The Bonaire Human Rights Organization (BHRO) has taken a decisive step on the international stage by appointing Dr. Maxton Scotland, an expert in SDG Global and Civil Society of the United Nations based in the United Kingdom, to represent Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius before the United Nations and the wider international community.
A formal complaint letter has been sent to the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR), the UN Human Rights Council, the Secretariat of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR), and to the Dutch Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations as well as the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Dr. Scotland and BHRO are demanding a correction of the terminology used by UN bodies and the Dutch government that incorrectly refer to the islands as “special municipalities” of the Netherlands. The letter stresses that the legally accurate term under Dutch law is “public body” (openbaar lichaam) — entities that are not equivalent to municipalities in European Netherlands.
The communication asserts that this misclassification is “legally incorrect, misleading in practice, and detrimental to human rights analysis.”
The incorporation of the islands into the Dutch constitutional framework under WolBES and FinBES in 2010, according to BHRO, was imposed without the free and genuine consent of the people, violating Article 1 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR), which guarantees the right to self-determination of all peoples.
The letter highlights that during the 2015 referendum, 66% of Bonairean voters rejected the imposed constitutional status — a historic result that was subsequently ignored by the Netherlands. According to Dr. Scotland, this constitutes a breach of international law and undermines democratic credibility within the Kingdom.
The complaint outlines several human rights implications of this misclassification:
•It creates a false equivalence with municipalities in European Netherlands, giving a misleading impression of the governance structure of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius.
•It distorts international and UN human rights assessments on poverty, representation, and cultural identity.
•According to the Dutch National Ombudsman, 40% of Bonaire’s residents live below the poverty line — a situation worsened by the lack of equal funding mechanisms and effective socio-economic measures.
•Cultural and linguistic protection for the local Papiamentu language is being eroded as European Dutch laws are imposed on the islands.
Dr. Scotland has urged the OHCHR to issue a style guide directing all UN entities to use “public body of the Caribbean Netherlands (openbaar lichaam)” instead of “special municipality.” He also recommended that future Universal Periodic Review (UPR) reports integrate this correction and that the Netherlands demonstrate compliance with Articles 1 and 2(3) of the ICCPR.
BHRO met with Dutch government representatives from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs during the 78th Session of the UN Committee on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (CESCR) in Geneva, where BHRO presented its case and the letter calling for accurate international reporting and the protection of Bonaire under Article 73 of the UN Charter on Non-Self-Governing Territories.
“This is not simply a matter of semantics,” said James Finies of BHRO.
“Terminology determines recognition. The people of Bonaire, Saba, and Sint Eustatius deserve to be represented honestly and accurately in every international forum.”
With its United Nations accreditation and associate membership in the CARICOM Reparations Commission, BHRO reaffirms its commitment to defending the rights, dignity, and self-determination of the people of Bonaire. Press release: Bonaire Human Rights Organization