THE HAGUE — The situation in the Bon Futuro-prison on Curaçao and the cells at the police station on St. Maarten is still ‘unacceptable within the Kingdom’. State Secretary Ank Bijleveld-Schouten (Kingdom Relations, CDA) stated this in her letter, which she had forwarded to the Lower Chamber.
Furthermore, the treatment and the daily activities of the prisoners are not in order yet. This requires a cultural reversal within the prison system. This development could be realized by drawing up new guidelines and training personnel. Such a reversal will take several years, according to Bijleveld.
The State Secretary’s letter accompanies the recent progress report, which was drawn up in the aftermath of the Committee on Prevention of Torture (CPT) visit to the Antilles in 2007. On July 1st, Bijleveld promised that she would make that progress report public.
Drastic measures
According to the researchers of that report, the situation in the Bon Futuro-prison cannot be changed without drastic measures. Practical assistance through the availability of warders and expertise at management level with actual authority is essential on short term. For example, the relation between the prisoners and institutional personnel is (very) problematic and cannot sufficiently guarantee the safety of all prisoners, according to the researchers.
The harsh words in the report are also toned down. In her letter, Bijleveld indicated that the report was drawn up before she, her colleague Minister of Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA), and the Antillean former minister of Justice David Dick (PAR) signed the cooperation agreement on the Bon Futuro at the end of June (this concerns a random indication at the end of April 2009). Meanwhile, the improvement course has been started up and the pressure points from the report will come up as well, Bijleveld stated.
According to the researchers of that report, the situation in the Bon Futuro-prison cannot be changed without drastic measures. Practical assistance through the availability of warders and expertise at management level with actual authority is essential on short term. For example, the relation between the prisoners and institutional personnel is (very) problematic and cannot sufficiently guarantee the safety of all prisoners, according to the researchers.The harsh words in the report are also toned down. In her letter, Bijleveld indicated that the report was drawn up before she, her colleague Minister of Justice Ernst Hirsch Ballin (CDA), and the Antillean former minister of Justice David Dick (PAR) signed the cooperation agreement on the Bon Futuro at the end of June (this concerns a random indication at the end of April 2009). Meanwhile, the improvement course has been started up and the pressure points from the report will come up as well, Bijleveld stated.
Improvements
It was also stated that improvements are noticeable, since the visit of the European Committee regarding the prevention of torturing and inhuman or humiliating treatment or punishing of the Council of Europe (CPT) to institutions in the Netherlands Antilles and on Aruba in June 2007. "Many efforts were made in the Netherlands Antilles as well as on Aruba to execute the recommendations of the CPT. A number of the recommendations from the first report of the governors has also been implemented", the State Secretary writes.
Alarming without abatement
The situation in the cells of the police station on St. Maarten is tagged as ‘alarming without abatement’ in the report, but improvement is also noticed on St. Maarten according to the statement made by the State Secretary. "I share the concerns of the reporters," says Bijleveld. "I have addressed the Minister of Justice and the Lieutenant Governor of St. Maarten several times with regard to their responsibilities. A financing agreement was recently signed for the renovation of the cells at the police station on St. Maarten. Many of the recommendations will be implemented by this renovation."
It is obvious that the situation will not improve considerably on short term. The imperfect medical care, the insufficient outdoor time for the prisoners and that the fact that more than three persons are confined in one cell, was referred to as critical points. These problems are caused by understaffing. "In first instance, this is a problem for which the Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba should find a solution by training personnel and making funds available," says Bijleveld. The Netherlands will assist in this, as is already the case on Bonaire and Curaçao and on Aruba in the near future.
For the greater part, the hygienic circumstances have improved since the CPT-visit in 2007. Renovations have been executed, new guidelines have been drawn up, the personnel have been trained, and a start has been made with the offering of worthwhile daily activities. According to Bijleveld, the report should be viewed as a stimulant to continue the deployed improvement course in the Antilles and on Aruba.
The situation in the cells of the police station on St. Maarten is tagged as ‘alarming without abatement’ in the report, but improvement is also noticed on St. Maarten according to the statement made by the State Secretary. "I share the concerns of the reporters," says Bijleveld. "I have addressed the Minister of Justice and the Lieutenant Governor of St. Maarten several times with regard to their responsibilities. A financing agreement was recently signed for the renovation of the cells at the police station on St. Maarten. Many of the recommendations will be implemented by this renovation."It is obvious that the situation will not improve considerably on short term. The imperfect medical care, the insufficient outdoor time for the prisoners and that the fact that more than three persons are confined in one cell, was referred to as critical points. These problems are caused by understaffing. "In first instance, this is a problem for which the Ministers of Justice of the Netherlands Antilles and Aruba should find a solution by training personnel and making funds available," says Bijleveld. The Netherlands will assist in this, as is already the case on Bonaire and Curaçao and on Aruba in the near future.For the greater part, the hygienic circumstances have improved since the CPT-visit in 2007. Renovations have been executed, new guidelines have been drawn up, the personnel have been trained, and a start has been made with the offering of worthwhile daily activities. According to Bijleveld, the report should be viewed as a stimulant to continue the deployed improvement course in the Antilles and on Aruba.
Former Justice-minister David Dick also agrees with the aforementioned. Apart from a few details, the report ‘gives a reasonable account of the factuality’ he mentioned in a letter to the State Secretary. He states the largest obstacle as being the lack of management capacity with the various institutes. "That’s why the Netherlands have been repeatedly requested during the past period to provide for (temporary) personnel reinforcement", Dick writes.
He considers the current reinforcement a good start.
Courtesy of www.amigoe.com