Sint Eustatius — The Kingdom Taskforce for Children’s Rights concluded its 2026 Work Conference in Sint Eustatius with a renewed commitment to strengthening meaningful youth participation across the Caribbean part of the Kingdom of the Netherlands.
The three-day work conference brought together Taskforce members, dignitaries, youth representatives, experts and partners to reflect on progress, exchange knowledge and define concrete next steps. This year’s central theme was meaningful youth participation: ensuring that children and young people are not only heard but are actively involved in shaping the policies and decisions that affect their lives.
The program included keynote contributions on strengthening youth participation mechanisms, presentations on the National Youth Strategy and the Children’s Rights Collective of the Netherlands, island assignments on youth participation policy frameworks, presentations by youth representatives from Saba and Curaçao, and a dialogue with dignitaries on Kingdom-wide children’s rights challenges and collaboration. UNICEF the Netherlands also presented the results of a baseline study, providing important insights to further support evidence-based action.
A key milestone for the conference was the signing of a letter of intent. Through this letter of intent, the six Caribbean islands within the Kingdom expressed their commitment to strengthening meaningful and structural youth participation, in line with one of the focus areas of the Taskforce Strategic Framework and with article 12 of the Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC), and following the recommendation of the UN CRC Committee.
The letter of intent recognizes that youth participation is a shared responsibility of the entire government, and not only of ministries and departments responsible for youth.
The conference also looked ahead. In 2027, the participating islands aim to organize a conference where young people will actively participate and present participation scorecards, examples of co-creation, policy recommendations and reflections on the effectiveness of participation mechanisms. In 2028, governments will report on how youth input has been integrated into policy and implementation.
The Kingdom Taskforce for Children’s Rights continues to serve as a platform for collaboration, learning and accountability within the Kingdom. Its work is grounded in the shared belief that every child, on every island and in every country of the Kingdom, has the right to grow up safe, healthy, supported and heard.
