Bridgetown, Barbados:--- The Bonaire delegation engaged in bilateral meetings with CARICOM leaders on the margins of the 48th CARICOM Regular Meeting in Barbados to discuss the urgent and worsening case of Bonaire, where the native people are being marginalized on their own island.
The delegation extends its heartfelt congratulations to the Honorable Prime Minister of Barbados, Mia Amor Mottley, on her Chairmanship of the Caribbean Community (CARICOM). Bonaire recognizes her steadfast leadership in advancing regional integration and addressing critical challenges facing the Caribbean.
The delegation has made a direct and urgent appeal to CARICOM leaders to stand in solidarity against the re-colonization of Bonaire—an alarming reality in the 21st-century Caribbean.
Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles in 2010, Bonaire was illegally integrated into the Dutch constitution under unequal conditions, without the consent of its people. Since then, the native population has been dramatically reduced, from 80% before 2010 to less than 32% today. This decline has been driven mainly by Dutch government policies allowing unrestricted immigration of European Dutch citizens, who are granted voting rights in local elections and referendums just 90 days after arrival. Furthermore, Papiamento—the island’s native language—has been replaced by Dutch as the primary language of instruction in schools, threatening the survival of Bonaire’s culture, identity, and existence.
In response to this crisis, Bonaire is calling on CARICOM to take collective action, similar to the resolution adopted in the XCVII Ordinary Session of the MERCOSUR Parliament in December 2024, to support Bonaire’s re-listing as a Non-Self-Governing Territory under the scrutiny of the United Nations Special Committee on Decolonization. MERCOSUR consists of the countries: Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Paraguay, Uruguay, Chile, Colombia, Ecuador, Guyana, Panama, Peru, and Suriname.
"As CARICOM continues to embrace regional solidarity, welcoming Curaçao as an associate member in 2024 and considering Dutch St. Maarten for the same status this year, we urge CARICOM to take a stand for Bonaire and support its rightful place on the UN’s list of Non-Self-Governing Territories," the Bonaire delegation emphasized.
Bonaire looks forward to the honorable leadership of Prime Minister Mia Mottley and CARICOM in ensuring that the island’s people receive the international protection they deserve.
