VII.12 CIVIL SOCIETY STRUCTURE AND ORGANISATION Civil society is defined by Transparency International as the arena outside of the family, the state and the business sector, that is created by individual and collective action, organisations and institutions to advance shared interests. Curaçao citizens are active in numerous civil society organisations (CSOs) dealing with, amongst others, religion, culture, music, sports, charity, health and environment. The CSOs range in character from institutionalised and formal with a few hundred members and international ties, to informal, small-scale and local. The number and diversity of CSOs reflects the fragmentation and polarisation of civil society in Curaçao. Traditional CSOs, like trade unions, have existed since 19221086 in Curaçao and have increased in number to more than 20 today. There are three umbrella organisations for unions,1087 which are connected to international (union) organisations such as the International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC), the Trade Union Confederation of the Americas (TUCA) and Public Servants International (PSI). There is also a local Union Platform, called Plataforma Sindikal. Faith-based organisations are also a significant component of civil society in Curaçao. The majority (73 per cent) of the population of Curaçao belongs to the Roman Catholic religion.1088 The most important churches and faith communities are united in the umbrella organisation, the Council of Churches (Raad van Kerken). Several service organisations – including Rotary, the Lions Club and the Kiwanis – form another important element of civil society. In 1985, a small group of people, including the former premier of the Netherlands Antilles, the late Miguel Pourier, formed a pressure group called Foundation Shared Interest (Fundashon Kousa Komun), which aimed to raise awareness about good governance. In recent years, more citizens have become active in publicly expressing their concerns about corruption on radio or television, through articles in newspapers, and using social media. Since Curaçao became an independent country in October 2010 there has been an explosion in the establishment of new watchdog CSOs.1089 Although the composition of the groups is subject to change and coordination is often lacking, they all seem to have the same higher purpose of establishing good governance in Curaçao. This chapter focuses mainly on CSOs in Curaçao which explicitly focus on achieving good governance. Business associations are not included in this chapter, but are mentioned in Chapter VII.13 Business.
1086
Bishop Verriet established the first union: Liga St. Telmo for harbour labourers. Central General Trahadonan di Corsow (CGTC), Sentral Sindikato Korsou (SSK) and Kamara Sindikal (KS). 1088 The other religions are: Protestant, Pinkstergemeente, Adventist, Jehovah’s witnesses and other religions, CBS Census 2011. (Willemstad: Central Bureau of Statistics Curaçao, 2011). 1089 Such as: Kòrsou Uní, Grupo di Avila, Kòrsou 40, Pro Pueblo, Frente Sivíl, Defensa Sivil, Akshon Sivíl. 1087
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