with the IPKO’s decision that all parliaments should be involved in the preparation for the kingdom conference and that they should also be represented there. “This is how it should be, since the parliaments are the ones who ultimately have to approve amendments to the Kingdom Charter and any other laws.”

Her focus remains on fundamental changes to the Kingdom Charter. “If we are not willing to do that we might as well stop organizing IPKO’s and dismantle the Kingdom Charter once and for all, instead of continuing to chase an illusion for another 68 years.”