On 5 and 6 October, the Director of Human Rights, Clare Ovey, and a representative of the Department for the Execution of Judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, visited Curaçao, an autonomous country in the Kingdom of the Netherlands*.

The visit was organised by the Permanent Representation of the Kingdom of the Netherlands in Strasbourg in cooperation with the Government Agent. Discussions focussed on the developments and progress made in the implementation of the Murray judgment, concerning the de facto irreducibility of the life sentence imposed on the applicant who suffered from a mental illness and at the time had no assessment of his treatment needs and no access to treatment. The obligations arising from the new judgment, Y.F.C. and Others, concerning the lack of an effective and independent investigation into the use of rubber bullets against four of the applicants, Venezuelan nationals, during an incident in 2019 when attempting to transfer them from one detention facility to another as well as the lack access to legal assistance during the first week of their detention were also discussed. The visit was also an opportunity to raise awareness about other aspects of the Council of Europe’s work and relevance to Curaçao as well as future opportunities for technical cooperation and assistance. 

The delegation met, amongst others, with the Minister of Justice, Minister Hato and the Minister of Health, Minister Boekhoudt (online) as well as their policy teams. A separate meeting was held with the Program Manager of the Kingdom-wide “Working group on Forensic Care, TBS Orders and Placement in a Youth Protection and Custody Institution”, the Medical Director of the Psychiatric Institute on Curaçao as well as a representative of Skuchami, an outpatient mental health care organisation. The delegation also visited the Curaçao Detention and Correction Centre, the SDKK, and the immigration detention facility where they met with Members of the Board of the SDKK, the Head of Quality Control as well as the medical and social work teams. The delegation also met with Human Rights Defence Curaçao, a local human rights NGO. Finally, the delegation had the opportunity to visit a primary school and see in action the implementation of the Kiko and the Hand project in Papiamentu, related to the Lanzarote Convention and the protection of children against sexual exploitation and abuse.

The delegation also participated in a Human Rights Conference, held at the University of Curaçao, in the lead up to the Dutch Presidency of the Committee of Ministers which will take place between May and November 2027. The Conference was opened by the Minister of Justice and included presentations about the Council of Europe, the European Court of Human Rights and the system of implementation of its judgments as well as active panel discussions on various human rights topics of particular relevance to Curaçao.  During the Conference, the first translation of the European Convention on Human Rights into Papiamentu was officially handed over to both the Acting Governor and the Minister of Justice. It is now available for everyone in Curaçao to ensure that the rights set out within the European Convention are more accessible.

*The Kingdom of the Netherlands consists of four autonomous countries: Aruba, Curaçao, and Sint Maarten (Caribbean part of the Kingdom), as well as the Netherlands, which consists of the territory in Europe and three further islands. The Charter for the Kingdom gives far-reaching autonomy to the countries, each of which has its own constitution and political system. The Kingdom remains the sole subject of international law and accountable for the international obligations undertaken by it.

 Country factsheet of the Netherlands