Bonaire Human Rights Organization reports direct engagement with senior UN officials

NEW YORK--The Bonaire Human Rights Organization (BHRO) is reporting a week of United Nations engagement in which the organization says the concerns of women and girls in Bonaire received direct attention from senior UN officials.

BHRO said these developments followed its departure from Bonaire after organizing a legal lecture on the Bonaire case presented by Dr. Byron-Cox.

As part of its ongoing UN engagement, BHRO said it participated in a Civil Society Town Hall with H.E. Annalena Baerbock, President of the 80th Session of the United Nations General Assembly, at UN Headquarters.

BHRO also reported speaking during the Global Multi-Stakeholder Hearing in preparation for CSW70, where it delivered an intervention it said was grounded in the lived reality of a community still experiencing modern forms of colonial domination. BHRO stated that these conditions are reinforced by a small group of local elites and corrupt political actors who, it argued, exercise disproportionate control over the economy and political system.

In its remarks, BHRO said women and girls in Bonaire face systemic exclusion from decision-making, economic opportunity, and access to public services. The organization also cited the continued marginalization of the local language in governance, justice, and institutional life, arguing that these dynamics deepen inequality and reduce community participation.

BHRO noted that the hearing forms part of the Commission on the Status of Women revitalization process and the Pact for the Future, and that it brought together civil society actors from local, regional, and global contexts. Within that forum, BHRO said it stressed that gender equality cannot be achieved where colonial structures, concentrated economic power, and corrupt political practices prevent communities from meaningfully shaping their own futures.

Following the intervention, BHRO said H.E. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, an Assistant Secretary-General of the United Nations, requested a personal meeting with BHRO representatives. According to BHRO, the delegation was invited through her office to meet directly with her.

BHRO said Gumbonzvanda told them the testimony about Bonaire had moved her and highlighted the human, cultural, and social impacts of the issues raised. BHRO added that she requested direct contact information, which the organization interpreted as a sign of sustained interest at a senior level.

BHRO said the interaction has strengthened its commitment to continue advocating for the rights, dignity, and visibility of women and girls in Bonaire, and that it intends to maintain its engagement on these issues through international channels.

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