Government says Sint Maarten held first Human Rights Conference
Government says the 9 October conference followed a Council of Europe visit focused on detention judgments and reform.
The Government of Sint Maarten says the Ministry of Justice and the Council of Europe hosted the country’s first Human Rights Conference on Friday 9 October. According to the government, representatives of the Council of Europe, Parliament, government, justice institutions, legal professionals, civil society, students and community members attended.
The government said the conference addressed human rights protections and the state’s responsibilities, including detention reform. It said the European Court of Human Rights found a violation of the European Convention on Human Rights in the 2018 Corallo v. the Netherlands case over detention conditions in Sint Maarten, after which the Council of Europe’s Committee of Ministers placed execution of the judgment under enhanced supervision.
According to the government, the conference concluded a two-day Council of Europe working visit focused on the Corallo judgment, the Murray judgment and the related Lake decision on life sentences. The delegation also met with the Governor, Minister of Justice, Parliament’s Committee of Justice and the Sint Maarten Progress Committee, and visited Point Blanche Prison, the government said.
The government said Justice Minister Nathalie Tackling appeared before the Committee of Ministers in Strasbourg in 2025 in connection with the Corallo judgment. It also said the Kingdom of the Netherlands will hold the presidency of the Committee of Ministers from May to November 2027.
Photo: Government of Sint Maarten (DCOMM), supplied with the release
