Baku conference participants call on Netherlands to renounce its colonial policy on Bonaire - STATEMENT

Netherland`s Government should renounce its colonial policy, according to a final statement on "Bonaire's pathway from Baku through UN General Assembly to self-determination" international conference adopted on August 22.

Report presents the full text of the statement below:

"On August 22, the international conference on 'BONAIRE’S PATHWAY FROM BAKU THROUGH UN GENERAL ASSEMBLY TO SELF-DETERMINATION' was held in Baku by the Baku Initiative Group in collaboration with Bonaire Human Rights Organization and Movement for Change.

As participants of the conference, we express our sincere gratitude to the Baku Initiative Group for the organization of the Conference and to the people of Azerbaijan for their genuine and friendly hospitality.

Dedicated to colonized Bonaire People, the event allowed all interested parties the opportunity to exchange views on the consequences of the colonial policy of the Netherlands which threaten the future and even the survival of the Bonaire People in the long term :

Historical Background - Bonaire's Status:

Bonaire, once a constituent state of the Netherlands Antilles, was part of a Dutch colonial entity with significant internal self-government. Following the dissolution of the Netherlands Antilles on October 10, 2010, Bonaire was unilaterally incorporated by the Dutch Government as a 'public body/entity' without autonomy, entrenched in the Dutch Constitution under unequal rights.

Demographic Changes - Population Shift:

Between 2010 and 2024, Bonaire's population doubled from 11,000 to 25,000 primarily due to an influx of Dutch European immigrants. Native Bonaireans have consequently become a demographic minority and reduced in 2024 to less than 32% of the population in their own island.

Fight for Self-Determination - Referendum of 2015:

A referendum on December 18, 2015, saw 66% of voters reject Bonaire's constitutional status imposed since 2010. These results were unanimously ratified by the representatives of the island parliament as a legitimate and legal democratic decision of the people of Bonaire. The Dutch Government disregarded the referendum results, maintaining the status quo.

As well as to discuss the undertaking of the effective and efficient steps according to the international law on decolonization process in order to get rid of Dutch colonial oppression:
UN Involvement:

Civil society groups in Bonaire, led by Mr. James Finies, brought their case to the UN Special Committee on Decolonization (C24) in 2016, highlighting Dutch violations of Bonaireans' rights. C24 Ambassadors recommended actions to re-list Bonaire as a Non-Self-Governing Territory and also to seek support from the regional neighbors from Caribbean and Latin American governments and initiating an independent inquiry into Bonaire's self-governance.

The Participants to the Conference took this opportunity to welcome the participation of the Republic of Azerbaijan at the 2024 'Caribbean regional seminar on the implementation of the Fourth International Decade for the Eradication of Colonialism, Pursuing goals and addressing needs of the Non-Self-Governing Territories', organized, on 14-16 May 2024, by the Special Committee on Decolonization in Caracas, Venezuela.

Independent Report:

The 'Assessment of the Adequacy of Self-Government in Accordance with Internationally Recognized Standards: Report of the 'Country of Bonaire'' by Dependency Studies Project by Senior Analyst Dr. Carlyle G. Corbin United Nations expert in 2021 concluded that the 'public body/entity' imposed and renamed 'territorial public body' in Bonaire is a colonial reform of dependency governance, perpetuating inequality that is deficient through all measures of democratic governance that circumvents the inalienable right to genuine self-determination under international law. This report is endorsed and accredited by the UN General Assembly as independent as it contains Self-Governance indicators accepted by the UN General Assembly.

UN Obligations:

Inclusion in the Non-Self-Governing Territories list would necessitate the Dutch Government's annual reporting to the General Assembly on Bonaire’s social, economic, and political progress under Article 73 of the UN Charter, Articles 1 and 55 of the Charter of the United Nations, Resolution 1514 (XV) of 1960 (United Nations Declaration of Decolonization), International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the International Covenant on All Forms of Racial Discrimination and the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. This designation enables UN bodies to assess, intervene, and assist Bonaire as required.

Conclusion - Call for International Support to the Resolution on re-registration of the Bonaire as a Non-Self-Governing Territory:

Bonaire seeks backing from international community to advocate for its re-registration as a Non-Self-Governing Territory to protect and ensure the right of the people of Bonaire to self-determination and self-government, whereas a resolution is scheduled to be submitted directly by seven (7) islands of the Caribbean under the leadership of the Prime Minister of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines and former President of CELAC, His Excellency Mr. Ralph Gonsalves to the General Assembly of the UN early October 2024 under the agenda item of Decolonization.

We appeal for solidarity and call on UN Secretary General and UN countries to support this noble struggle of great humanitarian significance, in the General Assembly and to join seven Caribbean islands as co-sponsors of the Resolution on the Case of Bonaire. This resolution calls for Bonaire's inclusion in the List of Non-Self-Governing Territories of the UN, placing it under the scrutiny of the UN Special Committee on Decolonization.

We, the Bonaire Peoples kindly ask H.E. Mr. Ilham Aliyev, the President of the Republic of Azerbaijan, member of the Troika of the Non-Aligned Movement to convene the NAM countries to raise the critical issue of Bonaire's right to self-determination according to the international law on decolonization and to support its inclusion in the List of Non-Self-Governing Territories of the United Nations.

We urge the Netherland`s Government to renounce its colonial policy and not to impede the re-inclusion of the Bonaire in the List of Non-Self-Governing Territories of the United Nations."