THE HAGUE--The Baku Initiative Group, BIG, has accused the Netherlands of using policy and migration pressure to weaken the position of Bonaire’s native people, arguing that the island’s demographic changes are not simply social or economic trends, but part of a deeper colonial reality.

GREAT BAY--Minister of Public Housing, Spatial Planning, Environment and Infrastructure (VROMI) Patrice Gumbs, along with the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), recently met with a representative of the Dutch Quarter Community Council to give an update on the sanitation project planned for the area.

ARUBA--St. Maarten has signed on to a new regional disaster preparedness project called the StormWatch Initiative, a move aimed at helping Caribbean Overseas Countries and Territories better prepare for hurricanes and other natural disasters.

GREAT BAY--Last Thursday and Friday, President of Parliament MP Sarah Wescot-Williams led the St. Maarten parliamentary delegation at a workshop in Grenada hosted by ParlAmericas. The workshop focused on paid and unpaid care work, an area that plays a major role in Caribbean societies but is often overlooked in economic planning.

GREAT BAY--St. Maarten has taken an important step to strengthen maritime safety and improve how it works with Kingdom partners on maritime responsibilities, with Minister of Tourism, Economic Affairs, Transport and Telecommunication (TEATT) Grisha Heyliger-Marten signing an updated Kingdom protocol and a supporting agreement to improve the investigation of maritime accidents.