Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation Bonaire
The permanent committees on Kingdom Relations of the Senate “first chamber” and “second chamber” will organise the Interparliamentary Kingdom Consultation (IPKO) on Bonaire from Monday, 23rd of August, to Wednesday, 25th of August, 2021. The IPKO is the consultative structure of the parliaments of the countries of the Kingdom.
The Dutch parliament always hosts the summer IPKO. After the previous two editions (summer 2020 and winter 2021) could only take place in a trimmed-down form via videoconference due to the COVID-19 pandemic, this time the COVID-19 situation allows parliamentarians to physically meet in the Caribbean Netherlands. Current COVID-19 regulations are taken into account by the delegations.
The IPKO will be chaired by committee chairman and member of Parliament Jan Paternotte. The Dutch delegation will be led by committee chair and Senate member Paul Rosenmöller.
Programme
On Monday afternoon, the 23rd of August, 2021, the Governor of Bonaire, Edison Rijna, will welcome the participating parliamentarians to Bonaire. On the same afternoon, the four delegations will each give a presentation on recent developments in their country. The parliamentarians will also exchange ideas about the course of the elections held in 2021 in the Netherlands, Curaçao and Aruba, and about the organisation of the election process.
On Tuesday morning, the 24th of August, 2021, there will be plenary and group discussions about better and sustainable relations within the Kingdom. Subjects that may be discussed are equality, communication, diversity, the Charter, human rights, the rule of law and good governance, and mutual aid and assistance. This will then be explored more in detail as it pertains to the current cooperation agreements and the implementation of the agreed country packages per country. In the afternoon, there will be an exchange of ideas regarding climate and sustainability in group form and then in plenary. This is done on the basis of a number of sustainable development goals (SDGs).
On Wednesday morning, the 25th of August, 2021, the delegations will visit the Washington Slagbaai National Park. They will be informed on site about nature conservation on land and in the waters surrounding Bonaire. This will be followed by the establishment of the IPKO -appointment list in the afternoon and the press conference.
Working visits
In the context of the IPKO, the delegation of the State General will carry out its own working visits to Bonaire on Monday morning and Thursday morning. These relate to subjects such as determining the social minimum and the poverty problem, education, innovation and infrastructure.
The planned working visits to Curaçao and Aruba had to be cancelled by the delegation, given the increasing number of COVID-19 infections and the increasing pressure on medical care in those countries. The delegation wants to avoid contributing to the spread of the virus or placing an unexpected burden on local medical care, despite the taken precautions.
Delegation composition
First chamber
Paul Rosenmöller (GroenLinks) – delegation leader
Eric van der Burg (VVD)
Arda Gerkens (SP)
Alexander van Hattem (PVV)
Jeroen Recourt (PvdA)
Second chamber
Jan Paternotte (D66) – voorzitter IPKO
Aukje de Vries (VVD)
Jorien Wuite (D66)
Inge van Dijk (CDA)
Attje Kuiken (PvdA)
Laura Bromet (GroenLinks)
Don Ceder (ChristenUnie)
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Programme Interparlementair Koninkrijksoverleg (IPKO) 23 tot en met 25 augustus 2021