| Part of theLGBTQ rights series |
Recognized |
Civil unions or registered partnerships but not marriage |
See also
|
Notes
|
 LGBTQ portal |
Same-sex marriage has been legal inBonaire,Sint Eustatius andSaba since 10 October 2012, the effective date of legislation passed by theStates General of the Netherlands enabling same-sex couples to marry.[1][2] TheCaribbean Netherlands was the first jurisdiction in theCaribbean to legalise same-sex marriage, and was followed a few months later byFrench territories, includingGuadeloupe andMartinique, in May 2013.
Saba and Bonaire have been named among the best marriage destinations for same-sex couples in the Caribbean.[3]
In 1954, the islands ofAruba,Curaçao,Bonaire,Sint Maarten,Saba, andSint Eustatius became a constituent country of theKingdom of the Netherlands, known as theNetherlands Antilles. Aruba seceded from the Netherlands Antilles in 1986 to become its own separate constituent country within the Kingdom. TheNetherlands Antilles was dissolved in 2010, with Curaçao and Sint Maarten joining Aruba in becoming autonomous constituent countries, while Saba, Bonaire and Sint Eustastius becamespecial municipalities of the Netherlands proper. Voters inSaba andBonaire had voted for integration into the Netherlands in referendums in 2004, while Sint Eustastius hadvoted against integration in 2005. Under the law of the Netherlands Antilles, same-sex couples were not permitted to marry, despitesame-sex marriage having been legalised in the Netherlands proper in 2001.[4]
.svg)
As theStates General of the Netherlands was debating legislation to establish theCaribbean Netherlands, MPsJohan Remkes andIneke van Gent introduced an amendment to openmarriage to same-sex couples on the islands. Thegovernment of Prime MinisterMark Rutte announced it preferred to negotiate the change with the islands first.[5][6] At the time, the Civil Code of the Netherlands Antilles defined marriage as only "exist[ing] between a man and a woman". In 2007, politicians from the three islands called on the government not to introduce same-sex marriage. A deputy from theBonaire Patriotic Union said, "We have no problem registering the marriages of gays. But we don't want same-sex marriages." Meanwhile, a deputy from theWindward Islands People's Movement stated that "Saba has always been very tolerant towards homosexuals. We have no problem with that. But marriage, that's something else."[7][8] The issue was particularly controversial on the island of Sint Eustatius,[9] with many Christian islanders opposing the principle of the law because of the perceived "neocolonialism" of the Netherlands imposing such a law on its overseas municipalities. The Sint Eustatius Island Council also passed a resolution opposing same-sex marriage in 2010.[10]
The law, known as theImplementation Act Public Entities Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, was passed by the Parliament, and receivedroyal assent by QueenBeatrix on 17 May 2010. It took effect on 10 October 2010. This established the Caribbean Netherlands, and incorporated Saba, Sint Eustatius and Bonaire into the Netherlands proper as special municipalities. The islands were given acivil code, and Netherlands Antilles legislation was gradually replaced with Dutch legislation over the following years. TheSecond Amendment Act Public Bodies Bonaire, Sint Eustatius and Saba, in force since 1 January 2011, amended the Civil Code to insert two clauses ensuring recognition of marriages andregistered partnerships performed abroad, including in the Netherlands, and providing these unions with the same treatment as the marriages and partnerships of opposite-sex couples.[11] It was expected that provisions permitting same-sex marriages to be solemnised on the islands would come into effect within two years.
Legislation to legalise same-sex marriage on the islands took effect on 10 October 2012. Article 1:30 of the Civil Code states:[12]
The first same-sex marriage in Saba was performed inThe Bottom on 4 December 2012 between Cedeno Xiomar Gonzalez, an Aruban, and Israel Ruiz Pinto, fromVenezuela, who were both residents ofAruba.[13][14][15] The first same-sex wedding in Bonaire was performed in May 2013 inKralendijk between Jean Ardley Baiz and Norbert Miguel Torrealba, also an Aruban-Venezuelan couple.[16] The first public same-sex marriage in Sint Eustatius took place in December 2019 inOranjestad between Walter Hellebrand and Christopher Russell, though several same-sex couples had already married in Sint Eustatius in private ceremonies prior to this.[17]
Saba has been named one of the best marriage destinations for same-sex couples in theCaribbean.[3] By 2018, 22 same-sex couples had married on the island.[18] Bonaire has also been named among the best marriage destinations for same-sex couples in the Caribbean.[19]
TheCatholic Church, the largestChristian denomination in Bonaire and Saba, opposes same-sex marriage and does not allow its priests to officiate at such marriages. In December 2023, theHoly See publishedFiducia supplicans, a declaration allowingCatholic priests tobless couples who are not considered to bemarried according to church teaching, including theblessing of same-sex couples.[20] Donald Chambers, the General Secretary of theAntilles Episcopal Conference, said in response that: "The spontaneous blessings are simply gestures that provide an effective means of increasing trust in God on the part of the person who asks. Hence the title,Fiducia supplicans literally means asking for trust."[21] In Sint Eustatius, where Protestant groups account for the majority of the population, Christian leaders were vocal in their opposition to same-sex marriage during parliamentary discussions on the marriage bill.[10]
