Statia first Dutch Caribbean municipality with UNICEF-backed children’s rights action plan

STATIA--Statia has become the first Dutch Caribbean municipality to launch an action plan under UNICEF’s Child Friendly Cities Initiative, committing the public entity to place children’s rights at the center of policy decisions and to strengthen meaningful youth participation in governance. The plan was developed in partnership with UNICEF and shaped by input from more than 200 children and young people, alongside contributions from schools, government departments, local organizations, and community partners.

The action plan is built around three priorities: ensuring children’s rights are considered in every major government decision, expanding opportunities for children and young people to influence policy that affects them, and improving wellbeing through better mental health support and safer, more stimulating playgrounds and public spaces. The initiative is intended to move beyond statements of principle by embedding a children’s rights lens into day-to-day government work, including policymaking, infrastructure decisions, and public programs.

Island Commissioner Rechelline Leerdam and Child Friendly Cities Initiative coordinator Monica Smith took the plan directly to students during school visits on Friday, February 13, stopping at Golden Rock School, Governor de Graaff School, Seventh-day Adventist School (Lynch Plantation), Bethel Methodist School, and Gwendoline van Putten School. During the visits, they distributed a youth edition of the action plan, a simplified booklet designed to explain what the government is promising and how students can share ideas and participate in shaping community life.

Officials said the commitment means children’s rights should be weighed across the full spectrum of government decisions, with youth participation treated as a standard part of how policies are developed, not an occasional consultation. Statia’s plan also emphasizes stronger support systems for mental health and resilience, while improving play and recreation infrastructure as part of creating safer and healthier environments for children.

The action plan outlines Statia’s Child Friendly Cities journey, which began in September 2023, and describes an assessment process that gathered information through interviews, surveys, and available statistics, then returned findings to young people and other stakeholders to help set priorities. The implementation is set out across a multi-year timeline, with monitoring steps and a planned evaluation during the rollout.

The initiative is rooted in the Convention on the Rights of the Child and is presented as a structured path for municipalities to translate children’s rights into measurable, local action. Statia’s plan notes that children and youth make up a significant share of the island’s population, and it frames the work as a commitment to ensure children can grow up safe, healthy, supported, and heard at home, at school, during free time, and online.

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