Eric van der Burg, the State Secretary for Justice and Security, will pay a four-day working visit to the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. From the 22nd to the 25th of October, he will successively visit Aruba, Curaçao and Bonaire. Through talks with staff members, organisations and various site visits, the State Secretary will be updated on migration policy, the fight against human trafficking and people smuggling, and border control on the islands. The purpose of the visit is to retain an overview of the current situation and the migration issues on the islands.
His visit to Aruba will focus on cooperation, for example in implementing the Netherlands Nationality Act (Rijkswet op het Nederlandschap), in promoting cooperation between border authorities and in identifying potential optimisations in the immigration chain. Border control will be another topic on the agenda.
The visit will continue in Curaçao, where the State Secretary will be updated on migration policy and the fight against human trafficking and people smuggling. He will also hold talks with non-governmental organisations, the coastguard and the Royal Netherlands Marechaussee.
In Bonaire, the State Secretary’s visit will start with a meeting with staff working in the immigration chain. Here, too, the agenda will include arrangements on human trafficking and border control. Another topic will be immigrant detention, while the State Secretary will also hold talks with the Executive Council. The visit to the islands will conclude with the opening of the annual conference on immigration legislation.