A Round Table Conference involving the two member-Countries constituting the Kingdom of the Netherlands, i.e., the Netherlands and the Netherlands Antilles, and the six islands of the Netherlands Antilles, took place in March 1983 in The Hague. The subject was the constitutional position of one of the islands, Aruba. Acting on the assumption that each of the islands had the right of self-determination, the Conference accepted Aruba's decision to make use of that right and opt for independence, and thus secession from the Kingdom of the Netherlands, to take effect in 1996. In the interim Aruba would be granted separate status, i.e., as a Country within the Kingdom under the Charter of the Kingdom, for a transitional period of ten years.