Kralendijk:--- This year, The Kingdom Taskforce for Children's Rights will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a working conference. The gathering, taking place from May 13th to 16th on Bonaire, will serve as a moment of reflection on the achievements and a look ahead at the taskforce's objectives. An important aspect of this is the collaborative development of the strategic framework.
The conference will focus on action plans and collaboration agreements between the six islands based on the strategy for 2023-2028. These strategic objectives are outlined based on the focal points in the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) signed by the countries and public entities in October 2023 in Curaçao. The MoU marks an extension of the initial MoU signed in 2018.
Over the past ten years, the task force has achieved various concrete results across the six islands in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. Some examples include signing a covenant for the implementation of a strategic plan that promotes cooperation and is executed through the Youth and Family Center in Aruba, active youth participation in shaping the new youth policy of Bonaire, the establishment of a youth platform in Curaçao, launching of the Child Helpline in Saba, the introduction of a parenting store in St. Eustatius, and the development of a parenting program in St. Maarten.
About the Taskforce
The history of the Kingdom Taskforce for Children's Rights dates back to the Kingdom Conference of April 2, 2014, in Aruba. During this conference, political authorities endorsed that every child in the Kingdom is entitled to a good childhood, as stated in the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). The Kingdom Conference led to the establishment of the Kingdom Taskforce for Children's Rights, with the aim of stimulating cooperation in the Kingdom regarding children's rights and improving the implementation of children's rights in the Caribbean part of the Kingdom. The task force consists of representatives of youth and families from Aruba, Bonaire, Curaçao, Saba, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, and representatives from the Ministry of the Interior and Kingdom Relations (BZK) and the Ministry of Health, Welfare, and Sport (VWS). UNICEF The Netherlands serves as the advisor to the task force.
