Netherlands Antilles Non-Governmental Organization Report 1 to the Committee on the Rights of the Child

Submitted to: UNICEF

Written by: Tamara L. Salsbach

(Sentro di Informashon i Formashon na Bienestar di Mucha Presented by: (Training and Resource Centre for Early Childhood Care and Education)

Date: Curaçao, July 2008

1 Copyright 2008 by SIFMA , Centre for Information and Formation for the welfare of Children. PREFACE

The Convention on the Rights of the Child entered into force on January 1998 for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and consequently for the Netherlands Antilles. In order for the Committee on the Rights of the Child to monitor the Convention in the Netherlands Antilles, the State party needs to submit a report on this Convention.

In addition for the Committee to obtain a more complete picture of children’s rights in the Netherlands Antilles, SIFMA (Sentro di Informashon i Formashon na Bienestar di Mucha in English training and resource centre for early childhood care and education) a non- governmental organization, conducted an assessment on all islands of the Netherlands Antilles 2 for it to attain information, with financial funding of Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland. The information gathered is processed in this report and all views revealed in this report are derived from reports from the Non-Governmental organizations and also Governmental organization on the islands. This report will be submitted to the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Tamara Salsbach SIFMA July 2008

2 The Netherlands Antilles consists of Bonaire, Curaçao , Saba, Sint Eustatius and Sint Maarten NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC II Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 TABLE OF CONTENTS

PREFACE II INTRODUCTION V METHODOLOGY VI

I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMETATION 1 (Articles 4, 42, 44.6) A. Measures taken to harmonize national laws and policies with 1 provisions of the Convention • Independent monitoring structures • Resources for children • Data collection B. Measures taken or foreseen to make the principles and 4 provisions of the Convention widely known to adults and children alike • Legislation C. Measures taken or foreseen to make the report widely available to the 5 public at large • Dissemination

II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD 5 (Article 1) A. Definition of the child 5 B. Age of civil majority 5 C. Legal minimum ages 5

III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES 5 (Articles 2, 3, 6, 12) A. Non-discrimination 5 B. Best interest of the child 6 C. The right to life, survival and development 6 D. Respect of the view of the child 7

IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOM 7 (Articles 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 37(a)) A. Name and nationality 7 B. Preservation of identity 7 C. Freedom of expression 8 D. Access to information 8 E. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion 8 F. Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly 8 G. Protection of privacy 8 H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading 8 treatment or punishment

V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE 9 (Articles 5, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27.4) A. Parental guidance 9 B. Parental responsibility 11 C. Separation from parents 11

NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC III Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 D. Family reunification 11 E. Recovery of maintenance for the child 11 F. Alternative special care and protection 11 G. Adoption 12 H. Illicit transfer and non-return 12 I. Protection from abuse and neglect 12 J. Periodic review of placement 12

VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE 12 (Articles 18, 23, 24, 26, 27) A. Survival and development 12 B. Disabled children 13 C. Health care services 13 D. Social security 14 E. Childcare services 14 F. Standard of living 14

VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES 16 (Articles 28, 29, 31) A. Education, including vocational training and guidance 16 B. Aims of education 16 C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities. 18

VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES 18 (Articles 22, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40) A. Children in emergency situations 18 B. Children in conflict with the law 18 1. Due to process rights and juvenile justice 18 2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any 18 form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings 3. Prohibition against torture or inhumane treatment 20 4. Physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration 20 C. Children in situations of exploitations 20 1. Economic exploitation, including child labor 20 2. Drug abuse 20 3. Protection against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse 20 4. Other forms of exploitation 20 5. Sale, trafficking and abduction 20 D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group 21

CHILDREN’S VIEW 21 CONCLUSION 22 LITERATURE 23

NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC IV Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 INTRODUCTION

General Information This is the second report on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the Netherlands Antilles, by the Non-Governmental Organization SIFMA (Sentro di Informashon i Formashon na Bienestar di Mucha), to the Committee on the rights of the child. The Committee made different recommendations in 2002 to the government of the Netherlands Antilles, on which this report will give an overview of the progress on all islands of the Netherlands Antilles on the implementation of the recommendations made.

This NGO-report will include a section-by-section analysis of the eight clusters of articles as mentioned in the guide for non-governmental organizations reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. These are: I) general measures of implementation, II) definition of the child, III) general principles, IV) civil rights and freedoms, V) family environment and alternative care, VI) basic health and welfare, VII) education, leisure and cultural activities, VIII) special protection measures. A sample survey was also conducted with schoolchildren and the result is incorporated in a separate chapter of this report. A summary will be given in conclusion with some recommendations on the implementation on the Rights of the Child on all the islands.

This report assesses the implementation of the Convention in the territory of the Kingdom of the islands of the Netherlands Antilles, namely the islands of Curaçao, Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Sint Eustatius and Saba.

SIFMA SIFMA, Training and Resource Center for Early Childhood Care and Education, which was founded in 1991, is a non – profit and a non-governmental organization. There are two offices; one is established on Curaçao and the other on Sint Maarten. Programs offered on the islands of Saba and St. Eustatius are coordinated from the office of Sint Maarten. SIFMA has a board, a director, employees and facilitators.

The organization’s main goal is to promote a better education for the child especially for those less privileged children in the Netherlands Antilles. In order to accomplish its goal, SIFMA focuses on the educator of the child. These are for example caregivers, parents, teenage parents, day care center employees, social workers, teachers etc. These educators are reached through the media and workshops, lectures, conferences, courses, and schooling are also organized.

The Netherlands Antilles The Netherlands Antilles consists of the five islands, namely Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. These islands are divided into two Caribbean island groups, which are approximately 806 kilometers (500 miles) apart. The first group, known as the Dutch Leeward Islands, consists of Curaçao and Bonaire, which is located approximately 81 kilometers (50 miles) off the northern coast of Venezuela. The second group, known as the Dutch Windward Islands is about 242 kilometers (150 miles) east of Puerto Rico, and includes Saba, Sint Eustatius, and Sint Maarten. The island of Sint Maarten is separated in two halves. The south is Dutch and the north part belongs to the French overseas department of Guadeloupe. The Netherlands Antilles' combined population was estimated in 2007 at 191,780 3. Of these approximately 137,094 lived on Curaçao, while Bonaire's inhabitants

3 These numbers are an estimation by the Central Bureau of Statistics see www.cbs.an/population NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC V Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 numbered approximately 11,537, Sint Maarten 38,959, Sint Eustatius's 2,699, and Saba's around 1,491.

The Netherlands Antilles is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands and it is a self-governing territory within the Kingdom of the Netherlands. The formal head of the state is the ruling monarch of the Netherlands, who is represented in the Netherlands Antilles by a governor, who is also head of the local central government, and forms, together with the council of ministers, the executive branch of the central government. Each island has also its own local government.

Between 2002 and 2005, each island in the Kingdom of the Netherlands held a referendum on its future status. It is the intention that the Netherlands Antilles will be disbanded in the near future. January 2010 was mentioned. Both Curaçao and Sint Maarten separately will be converted into a new associated state within the Kingdom of the Netherlands, meanwhile Bonaire, Saba and Sint Eustatius will become a direct part of the Netherlands as special municipalities.

The mainstays of the Netherlands Antilles’ economy are primarily tourism, petroleum transshipment and oil refinement, as well as offshore finance.

The Rights of the Child on the Netherlands Antilles The Convention on the Rights of the Child entered into force on January 1998 for the Kingdom of the Netherlands, and consequently for the Netherlands Antilles. Since 1998 many governmental organizations and non-governmental organizations tried one way or the other to implement the rights of the child on the islands of the Netherlands Antilles. Many policies were implemented, changes made in laws, and projects launched. In 2002 the Commission on the Rights of the Child made recommendations to the government of the Netherlands Antilles, which indicates that a great deal still need to be accomplished for the rights of the child on all the islands of the Netherlands Antilles.

METHODOLOGY

An informative investigation was conducted by SIFMA on all five islands of the Netherlands Antilles on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the years 2002-2007. The investigation was carried out by one researcher and her assistant 4. Various governmental and non-governmental organizations on all islands were approached in order to get detailed information on the topic concerned. Not only were interviews conducted, but annual reports and documents were collected and a questionnaire was also filled out by different organizations, children and parents. Point of departure of the content of the questionnaires were the recommendations made by the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2002 and also the report offered to the Committee in 2001 by the government of the Netherlands Antilles. The questionnaire filled out by the different organizations was written in Dutch and it consisted of approximately 158 questions, in which 38 topics 5 were

4 Mrs. Tamara Salsbach of SIFMA was the researcher and a student, Ms. Anoesjka van der Ploeg, whom did an internship at SIFMA was the assistant, whom approached all the organizations on Curaçao. 5 1) General questions organizations; 2) National Youth Policy program; 3) General questions to children; 4) Parents; 5) Schools; 6) Youth Summit; 7) legislator; 8) Compulsary education; 9) Sexual exploitation; 10) Marriage; 11) Criminal offence; 12) Discrimination; 13) Death of children; 14) Divorce; 15) Adoption / “uithuis plaatsing” / kidnapping; 16) Ownership; 17) Blood transfusie; 18) Register of births, death and marriages; 19) Pollution/ contamination; 20) Child abuse; 21) TV, Radio, Magazines, billboards; 22) Prison; 23) Upbringing; 24) Daycare centre; 25) Boarding school; 26) Food distribution on schools; 27) Youth service; 28) Medical NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC VI Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 incorporated. This questionnaire was also translated in English for the Windward Islands, since their official language is English. Both closed and open questions were incorporated in the questionnaire. In case the researcher noticed aspects that were relevant to know but were not specifically asked or mentioned in the questionnaire, she would make a note regarding that specific aspect. All organizations on all islands participated voluntary and the processing of the results was anonymous. On Curaçao a total of 40 6 organizations responded, on Bonaire 77, on Sint Maarten 4 8, on Sint Eustatius 4 9, and on Saba 5 10

In order to get a view on the children’s point of view on certain topics a separate questionnaire was made for them. Parents were also incorporated in the investigation. Not only were the questions asked in Dutch, but they were also translated into English and Papiamentu, the official language for both Bonaire and Curaçao. Different schools were approached in order for the children to fill out the questionnaire.

With the information gathered an overview will be given on the progress of the implementation of the recommendations, given by the Committee on the rights of the child in 2002, in the Netherlands Antilles. The results of the investigation on the implementation of the rights of the child in the Netherlands Antilles are discussed in this document. The report will be sent to the Committee on the Rights of the Child. It is also available to all organizations interested.

world; 29) Breastfeeding; 30) Anti-conception; 31) Education; 32) Disabled children; 33) Teenage parents; 34) Drugs, alcohol & sigarets; 35) HIV/AIDS; 36) Analfabetism; 37) After school activities; 38) Workforce 6 Curaçao: 1)Bon futuro; 2)Federatie Antilliaanse Jongeren; 3)Kas Bruder Pius; 4)Lechi di Mama; 5)Onderwijsinspectie; 6)SEDA; 7)SGR groep; 8)Gouvernments Opvoedings- gesticht; 9)Reclassering; 10)Directie Jeugd en Jongeren Ontwikkeling; 11)Hof; 12)Kranshi; 13)Openbaar Ministerie/Officier van Justitie; 14)Peter Stuyvesant College; 15)SEHOS; 16)St. Kinderbescherming; 17)Totolika; 18)Huize St. Josef & Huize Rose Pelletier; 19)Wit Gele Kruis; 20)Voedselbank; 21)Stichting Shimaruku; 22) Lionsclub; 23)Amigu di Tera; 24)Fund. Maneho di Adikshon; 25)Plataforma di Mayor; 26)Skuchami; 27)Gezinsvoogdij Instelling; 28)Radulphus College; 29)St. Paulus VSBO; 30)Ban Bario Bek; 31)Bos di hubentut; 32)Fundashon Desaroyo Hubentut Kurasoleno; 33)Scholengemeenschap Parera; 34)Famia Plania; 35)Pro Alfa; 36)Dienst arbeidszaken; 37)Gouvernements Geneeskundige Dienst; 38)Kinder- en Zedenpolitie; 39)Voogdijraad; 40)Kolegio St. Famia 7 Bonaire: 1)Sebiki; 2)GGD; 3)Werkgroep Aids preventie Bonaire/family; 4)Servisio di edukashon i kultura; 5)Fundashon Formashon pa manjan; 6)Voogdijraad; 7)Burgerzaken 8 Sint Maarten: 1)Sint Maarten vocational school; 2)The I Can foundation; 3)Government Info service; 4)Point Blanche Prison and House detention 9 Sint Eustatius: 1)Gwendolyn v. Putten school; 2)St Eustatius National Parks Foundation; 3)Sint Eustatius Island Labour office; 4)Stichting Zagen en Schaven 10 Saba: 1)baby clinic & youthcare Saba;2)Sacred heart school; 3) Aids support group Saba foundation; 4)truant officer (Insular Department of Education); 5)Innovations Bureau Saba NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC VII Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 I. GENERAL MEASURES OF IMPLEMENTATION (Articles 4, 42, 44.6)

A. Measures taken to harmonize Netherlands Antillean laws and policies with the provisions of the Convention (art. 4)

Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details on legislation.

Independent monitoring structures In its Concluding Observations the Committee on the Rights of the Child in 2002 stated that an independent and effective mechanism needed to be established, which monitors the implementation of the Convention, deals with complaints from children in a child- sensitive, direct and expeditious manner, and which provides remedies for violations of their rights under the Convention. According to the government of the Netherlands Antilles a Youth Development Department was established which has all the above mentioned duties. Even though most NGO’s on all the islands are aware of the existence of this department, they believe that this department’s only task is being in charge of the Compulsory Youth Training Program (Sociale vormingsplicht) and the Central Registration Program (CRS). If this department exists after the dismantling of the Netherlands Antilles, more attention should be given to the cooperation between all the organizations that deal with the Convention on the Rights of the Child. This means that a more profound cooperation should exist on all aspects of the Convention between the governmental organization (GO’s) and the NGO’s.

Resources for children The Committee stated in 2002 that the State Party needs to prioritize budgetary allocations for the economic, social, and cultural rights of children to the maximum extent available resources and including through development cooperation. Even though the State party allocates a substantial amount for youth programs, all NGO’s and some GO’s on the islands stated that due to a lack of finance and funding most projects focused on both children and youth had to be discontinued. In order for a program to be successful, guarantees should be made regarding the continuity of those programs. During the last years governmental funding was either stopped or cut back, which made the organizations look for funding at either the USONA (Netherlands Antilles Development Fund) or AMFO (Antillean Co-financing Organization) or private organizations such as the service clubs and banks. There is much pressure on the different organizations for them to run programs regarding children and youth. The USONA and AMFO receive a set amount that needs to be allocated to all organizations on all islands. One organization stated that “there is only one cake that all organizations on all islands can eat from”. Most organizations stated that the bottleneck in their organization is the funds. In the questionnaire answered by the organizations lack of funding was mentioned in regards of the boarding schools, the innovation in education, prison, implementation of the youth policy, coordination in education, having sufficient manpower, compulsory education, after school activities, and anti-conception.

Data collection Disaggregated data need to be collected which incorporates all the areas covered by the Convention and covering all children below the age of 18 years, with emphasis on those who are in need of special protection and including children with the juvenile justice system. Also indicators should be developed to effectively monitor and evaluate progress achieved in the implementation of the Convention and assess the impact of policies that effect children. In its report the State Party mentioned the Central NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 1 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 Registration System (CRS) in which interviews of young people between 12 and 24 years of age are processed. The idea of the CRS is to get an overview of what goes on in a child/youngster’s life. The main idea of the questions asked were in the trend of what these youngsters do, how they think, what they think of and how come they think the way they do. The topics covered were school, family, neighborhood and youth. During the informative investigation for writing this report some of the organizations on all the islands stated that they do collect data on children. They stated that these data are used for either own usage in order to draw up the year end report, for writing projects as a proof to those who subsidize, or to draw up their policy. Some collected data are also provided to the departments concerned. However, not all relevant data for this report could be produced by the organizations. For example when data was requested regarding the effect of a summit organized for children on all the islands, this was not available. No investigation was ever conducted on this subject. No data is available on cases of sexual exploited children younger than 12 years. Also data on the sum of pregnant girls younger than 12 years and those involved in sexual activity between 12 and 18 years are not available. Data on the sum of children in prostitution and pornography is not available. There are also no cases known of children younger than 12 years, who committed a crime. Data on the amount of children who were searched on by the police, or were a witness in a case is not available. Recent data on death of children between 0-18 years is not available. The sum of not registered children at the city hall is not available; the sum of analphabetic children, children with AIDS/HIV is not available. Minor’s who work, the sum of children using drugs, alcohol, cigarettes and drug addicts is not available or no recent data is available. Handicapped children who are not professionally taken care of, is not available. No investigation is conducted on the effect of the different preventive campaigns on the children is ever conducted. If in case data is available, it is either outdated or scattered between the different organizations, if in case the organization has any data. A structured system of reporting information to Government and NGO’s and a central point where information can be found should be available on all the islands.

National Youth policy program Questions were asked to different organizations on all the islands regarding their view on the national youth policy program (1999-2003) in which nine objectives needed to be accomplished over the years. These nine objectives were: 1. an efficient and effective youth policy on all the islands; 2. strengthening cooperation between the national authorities and the island territories; 3. increasing the responsibility of young people themselves; 4. encouraging a positive environment for young people to grow up in through parenting support and the revitalization of local neighborhoods; 5. providing support for pupils in high risk situations; 6. encouraging the establishment of apprenticeships for young people; 7. improving judicial and other youth services; 8. promoting care for disables children and their parents on all the islands; 9. preparing young people for emigration to the Netherlands and providing support on their return to the Netherlands Antilles. The following is a summary on the responses from the different organizations on all the islands. Most of the organizations on all the islands stated that they were not informed of the content of this policy and that they have never received such a document. They are not even aware of the nine objectives that needed to be accomplished over the years. They are aware that some kind of youth policy was formulated on central governmental level but this does not live and does not exist on the island’s level. On Saba, it was stated that a youth policy was written, however this has never come into effect. According to them, it seems that the central government is more progressive, but they only hear of actions being taken on the bigger islands. The island government of Saba NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 2 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 is, according to the organizations, very lackadaisical when it comes to youth affairs and has an ad hoc policy. The general opinion is that only when something happens or is about to happen, actions will be undertaken. A bottleneck that seems to be the principal problem for implementing the policy on the islands according to the organizations is the availability of financial resources. On Saba, it was said that it is not the availability of financial resources that is a bottleneck. Given that, funds are available from both AMFO and USONA. However, the accessibility to funds is a major bottleneck. There is too much red tape and procedures to access the funds, which discourages potential volunteers to apply for funds. In addition, execution capacity and manpower is a problem. Even though the nine objectives were not known to the organizations on the islands, their opinion on the content of the nine objectives were asked. The following is a summary on the responses from the different organizations on all the islands. The above mentioned speaks for itself regarding objective number 1: an efficient and effective youth policy on all the islands. Regarding objective number two, namely strengthening cooperation between the national authorities and the island territories, it is believed that this has been weakened. There is according to Bonaire no notion of needs of the islands. There is a big distance between the central government and the different island governments. Everyone is still working on a separate island, without much cooperation. The organizations feel that individualistic thinking is the main cause. As for objective number 3, namely increasing the responsibility of young people themselves, it was said by the organizations that this is being stimulated through a curriculum in the daycare centers, through which children are thought to be more responsible. However, bottlenecks mentioned for implementation of this curriculum is a lack of financial resources and daycare centre teachers who have insufficient certification or qualification. On Bonaire, it was said that children need to comply with many demands. There is a lot of pressure on the parents at work and the children need to take over some tasks at home. This was noticed in the different programs offered to families. In regards of objective number 4, namely encouraging a positive environment for young people to grow up in through parenting support and the revitalization of local neighborhoods, it was said that on Curaçao a triple P program was launched, which stimulates parents in their upbringing which improves the environment of the child. On Sint Maarten, it was said that some areas got attention, but not all areas did, which brings them to say that the poor remain poor, so no attention is given those who need it most. On Bonaire, they feel that parents are much more involved with their child’s activities; bottleneck is the part-time jobs that are not easy to find on the island in for example the hospitality business and hospital. It is also believed that there is no social cohesion on the island. There are community centers but it is believed that these are not appropriately situated. As for objective number 5, namely providing support for pupils in high-risk situations. It is believed that raising the age for compulsory education 11 from 4 to 18 years was a good policy however, there are still not enough inspectors to audit the system. In addition, the Compulsory Youth Training (Sociale vormingsplicht) was mentioned as a good development. Please refer to chapter VII: Education, leisure and cultural activities. The establishment of apprenticeships for young people, objective number 6, is not known by neither Curacao nor Bonaire. Sint Maarten states that this does exists but only in some schools. It seems that the private sector is very reluctant for the establishment of an apprenticeship. In regards of objective number 7, namely improving judicial and other youth services. On Bonaire it was stated that on this matter there is much more cooperation between organizations. For example, the hearing rooms are not child friendly at the police department. They looked for creative way to hear a

11 The raising of the age in compulsory education was introduced in august 2007 NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 3 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 child in a child friendly environment, in cooperation with other organizations on the island. On Sint Maarten, it was said that young persons are placed in prison with adults. There is no separate institution for children between 16 years and 18 years old. There are no or few "after care" measures once this group is released from prison. Please refer to chapter VIII: Special protection measures, Paragraph B: Children in conflict with the law, under 2: Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings. As for objective number 8, namely promoting care for disabled children and their parents on all the islands is positive on the island of Bonaire. Financial aid was made available for this matter. Nice accommodations have been set up on the island for disabled children. On Sint Maarten, it is said that this topic is still a taboo, therefore it is not promoted. And at last objective number 9, namely preparing young people for emigration to the Netherlands and providing support on their return to the Netherlands Antilles, it was said that children who migrate just leave the island together with their parents. The students who leave participate in courses. On Saba, they noticed that a problem arises when parents continue going from one country to the next without allowing their child to complete the school year. As for return to the island, nothing is done for the children.

B. Measures taken or foreseen to make the principles and provisions of the Convention widely known to adults and children alike (art. 42)

Legislation In 2001, a new Civil Code was introduced and the Committee noted that both the Civil Code and Family Law were not sufficiently known within the Netherlands Antilles. It needed to be published and it needed to be accessible to the public and sufficiently known and understood by all professional groups working for and with the children. SIFMA’s informative investigation showed that most organizations are aware of the new Civil Code. However, only the GO’s received these documents from the government. If a NGO had this document, it was because the person interviewed had this for private usage. In case an organization has legal questions, inquiries will be made with a legal representative or information will be looked up on the internet. When asked if these organizations are aware of the changes made in the Civil Code they either stated that they were not aware of this information and in case the organizations knew, it was because they heard it in the media. On both Bonaire and Saba, workshops were organized for the organizations. In other words, no systematic information service exists from governmental organization to those working on the rights of the child. An inquiry was also made on the comprehension of the organizations on the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Many organizations stated that they know more or less what rights the children have, but they do not know what exactly the content of the articles are. In case they need information, they will look up on the internet or in literature, since it was unclear for them where to turn to in case they have a question. They are aware of organizations on the islands that they assume know about the Rights of the Child, however they stated that they are under the impression that these organizations are not knowledgeable on this topic. This they noticed since they were sent to other organizations to look for answers on their questions, which they did not get. According to them, there is no organization that has all information. Some organization stated to have no clue where to turn to for information. The organizations also stated that they never received documents on the rights of the child. They are only aware of one folder on the rights of the child, which was handed out to parents and children. Even though the State Party affirmed that there is no office for the Rights of the Child, and it does not have plans to set one up on the islands, since a number of individuals or bodies addressing violations of the rights of the child can easily be NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 4 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 approached, it is of the utmost importance for the State Party to consider to set up an office for the Rights of the Child in view of the above mentioned account. The Convention on the Rights of the Child needs to be more established on all the islands.

C. Measures taken or foreseen to make the report widely available to the public at large (art. 44.6)

Dissemination The Committee stated that a systematic education and training should be undertaken on the rights of the Convention for all professional groups working for and with children, the parents and children themselves. And that the Convention should fully be integrated into the curricula at all levels of the educational system on all islands. The majority of organizations on all islands, which were asked whether they participated in workshops, stated that they have not participated in workshops regarding the rights of the child. Schools on the islands were also asked regarding the Rights of Child being integrated in their curricula. They revealed that the rights are not specifically taken into account in the school policy or school curricula, but are kept in mind when formulating the policy and curricula. Also, they stated that around the International Day of the Child this topic is given some attention in the classes. Some schools refer to right to education as a mean to make a child and its parents attentive for school participation in case the child is absent. Many organizations stated that they have never heard of NGO-reports that need to be written for the Committee on the Rights of the Child.

II. DEFINITION OF THE CHILD (Article 1)

A. Definition of the child Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

B. Age of civil majority Protection provided in the area of the administration of justice to all children up to the age of 18 in conformity with the convention. Specific protection is only afforded to children of 16 years and below. Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

C. Legal minimum ages Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

III. GENERAL PRINCIPLES (Articles 2, 3, 6, 12)

A. Non-discrimination The Committee stated that legislation should prohibit discrimination and it should be made a punishable offence. Measures should be taken against all forms of discrimination against children with disabilities and also measures taken to ensure that children of immigrant families have equal access to education, health and other services. It was said by organizations on Curaçao dealing with disabled children that these children are discriminated upon. Parents of these children complain at these organizations regarding their children that are laughed and looked at. Disabled children NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 5 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 do not feel that they form part of the society and they are still seen as different. Disabled children are not seen on the street and it is said that there is no integration within the community. According to the organization this is all due to lack of attention from the State Party. They feel that more information should be given to the community. The organizations also notice that children with a disability will not be able to get a job or a placement for an internship. Reasons given by the employer is that they do not have the courage, ability, and skills to deal with a disabled child and they also believe that these children are not able to do anything. Some projects are launched in which primary school children spend a day with a disabled child. It was said that disabled children on Bonaire are not discriminated upon, they are integrated in the society and some public places are adapted to accommodate disabled people. On the island of Sint Maarten, it is reported that the topic regarding children with a disability is still a taboo. It is known that there are children who are not registered on the islands. Reason for not being registered is that parents of these children are illegal and do not have a permit to stay on the island or are not knowledgeable on this topic. The government does undertake actions in case the parents have a permit. No estimation is available of the total amount of children in such a situation on the islands. No data is available of children and parents without a permit. There are some children who were born on the islands but are not registered because the parents do not have a permit and these children cannot be registered at the parent’s birthplace since they have never been there. In other words they are undocumented and do not exist in any system. No data is also available on children who were send back to their place of birth due to their parents being send back. It was said that all children regardless their status gets preventive healthcare. Urgent medical care for these children will be taken care of in case this is needed and in case these parents are not insured. The hospital is not able most of the times to reimburse the outstanding bills. Requests from the parents for a specialist will not be honored since they need to pay the aid cash and are not able to do so. Also, medicines are not bought due to a lack of money. Not all children are permitted into medical care however, they are allowed into a social care. There is also no data available on stillborns. The hospitals have some data, but this was not at hand.

B. Best interest of the child According to the Committee, the State party should apply the principle of the best interest of the child as a primary consideration in all relevant legislation concerning children and in all legal, judicial and administrative decisions, as well as in projects, programs and services, which have an impact on all children. Most organizations on all islands state that they always plan their activities with the best interest of the target groups involved. However, there were other organizations, which were not knowledgeable on the topic.

C. The right to life, survival and development Study the problem of homicide amongst youth and take effective measures to address the root causes based on the results of the study. No recent data is available on homicide amongst youth nor is recent data available on child mortality. Organizations such as the hospital, city hall should have data however, these were not at hand. As was mentioned earlier available data is either outdated or scattered between the different organizations. A structured system of reporting information to Government and NGO’s and a central point where information can be found should be available on all the islands. Regarding the environment, the organizations stated that a child has a right of healthy and clean recreation. However, there is much air pollution on Curaçao from the refinery and also from the exhaust gasses from cars on all the islands. On Curaçao, there are many NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 6 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 schools situated and children living in the area of the refinery. More attention should be given on the children living and going to school in that area. It was said by the organizations that no youth service exists on Curacao and Bonaire. Sint Maarten does have a service and Saba has a mediation centre, which was recently launched. An organization on Saba stated when it envisions a unit providing basic services to the youth, it is believed that this service should have a certified social-, youth worker who knows how to manage youth affairs and who encourages, counsels and deals with the youth at their level. The work done should not just be improvising methods and structures, hoping that these will work and bear fruit.

D. Respect of the view of the child According to the Committee, views of the child are still not fully respected and taken into account at school and at home. There should be promotion and facilitation for the respect for the views of children and their participation in all matters affecting them. Information should be provided on children’s right to participate and to have their views taken into account. More effort should be put in the assurance of a child’s participation in all spheres. Also, children’s involvement and expression in school policy and the development of curriculum should be guaranteed. All organizations on all islands state that they take the view of the child indirect into consideration. In other words, the children will not participate in meetings and formulation of policy, but their opinions are seriously considered. Formulation of the policy is always made with the youth in mind. Their voices are heard through those who work directly with them. Some organizations state that they use the youth counsel for advice. The schools stated that they listen to the more positive children in the group and are setting up a complaint commission, which they will listen to. Children do not participate in formulating school policy, since it is made by the school board. There is still a youth parliament which has only a small group of children represented. It is very important for organizations to know in what way exactly children’s view should be respected and in what way these children should participate in matters affecting them. Also, how exactly more effort should be put in the assurance of a child’s participation in all spheres, since most organizations think they are doing their best in incorporating the child’s view in their policy.

IV. CIVIL RIGHTS AND FREEDOM (Articles 7, 8, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 19, 37(a))

A. Name and nationality Registration systems and procedures should be expanded for the immediate registration of the birth of all children. A campaign should be initiated in which awareness is raised of the importance of birth registration especially children belonging to migrant families.

Please refer to chapter III: General principles, Paragraph A: Non-discrimination, of this report.

B. Preservation of identity There is no data available on children who changed their last name. Many mothers are not willing to let the father recognize the child. Reasons given by the mothers for not letting the fathers to recognize their child is that the mothers believe and are afraid that the fathers will have full authority over the child. In case a mother accepts for the child to change its name there are two bottlenecks these are that the costs for changing name are too high and the service is only given on Curaçao. NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 7 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008

C. Freedom of expression Please also refer to chapter III: General principles, Paragraph D: Respect of the view of the child, of this report.

A youth summit was organized for children in the Netherlands Antilles. However, no research was conducted in order to find out what the effects were of this summit on the youth. Therefore, no data was available regarding the youth summits organized.

D. Access to information Schoolchildren were approached and had to fill out their own questionnaire. Please refer to chapter: Children’s opinion for more detailed information on the analyses of that questionnaire. In regards of access to information parents, school and the internet have a big influence on them regarding getting information. They also assent that TV programs, radio, magazines and billboards do influence them. It is therefore important that investigations are done on content of the different TV and radio programs, magazines and billboards in order to protect the children from harmful material.

E. Freedom of thought, conscience and religion Please refer to chapter III: General principles, Paragraph D: Respect of the view of the child and also chapter: Children’s opinion of this report.

F. Freedom of association and of peaceful assembly Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

G. Protection of privacy Please refer to chapter: Children’s opinion.

H. The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment The Committee stated that there is insufficient information and awareness of the ill- treatment and abuse of children. That corporal punishment has not been formally banned and made a punishable offence in schools as a matter of policy. That it is still practiced in schools, homes, and in public institutions. In addition, legislative measures should be taken in order to prohibit all forms of physical and mental violence, including corporal punishment. That a study should be conducted in order to assess the nature and extent of ill-treatment and abuse of children and design policies and programs to address it. Public education campaigns should be planned regarding negative consequences of ill treatment of children and promote positive, non-violent forms of discipline as an alternative to corporal punishment. That a steering Committee should be established for advice and reporting centers against child abuse on each island. Care, recovery and reintegration for victims should be provided. Professionals should be trained in the identification, reporting and management of ill-treatment cases. And last measures should be taken through legislation to support and protect victims and witnesses in legal proceeding. There is no central point where abuse is reported. Abuse is reported to different organizations on all the islands. In case data is needed on abuse of children, it is scattered among the different organizations. There is no structural data collection on this matter and no investigation initiated. It is known that abuses take place at schools, daycare centers, hospitals, and many other places, but no tangible data is available. It was said among the participating organizations that once they reported an abuse they had a feeling that nothing is initiated, no changes made, or results seen regarding the NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 8 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 reported case. Some organizations also stated that it is unclear to whom they should report in regard of specific cases. On Sint Maarten one organization stated that no facility is available to report, other than the police. According to the office of the Child Protection Agency, there is an ARC (Advice and Reporting Centre for Child Abuse and Neglect) on Curaçao, however this is non-existent on the other islands, and this centre was not mentioned by the organizations on Curaçao as an option. When asked what exactly they think should happen on this matter, they stated that more should be done on prevention, family support, campaigns, and early detection. The community, schools, teachers, and the children should get much more information on this matter and the children should know how to protect themselves. Improvement should be made regarding child-friendliness by the police department. It was also noticed that help on this matter is too fragmentized and insufficient, it should be more centralized. There should be more synchronization between organizations, of which one should have the end responsibility. It was stated that workshops were organized for professionals. Nevertheless, these were very sporadically. And even though workshops were organized for teachers, schoolchildren and daycare centers, follow-up courses should be given. On Saba, no workshops were organized on child abuse. In regards of corporal punishment, it is known that this is still being used at schools, daycare centers, and at home. Yet again, no data is available on this matter. On Bonaire, it was stated that there should be an advice and reporting centre that is not coupled to the judicial system. People will not report easily at such an organization. It was mentioned that the advice and reporting centre would be put in “Porta Habri”, due to finance this has still not been set up. The State Party also mentioned “Porta Habri” as a youth care information and advice centre, which is supported by the authorities. However, this organization still needs to be opened. No special programs are available for protection of a child witness. It was stated that this was not necessary, since the perpetrator is already into custody. There is one case known that was acquitted and 1 case that was postponed in the last period and no protection possibilities were available for the child witness. No investigation was conducted regarding the well being and safety of children after they took the witness stand. No physical, psychological and recovery programs and social reintegration of the victims were mentioned for the islands of Bonaire, Sint Maarten, Saba and Sint Eustatius. In regard of child abuse, it was stated by an organization that children who are abused by the parents or caregivers are protected by means of the supervision laws. However, children who are abused by a third party and who have parents who are not able to protect their child run the risk of not being protected at all.

V. FAMILY ENVIRONMENT AND ALTERNATIVE CARE (Articles 5, 9, 10, 11, 18, 20, 21, 25, 27.4)

A. Parental guidance The Committee stated that steps should be taken in order to ensure that parents and families understand and fulfill their obligation towards children. Families should be provided with additional support, namely the establishment of an effective mechanism for the provision of adequate social welfare and an introduction of a national policy on day-care services in order to ensure uniformity across all islands. An effective mechanism for the provision of adequate social welfare should be established. Organizations are aware of some parents who think it is difficult for them to perform their basic role as a parent. There is data available, however these are scattered between all the organizations. When the organizations were asked what could be the main cause for these parents not to be able to fulfill their basic role as a parent they NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 9 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 mentioned the following: financial difficulties, little to no knowledge on upbringing, low level of education, retarded parents, psychological problems, relationship problems, addiction, not sufficient upbringing skills, poor social network, bad housing, insufficient income, and bad neighborhood. It was also stated that due to communication difficulties with children, no structure in upbringing, not being consequent, influence of the neighborhood, many questions regarding upbringing, and not having time are the difficulties the parents encounter in upbringing. Flexible working hours is realizable for parents however, not all employees is willing to grant this and parents are not willing to have less working hours and get less pay. It is believed that social financial aid is insufficient. Also finding work for a certain group of people is tough, since many employees do not want to pay the social benefits and they will therefore send people home after working for 3 months. On Bonaire, it was reported that the social financial aid is very low and it is not easy to get this for these young mothers who are under aged. There seems to be no policy regarding this topic. In case a mother remained at home, she will not get financial aid, in case she lives on her own the aid is a minimal. High living costs are believed to be a problem for parents to survive and be able to perform their basic role as a parent. On Saba it was also stated that due to the high living costs many parents have extra jobs in order to survive and therefore do not spend much time with their kids. It is believed that on Bonaire less than 50% of cases that went into court regarding payment of alimony are actually being obeyed. As was mentioned in the governmental report, many fathers in the Netherlands Antilles do not fulfill their obligation to pay child maintenance. Interventions failed to have the desired effect and the use of collection agencies was of little result. No specific data is available on the number of teenage parents on the islands. It was stated, by the institution that gives shelter to teenage mothers on Curaçao that the numbers on teenage pregnancy did not decrease after the prevention campaigns. According to the institution, the numbers stayed unchanged for some years now. The only shelter available on all the islands for teenage mothers is situated on Curaçao. They can shelter up to a maximum of 18 youngsters. On the subject of teenage pregnancy, when is spoken of teenage mothers, the teenage fathers are never mentioned. No special attention is given to these fathers. In case a teenage father asks for information and comes in voluntary, the institution will give some guidance. However, this is very exceptional. Nothing is done regarding making conscience of these fathers. The institution thinks that it is also important to focus on that aspect. Problems mentioned by the institution that these mothers encounter are: no support from their families, hard times with upbringing of their child, not going back to school due to shame, and while being pregnant not being able to attend classes. Schools do not allow pregnant girls to attend classes. The social benefits are insufficient which forces these mothers to look elsewhere for a better income. In order to get information on this matter it is unknown where youngsters could go. Schools should have a function in this, however it is insufficient at this moment. This institution used to give information sessions at schools, because they thought that schools cover this topic too businesslike, which does not have an effect on the schoolchildren. Nowadays, they receive visits from some schoolchildren, which according to them is much more effective. On Bonaire, it is believed that the age from the pregnant mothers range from 13 years to 18 years. There is a tendency that more of the younger children get pregnant. It is difficult to get data on this group since, all these expectant mothers need to leave the island and have the delivery in Curaçao. There is no incubator on the island, no gynecologist, and no intensive care. Problems these mothers encounter on Bonaire are of financial and social matter. Many organizations offer short-term projects especially made for parents. The continuity of these programs is therefore not guaranteed. In order for a program to NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 10 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 resume, it is dependable on the initiative taken by the organizations to continue the program and subsequently looking for funding. In case the government subsidies parent programs these are given on an infrequent base. The government relies too much on the NGO’s own initiatives to take care of parental programs.

B. Parental responsibility Please refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph A: Parental guidance, of this report.

C. Separation from parents Please refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph F: Alternative special care and protection, of this report.

D. Family reunification Please refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph F: Alternative special care and protection, of this report.

E. Recovery of maintenance for the child The Committee stated that a more pro-active and effective policy for collecting maintenance should be implemented. Please refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph A: Parental guidance, of this report.

F. Alternative special care and protection The Committee stated that programs should be developed in order to facilitate alternative care, in particular foster care in the Windward Islands. Also, efforts should be made in regard of quality improvement of the available care, including through the implementation of the ordinances on alternative care of all islands. Training should be provided, including in children’s rights, for social and welfare workers. Also, they stated that guarantees should be made regarding placements in institutions that should be periodically reviewed. Also, an independent complaint mechanism for children in alternative care institutions should be established and also collaborations with NGO’s in this area should be strengthened. It was stated that the boarding schools do have waiting lists. When asked what the bottlenecks are they stated finances and not enough highly trained employees, the government does not pay attention to the shortage these boarding schools have. No possibilities are offered to the employees to follow an education. There is no after care once the children leave the boarding schools. And the policymakers state that the government would like to invest more in ambulant care instead of residential care. The problem that arises is that some boarding schools are closed and subsidies reduced, and subsequently nothing has been invested in the ambulant care. In other words, nothing has changed so far. The boarding schools are receiving insufficient funding. They think it is not correct that these schools need to do fundraising in order to survive, when it is actually the responsibility of the government to subsidies these boarding schools. On Bonaire, the Sister Maria Höppner Foundation is a boarding school for only boys. 16 years old boys are put together with toddlers. They have financial problems and do not receive subsidy from the government. This foundation is supposed to shelter children on a short-term base, however they stay for a very long period. After 16 years these children need to return back to their home, with all the consequences they encounter at their home. There are no socialization programs for these children. In case these children need to be placed for a long period in a boarding school or the Gouvernements Opvoeding Gesticht (GOG) they will be send to Curaçao. There are no possibilities for NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 11 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 girls on Bonaire. In case a girl needs to be placed in an institution, she is send to Curaçao. There used to be a project on living with guidance, however nothing was done with this due to no availability of money. The houses of this project exist but nothing is being done with them. There are three foster homes on the island of Sint Maarten. However, there is still no island ordinance on this matter and as a result these homes receive a minimal on subsidy, therefore are dependable on the central government. It is also reported that these homes do not have an adequate accommodation and one of these foster homes work with delinquent youngsters. The daycare centers on most of the islands are currently upgrading the quality in order to comply with the island ordinance on daycare for children. This is a two-year project in which daycare centers should participate in different workshops in order to receive licensing. The island ordinance on daycare for children was offered and dealt with by the commission on Bonaire, subsequently nothing happened afterward. This year a small amount of funding was set aside by the government to work on this matter, so far nothing has been initiated. Consequently, nothing has happened so far on the island regarding upgrade of quality in the daycare centers. There was a quality report on daycare centers, which has not been utilized on Bonaire. The daycare centers would like to upgrade the quality in their centers, however they have financial difficulties to initiate the upgrade. They do not receive a contribution for this matter and due to the high living expenses on the island, they do not raise the parent contribution.

G. Adoption Adopted children on Curaçao do not receive their file from the court. In order for them to receive information on their biological parents, they need to be 18 years old. It is said that children are being kidnapped but these cases are not known since these are not reported to the organizations concerned. The children do receive the court documents on Bonaire when they are 12 years or older.

H. Illicit transfer and non-return Please refer to chapter I: General measures of implementation, Paragraph A: Measures taken to harmonize Netherlands Antillean laws and policies with the provisions of the Convention: Youth policy, of this report.

I. Protection from abuse and neglect Please refer to chapter IV: Civil rights and freedom, Paragraph I: The right not to be subjected to torture or other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment of this report.

J. Periodic review of placement Please refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph F: Alternative special care and protection, of this report.

VI. BASIC HEALTH AND WELFARE (Articles 18, 23, 24, 26, 27)

A. Survival and development Please also refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph F: Alternative special care and protection, of this report. When a child receives blood transfusion, sometimes the child will be put out of custody of the parents, due to religion. However, no data or information is available on the child after she or he is put back in the parent’s custody. NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 12 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008

B. Disabled children The Committee stated that resources should be made available for this area, also sufficient specialized staff should be available, specialized institutions should be on the Windward Islands, undocumented children should have access to this care, an effort should be made in order to incorporate children with disabilities into the regular educational system, by for example providing special training to teachers, also schools, sports and leisure facilities and all other public area should be more physically accessible, awareness-raising campaign should be undertaken in order to sensitize the public about the rights and special needs of children, studies should be undertaken in order to determine the causes and ways to prevent disabilities in children, assistance should be provided to parents or others who take care of children with disabilities, and at last technical assistance should be sought in order to train professional staff working with the children with disabilities. Please also refer to chapter I: General measures of implementation, Paragraph A: Measures taken to harmonize Netherlands Antillean laws and policies with the provisions of the Convention, under youth policy, of this report. No recent data is available on the amount of disabled children on the islands. In 2005, an investigation was conducted on the amount of disabled children in health care, but no distinction was made between adults and children. The retarded children were not counted and not all disabled children are in health care. No data is available on children who are and who are not professionally taken care of. There are still children who stay at home and who stay in poor situations. One of the organizations is aware that some parents choose for these children to stay and be taken care of at home. Parents who choose to keep their disabled child at home do not receive any form of help. It is reported that no policy is made regarding this topic. Places where disabled children are being taken care of are physically accessible, however public areas are not. On Saba it is known that 4 children are disabled and they are taken care of at their home. There are no professionals on the island. It was said by the organization that parents hide their disabled children. The government should pay more attention to the health sector in regard of disabled children. All initiatives taken are coming from the NGO’s and private individuals. Care of disabled children should also improve. Schools for learning difficulties do not exist anymore on Curaçao and no alternative exists. 7 years old disabled children could attend the special education for disabled children. However, there are no possibilities for the 4 to 7 years old disabled children. In case a parent is lucky, she or he can leave their disabled child in the daycare centre or other centers until the child turns seven.

C. Health care services The Committee stated that sufficient number of trained medical personnel should be available. Also that the health services should be accessible to children not enrolled in the health-care system. And the quality of health services among the islands should be improved and the initiative to introduce baby friendly hospitals should be continued and expanded to all islands. Please also refer to chapter VI: Basic health and welfare, Paragraph D: Social security; chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph A: Parental guidance, of this report. It is said that enough trained personnel is available on Curaçao. However, there is a shortage of youth physicians in the preventive sector. In the curative sector, there are enough pediatricians, family doctors and other specialists. In case there are no specialists on the island who can deal with a child’s situation, the child will be send to a foreign country. On Bonaire there are no pediatricians, youth physicians, child NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 13 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 physiotherapists, child psychologists, and child psychiatrists available. There are no incubators in the hospital and there is also no intensive care unit. There is a part-time gynecologist and once a week in the morning a physician from the Medical and Public Health Service on Curaçao pays a visit to Bonaire. A pediatrician from Curaçao visits Bonaire once a month and in a critical situation in which not enough specialized personnel is available to treat a child, he or she is send to Curaçao to get treatment. The hospital does not have a special child unit, there are no special rooms, and parents do not stay in the hospital to accompany the child in case the child needs to stay over. The child will be put in a separate room, which is not child friendly. The employees from the hospital however, are child friendly. It was stated by the organizations on Bonaire that the attendance of parents for consultations at the Medical and Public Health Service on Bonaire is a bottleneck. Saba states that there are enough medical personnel. There is a special child unit in the hospital and it is baby friendly. All children on the island are examined on their growth. Sint Maarten has two pediatricians.

D. Social security The Committee stated that social security and health insurance should be broadened so as to include all children. Please also refer to chapter III: General principles, Paragraph A: Non- discrimination of this report. On all the islands illegal children (children without a residence permit) are not admitted into a health insurance, however they do get preventive healthcare or social benefits. As was mentioned earlier urgent medical care for these children will be taken care of in case this is needed and in case these parents are not insured. The hospital is not able most of the times to reimburse the outstanding bills. Requests from the parents for a specialist will not be honored since they need to pay the aid in cash and are not able to do so. Also, medicines are not bought due to lack of money. Not all children are permitted into some sort of medical care however, they are allowed into a social care.

E. Childcare services The Committee stated that comprehensive and consistent programs for treating victims of hurricanes should be developed. And also, psychological and physical programs should be made available for treating child victims of hurricanes and other natural disasters. There exists a disaster plan on all the islands. On Curaçao, medical relief and public health are incorporated. However, on Bonaire it was stated that this plan does not consciously focus on children.

F. Standard of living The Committee stated that rates of breastfeeding should be improved. Also education of health care workers should be improved and the general public on the advantages of breastfeeding. A national campaign should be developed to inform parents and train professionals on the advantages of breastfeeding. Public knowledge should be improved of basic health measures, such as prevention and reproductive health. Affordable contraception should be available so that unwanted pregnancy does not occur. Unregistered schools should be reached, specifically make-shift schools. Programs should be implemented on reproductive health proposed in 1996 following the national workshop on reproductive health. Also, a youth-sensitive and confidential counseling, care and rehabilitation without parental consent should be developed. Due to high rate of early pregnancy and a lack of information, adolescents should have access to and should be provided with education on reproductive health and other adolescent health NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 14 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 issues. The Committee stated that actions should be taken on drug abuse among children since the numbers are rising. And also actions taken on children infected with HIV/AIDS. Please also refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph A: Parental guidance and chapter VII: Education, leisure and cultural activities, Paragraph B: Aims of education, also the Chapter: Children’s opinion of this report. In regards of breastfeeding campaigns were organized on Curaçao for mothers to breastfeed their infants. Workshops were also organized for both the mothers and professionals. No data is available in regards of the amount of mothers who do breastfeed their child. No investigation was also conducted on the effect of the campaigns on the mothers and professionals. On Bonaire, no workshops were organized for mothers specifically focused on breastfeeding due to a lack of financial resources. Those mothers who attend the pregnancy courses do get some information on that matter. No workshops were also organized for the professionals on Bonaire, some of these professionals did attend symposiums overseas, but they did not implement the gathered information from these meetings once they return to the island. In regards of information and support, mothers cannot go anywhere. On Saba, some work is done on making people conscience of breastfeeding. However, no campaigns were conducted and no workshops were organized for the mothers and professionals. Food is distributed at schools for children to eat. Parents do not have to pay for this service. The private sector and service clubs organize this. Reason for organizing this distribution of bread is that it was noticed that children did not concentrate well in school, because of not eating breakfast at home. And after the campaign was started, children were paying much more attention in the classroom. Risks that the private sector and service clubs are willing to run are that parents are not taking their responsibility towards their children. On Saba, it was stated that formerly and historically, the schools provided school lunches for the children, however, only on medical advice to children who were underweight. This was discontinued, years ago, when it was felt that most children were too obese and that parents could afford to feed their own children. Afterwards, a project was started again with funds from AMFO to provide hot meals for a short period, however, that program also ended. Nonetheless, there are children who come to school hungry and who are seemingly underfed or underweight. No official free school lunches are available now. In regards of usage of contraception, it was reported that in case campaigns were conducted on all the islands, no investigation was conducted in order to find out whether the campaign had any effect on the youth. The organization that gives information on Curaçao on this matter noticed an increase in clients that wanted more information. This organization state that they used to get a subsidy from the central government, however since 3 years they receive an emergency subsidy from the island government, with which not much can be done. Campaigns initiated are subsidized with funding from service clubs. When asked whether the campaigns had an effect on teenage pregnancy it was stated that the trend remained the same. It is said by this organization when taught to the youth to deal with each other in a more attentive manner, they do not listen to these lessons. They deal with each other in a more emotional manner. This organization states that insufficient information given to the youth is the main cause of these children not to use contraception. As was mentioned earlier, schools give a too much technical information to these schoolchildren. Bottleneck mentioned is that they are asking themselves whether an adult who organizes the campaigns or information sessions really has a notion on what goes on in a youth’s life. In other words, there are questions whether the target group is really reached. It seems that more contraception is being bought. However, no data is available on that matter. On Bonaire it was mentioned that there is much criticism from NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 15 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 the church community, since in their opinion these campaigns stimulates the child to have sex. During carnival, condoms were distributed. Lack of financial resources was given as a bottleneck for a more rigorous campaign. On Sint Maarten it is believed that the campaigns did not have a positive effect on the children since teenage pregnancies still exists. It was said that these topics are covered at the schools on Saba, Sint Maarten and Sint Eustatius. No investigation has ever been conducted on the effect of the campaigns on drugs, alcohol and cigarettes usage among the children. On Bonaire, it was stated that this topic is not covered at schools. Drug addicts who need help are send to Curaçao. There are also no prevention campaigns on drug, alcohol and cigarettes usage. On Saba and Sint Maarten, they do cover this topic at the schools. No data is available on children with HIV/AIDS. It is believed that most children have been infected by the mother. Most to all terminal patients on Bonaire are send to Curaçao in order to be taken care of. Policy is that parents of terminal patients are taken care of and are guided in the process. However, not all parents could be helped, due to the oath of secrecy by the doctors and the fact that there is no notification requirement. On Saba there are no children reported with HIV/AIDS.

VII. EDUCATION, LEISURE AND CULTURAL ACTIVITIES (Articles 28, 29, 31)

A. Education, including vocational training and guidance The Committee stated that there is insufficient number of well-trained teaching staff. Also, resources should be extended to support children to go to secondary education. There is disparity among the islands in enrollment rates and access to education. And an effective non-formal measures should be taken in order to address high illiteracy rates. Please also refer to chapter VII: Education, leisure and cultural activities, Paragraph B: Aims of education, of this report. In regards of illiteracy, no recent data is available on this matter. The illiteracy in 2001 for the Netherlands Antilles was around 4% 12 and the data available covers people from 15 years and older. It is believed that the cause for illiteracy among children on Curaçao is the parent’s unawareness; these parents not seeing the value for their children to attend courses; children who are kept home for different reasons; not having money to pay a bus or food; the need for these children to work; punishment; and the child doesn’t want to attend courses, so it doesn’t have to participate. It is also believed that many illiterate children are malnourished or have drug or alcohol addicts’ parents. It is also believed that some of the illiterate children have a brain damage and the school does not know how to deal with that. Illiterate children can go to the primary school and based on their age continue to the next year. They do not have to keep repeating a year. These children will end up in special schools once they reach the last year in primary school. There is data available for illiterate adults on Bonaire. However, nothing is said about the children, but these are believed to be present on Bonaire.

B. Aims of education The Committee stated that participatory measures should be implemented in order to encourage children, especially boys to stay in school, since there is a high dropout rate in primary and secondary school, especially among boys. Also, the progress of the implementation of the foundation-based education should be monitored. And pregnant girls should stay in school and should be provided with adequate support mechanism to

12 The population count was: 115.319 NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 16 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 continue their education after their child is born. The number, capacity, and quality of special education institutions for children with special education needs should be increased. Please also refer to chapter V: Family environment and alternative care, Paragraph A: Parental guidance, of this report. The drop out rate is believed to be around 25% in the Netherlands Antilles. An overview will be given in the following summary regarding the reasons, given by the different organizations interviewed, that cause children to drop out early in schools. These reasons were: Boys have less interest and ability to persevere compared to girls; Boys start to work early in life due to social and financial difficulties at home; Boys don’t have an intrinsic motivation; It seems that boys are given less guidance compared to girls; Girls are being more disciplined in their upbringing, they need to help in housekeeping, work and study for school. Boys are allowed on the other hand to play outside. When they get older and get interested in girls, they want to impress the girls with cars and money, which they have to work for. It is also believed that boys drop out of school because of the level of education being too high for them. Those who would like to move up, from especially the lower general secondary education to the school of higher general secondary education, drop out, because of the huge difference in level of education. The age of most children who drop out lays in the age category of 14 to 18 years old, these are children attending the 3rd or 4 th year of the secondary education. On Saba, it was said that certain students, where there is poor parental control, just pick up and leave the island either by plane or boat and move to the other islands. It was said that four girls left the island in order for them to practice prostitution. Girls mainly drop out of school because of pregnancy. They need to work after giving birth to their child, in order to help with the financial burden. The island ordinance on execution of the compulsory education is not completed. Also not all islands have a special federal inspector. On Bonaire there is an inspector, however this inspector does not have authority yet. The inspector tries to mediate in certain situations and unfortunately it was said that the collaboration with the police is poor. It seems that the inspectorate does not visit Saba, instead they have a system of internal quality care. Every innovation process in education is said to have its drawbacks. A teacher stated that they are missing and would like to have guidance in the implementation of the innovation at schools. It was also stated that due to the diversity in the vocational education not enough licensed teachers are available to work in the educational workforce. Persons with enough experience in the specific work field are asked to teach. Reasons for not being able to recruit licensed teachers are first they are not available and secondly there is a shortage in teachers on all the islands. The salaries offered on the islands cannot surpass those offered elsewhere and it is believed that a teacher’s profession has a bad image. A teacher stated that nowadays they have to play the role of a police officer, psychologist and teacher, which is getting too much. It is believed that on both Curaçao and Bonaire parents, teachers, and others are concerned regarding the language policy that needs to be implemented in schools. These have been changed from Dutch to Papiamentu, the native language of most of the children, and now it has been changed back to Dutch. On Bonaire, it was said that an investigation took place on the language level of the teachers and it seems that the teachers are not competent enough to use Dutch as the language of instruction. It is believed that the educational system does not comply with changing speed of the community. For example, computer usage is still not integrated in the entire educational system. Some children get only 1 to 2 hours computer training in a week at school, meanwhile the market demands computer skills.

NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 17 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 It was said that the unregistered schools or makeshift schools are known and registered on Sint Maarten. However, these schools get there funding from the private sector and parent’s contribution but are not financed by the government. There is no policy on this matter.

C. Leisure, recreation and cultural activities The Committee stated that cultural after school activities should be organized. And public sports facilities should be made free and accessible. It was stated by many organizations on all the islands that there is no variety in the after school activities offered. However, the cause of the variety in the programs is due to the un-structural and un-balanced content offered in the activity programs. This was mentioned in an investigation conducted on Curaçao 13 . It was also stated that these programs should be based on a policy and a professional activity manager should guide the process. It was also mentioned that due to lack of specialized knowledge regarding exploitation of the building and maintenance, many of the facilities are in poor state. However, organizations stated that all the above mentioned is subject to financial resources which is not available. On Saba, it was said that after school programs are not incorporated in the local budget. However, the materials available are adequate, but underutilized.

VIII. SPECIAL PROTECTION MEASURES (Articles 22, 30, 32, 33, 34, 35, 37, 38, 39, 40)

A. Children in emergency situations Please refer to chapter VI: Basic health and welfare.

B. Children in conflict with the law 1. Due to process rights and juvenile justice Children are not stopped to be searched on or stopped in order to get personal information in the presence of a parent. It was stated that these children are caught most of the time red-handed. The data available is also scattered among the different organizations regarding the amount of under aged offenders. It was also stated that no special protection is offered to children who need to appear as a witness and no investigation is ever conducted on the safety of these children after they appeared as a witness. In case a child is a victim, the only protection these children get once they appear as a witness is that they are put in the boarding schools, under supervision of the government, or placed in a foster home.

2. Children deprived of their liberty, including any form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings An approximate of 160 to 170 adolescence are locked up in prison on Curaçao. However, the data available covers the adolescence up to 24 years and not up to 18 years old. More organizations on the island detain adolescents. Their data is not incorporated in the above mentioned number. There are adolescents detained at the GOG, an open institution for young people in trouble with the law, and also Brasami, which houses persons with substance abuse issues. In other words, data available is scattered between the different organizations. Both GOG and Brasami take children

13 Alberto, F. & Toré, R., Ruimte voor de jeugd . Een inventarisatie onderzoek naar bestaande faciliteiten voor kinderen en jongeren in verschillende wijken van Curaçao. FAJ, 2003

NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 18 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 until 16 years and the adolescents older than 16 years go to prison. There is no special facility on none of the islands for the adolescence in prison, but the GOG and Brasami do have. However, it was stated that adolescents with an OTS (under supervision) and TBR (being placed under disposal of the government) are placed together at the GOG. It is believed that a distinction should be made between these adolescents and they should be separated. There is namely a difference between the two in the crime committed and the sentences received. There is still no youth prison on Curaçao. In order to devise alternatives on this matter adolescents are being separated from the adults and put in the FOBA, which is a Forensic Observation and Guidance Unit. This unit houses psychologically disturbed adults and prisoners under psychological observation. It was said that the authorities recognize that it is undesirable to detain young people in facilities not specifically designed for them. Other devised alternatives are placing the adolescents with the not so tough criminals, who most of the times committed fraud and such. On Sint Maarten, it was stated that there are no separate facility to accommodate delinquent youths. This is due to the lack of cells. On the question regarding alternative punishment, it was stated that those given on Curaçao are very insignificant and on Sint Maarten these types of punishments are given to the adolescents. It was stated that most of the offences committed are assault, theft in combination with violence and weapon usage. And that often when these adolescents commit a crime, alcohol and/or drugs were consumed. Alcohol and drug usage is excessive among these adolescents and they start with usage early in life. It was said that drug usage among these adolescents start as early as 6 years old and alcohol usage starts around 14 years. The following was mentioned on the question what the profile of a delinquent youth is. First of all, all the adolescents in prison are school dropouts, reasons given for dropping out of school are bad behavior at school and economic circumstances. Also mentioned as a profile of a delinquent youth is the fact that all these adolescents are dependent on social benefits. And they are from a low economic position. These adolescents have most of the times a poor contact with their father and are from a family in which only the mother is the main caregiver. Even though there is compulsory education, adolescents do not follow school classes in prison. This facility is not available in prison. In case this delinquent needs to do examinations because of being in the last year of school, the adolescent is given the opportunity to do the exams. The facility for delinquents to follow school classes is available in both GOG and Brasami. On Sint Maarten, possibilities are created for the adolescent to finish school in prison. No special activities are offered in prison to these youngsters. The activities offered are for everyone in prison, such as soccer, chess, or game of draughts. At the GOG there are more specific activities offered to the adolescents and on Sint Maarten this is also the case. In prison these adolescents are not listened to and their opinion is also not respected. Reason given is that due to the fact that the prison has a strict policy listening and respecting the opinion of the adolescents does not fit in that policy. In case the GOG adolescents need to report something they can report this twice a year with the public officer, when an evaluation session is organized. There is no data available on the amount of adolescents who were heard during the hearing without a legal representative present. There is also no data available on the amount of cases on adolescents until 18 years of age who were prosecuted since 2002. Many rehabilitation projects mentioned in the State Parties report in 2001 are unknown by most organizations on all the islands. Not even the prison was aware of these programs. In other words no data is available on adolescents who participated in these projects. Other rehabilitation projects are not organized and the main cause is lack of finances. No data is available on the amount of adolescents who are backsliders. It is said that 50% of these adolescents fall back in the criminal circuit. Reasons given for these backsliders are that there is a lack in after care programs and they also cannot find work once they NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 19 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 leave the prison. There is also no data and information available on adolescents after they served their time. An intern at the public prosecution office did an investigation from 1998 to 2004 in which was found that approximately 500 adolescents get in trouble with the police every year and approximately 30% of them fall back in the criminal circuit. It was mentioned that adolescents who are younger than 16 years are send to the Netherlands to specialized institutions, since such an institution does not exist on the islands.

3. Prohibition against torture or inhumane treatment Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

4. Physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration Please refer to chapter VIII: Special protection measures, paragraph B-2 Children deprived of their liberty, including and form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings.

C. Children in situations of exploitations 1. Economic exploitation, including child labor The Committee stated that child labor law should be reviewed and implemented. Labor inspectorates should be strengthened and penalties should be imposed on violations. Also the minimum age of 15 is too low for night work and hazardous work, which is not in conformity with international standards. Laws should be enforced on prohibiting children under the age of 18 from work that might be hazardous to their health, safety or development. There is insufficient information and inadequate data on child labor. And there is no monitoring mechanism available to address the situation. No recent data is available on the amount of children working in the labor force and there is also no data available on the payments they actually receive. There is no data and information available on child labor in general. It is known that minors work and illegal children work. It was said that these children work on construction sites, restaurants, shops, and supermarkets. In regards of the inspectorate it was stated that since 2002 no inspections have taken place, with the exception of spot checks that once in a while took place. The reorganization within the department and the department being understaffed are the main cause for the lack of inspections that did not took place. On Bonaire it is believed that children as young as seven years work. It is actually said that they help within the business of their parents. Complaints are lodged at foundations on the island however these persons often do not want to report the case at the police department.

2. Drug abuse The Committee stated that national legislation on drugs should be reviewed and updated. All appropriate measures should be taken, including administrative, social and educational measures, to protect children from the illicit use of narcotic drugs and to prevent the use of children in the illicit trafficking of such substances. According to the Committee there is a high incidence of drug abuse and drug trafficking involving children, particularly on Sint Maarten and Curaçao. There is absence of data on this problem as well as lack of a comprehensive national plan of action to combat drug abuse and trafficking amongst children. There are also limited psychological, social, and medical programs and services available for the treatment of drug-addicted children. And there is also a lack of support rehabilitation, reintegration and recovery programs dealing with child victims of drug abuse and substance abuse. Please also refer to chapter VI: Basic health and welfare, Paragraph F: standard of living and chapter VIII: Special protection measures, Paragraph B-2: Children deprived NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 20 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 of their liberty, including any form of detention, imprisonment or placement in custodial settings, of this report.

3. Protection against sexual exploitation and sexual abuse The Committee stated that there is absence of data of a comprehensive study on the issue of sexual exploitation and sexual abuse of children. Studies should be undertaken with a view to assessing the scope of exploitation of children, including for prostitution and pornography. It was also observed that there are limited programs available for providing physical and psychological recovery and social reintegration of child victims of such abuse and exploitation. In other words implement appropriate policies and programs for prevention and for the reintegration and recovery of child victims. And legislation making sexual exploitation of children only a criminal offence up to the age of 16 and not 18, and the exclusion of boys from this legislation. Extend coverage of legislation to ensure protection of children from sexual exploitation up to the age of 18. There are still no data available on those having sex with children younger than 12 years. There are cases known though. No data available on pregnant girls younger than 12 years. No data available on youngsters between 12 years and 18 years involved into sexual activities. No data on sexual exploitation and sexual abuse. There are cases known but nothing concrete. There are no physical psychological and recovery programs and social reintegration for the victims.

4. Other forms of exploitation Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

5. Sale, trafficking and abduction Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

D. Children belonging to a minority or an indigenous group According to the Committee effective legal and other measures should be taken in order to ensure adequate protection of refugee and unaccompanied child. Also implementation of programs and policies in order to ensure their access to health, education and other social services should be guaranteed. Please refer to the Netherlands Antilles report for details.

CHILDREN’S VIEW Schoolchildren were asked to fill out a questionnaire specially made for them. The following topics were covered in it: Child rights, abuse, obtain information, equality among children, opinion, media, sex, drugs, alcohol, cigarettes, and identification. The following table gives an overview of the total of children on each island who filled out the questionnaire and their age.

Island Total Age Curaçao 55 12 – 19 years Bonaire 11 13 – 19 years Saba 29 10 – 13 years Sint Eustatius 10 15 – 19 years Sint Maarten 10 14 – 17 years

Most of the children on all the islands knew what their rights were and they could mention four of these rights. They stated that either the school shared their rights in classes, or they participated in workshops, or their parents told them. When asked whether they have ever NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 21 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 demanded their rights they stated that they did it once in a while at school or with their parents. They stated that they also felt that after they demanded their right something was done with it, due to the changes made. On Curacao the children stated that they did receive some documents, but the children on the other islands stated that they have never received anything. The schoolchildren were asked whether all children at their school were treated equally and whether they all get the same opportunities. Some of the children stated that indeed not all children were treated equally and get the same opportunities, since children who behave different will be treated different by the teacher and some children are better liked, while others are not. When asked whether their opinion is respected at school, on Curaçao half of the children stated that it is respected and on all the other islands the majority stated that this is not the case. On the other hand they said that their opinion is respected at home, on Sint Maarten the majority of the children said that this does not happen. Almost all children stated that when policy is made at their school they do not have a say in it. The majority of the children stated that they are aware of child abuses and in case they need to report they will do that at school, parents, police, or an adult they trust. When asked what exactly they would like to see happen on that matter they stated the following: More attention should be given to the youth; that adults should reckon with them; to take drastic measures; to see more action on this matter; when reporting, measures should be taken, and investigated and not letting the report die out; more securities; policemen should check on the neighborhoods; getting more information on this matter and more confidentiality when reporting. These schoolchildren stated that the reason for not using an anti-conception is that it feels good when not using a condom. Reasons given for using anti-conception is for not getting affected by HIV/AIDS or for getting a girl pregnant. The majority states that the campaigns did have an effect on them. They also stated that the media does influence them. Regarding identification when buying cigarettes and alcohol, the majority stated that they do not have to identify themselves on Saba it was said that they do have to identify themselves. And whether they have to show id in disco’s it was said that sometimes they have to and sometimes they do not.

CONCLUSION As this report shows, a great deal of work should still be accomplished on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child on all the islands of the Netherlands Antilles. Not much has changed in the last six years. And not much has been done with the recommendations on the rights of the child on the islands. In order to realize all that has been mentioned in this report and also comply with all the recommendations by the Committee on the rights of the child it is most essential for the islands to have a completely independent entity such as an ombudsman for children, which monitors whether the government complies with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and which assists in the implementation of the Convention on all the islands. All the islands should work toward such an entity even though the Netherlands Antilles will be disbanded in the near future. In addition, the islands of the Netherlands Antilles should also try to cooperate more with islands in the Caribbean, since the problems children encounter are somewhat similar.

NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 22 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008 LITERATURE

Alberto, F. & Toré, R., Ruimte voor de jeugd . Een inventarisatie onderzoek naar bestaande faciliteiten voor kinderen en jongeren in verschillende wijken van Curaçao. FAJ, 2003

Central Bureau of Statistics, Illiteracy Information Census 2001 , 2001

Concluding observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child: Netherlands Antilles. 07/06/2002

Dekker, A., Report of the Netherlands Antilles of the Convention on the rights of the child , SIFMA – FAJ, 2001.

Dienst Cultuur en Educatie & Federatie Antilliaanse Jeugdjongeren, Hubentut den Desaroyo. Jeugdbeleidsplan van het eilandgebied Curaçao voor de periode 2006-2009.

Directie jeugd en jongeren, Handhavend toezicht jeugd en Jongeren startnotitie , 2003

Directie jeugd en jongeren, Jeugdmonitor Nederlandse Antillen 2002-2003

Edburgh Consultants, Mid-term evaluatie van de deelprogramma’s Funderend Onderwijs en Beroeps onderwijs op de Nederlandse Antillen , 2006

Federatie Antilliaanse Jeugdjongeren, Analyse jeugdaanpak Nederlandse Antillen. Een overzicht van de verschillende inhoudelijke en financiële initiatieven binnen het jeugdbeleidskader op de Nederlandse Antillen, 2004

Federatie Antilliaanse Jeugdjongeren, jeugd centraal , 2005

Ministerie van Onderwijs en Cultuur N.A., Onderwijsverslag Nederlandse Antillen , 2006

NGO Group for the convention on the Rights of the Child, A guide for Non-governmental organizations reporting to the Committee on the Rights of the Child , 3 rd edition, Geneva 2006.

Periodic report by the Netherlands Antilles on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2001

Periodic report by the Netherlands Antilles on the implementation of the Convention on the Rights of the Child, 2008

NGO Report Netherlands Antilles on CrC 23 Tamara Salsbach, SIFMA, July 2008