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Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM |
 Nassau, Bahamas - Communication To Parliament Fred Mitchell MP, Minister Of Foreign Affairs And Immigration 23 February 2015 at House of Assembly on ICHR Precautionary Measures:
Mr. Speaker,
I wish to report again to this House the most recent developments with regard to the fight against illegal migration in The Bahamas.
You will know that there was a staging meeting which took place with all government agencies in Marsh Harbour, Abaco on Friday 20th February as a precursor to the execution of special measures to be executed in Abaco to combat illegal migration in the coming weeks.
The meeting was successful. The agencies of the government are in the process of mapping out a schematic which will provide a set of options and choices from which the political directorate can decide.
There will be a meeting with the heads of law enforcement agencies in The Bahamas to discuss the way forward including timing and logistics tomorrow Tuesday 24th February.
We wish to conduct this in an open and transparent way so that there can be no misunderstanding of what we intend and how we intend to execute our immigration policies.
The policies have widespread public support. We are cognizant of the fact that without that support the policies cannot be successful.
The aim of the policy is several fold: to ensure the integrity of the work force and its "Bahamianness"; to ensure the national security of our state and protect its cultural integrity; to regularize those who find themselves in a legal Catch 22 where appropriate; to exclude from the country those who have no right to live and work here.
This policy is not targeted at any national group. It is a generic policy.
You will also note Mr. Speaker that on 19th February the government received notice of a finding of precautionary measures by the Inter American Human Rights Commission. Please note that we are not signatories to the convention which establishes the Commission. However, we are cognizant of the public importance these findings have and how they can influence public opinion and therefore should not be ignored.
In this connection, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs issued a statement last week which I shall read into the record which gives the first response to the findings by the Commission.
In doing so, I wish to remind the public that they should remain calm in the face of the many provocations about our country that now seem to be piling on. When one examines the facts, the public will find that the sources of the information are the same. I repeat what I said earlier that there will be push back to any new policy initiative. We have to steel ourselves to fight the pushback because it is meant to sully the reputation of our country and stop the policies.
We do not deny that there may be issues surrounding the policies that are open to debate or that can be challenged but we deny that there is any official policy of targeting any national group, nor is there any official sponsoring of abuse of any kind against migrants in this country. The Bahamas remains a welcoming, lawful country.
There is an attempt by the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association in particular to paint The Bahamas in an unflattering light. Their motivations are unknown but they lack credibility and are disreputable in the process. We will fight any smear of our country with every resource that we have.
I repeat. The idea of portraying the illegal migrants as poor people escaping from poverty should be juxtaposed against the fact of reports that these trips of illegal migrants cost from 1500 dollars to 5,000 dollars a head. This means that we are dealing with something which approximates a sophisticated criminal enterprise. Our new policies are disrupting that criminal enterprise. The Grand Bahama Human Rights Association should be careful that they are not unwittingly running interference for that enterprise.
I now read the statement issued earlier:
The following statement was issued on Friday 20th February by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration of The Bahamas in answer to the Inter American Human Rights Commission’s ruling on the Carmichael Road Detention Centre:
The public is advised that the government of The Bahamas is in receipt of a report from the Inter-American Human Rights Commission of the Organization of American States regarding an assessment of the conditions at the Carmichael Road Detention Center and issuing precautionary measures. The measures were issued it said because a number of human rights groups claimed that the life and physical integrity of various migrants at the Carmichael Road Detention Centre were at risk. We believe that the concerns are overstated and inaccurate.
The report is being more fully reviewed and a diplomatic note will be dispatched shortly giving the considered response of the Bahamas Government to these allegations.
At first blush, it is unfortunate that the report appears to have adopted the narrative of the various human rights groups and press-based advocates that are not based in fact. Many of its assertions are based on untested tendentious, anecdotal material. In the face of these inaccuracies, it is difficult to accept any conclusions which flow from this decision of the Commission. It simply strains credibility. The decision is not helpful in resolving the issues which are confronted by illegal migrants to The Bahamas and comes off as prejudicial.
The Government has in its possession a report commissioned by a panel headed by a former Justice of Appeal of the Court of the Bahamas about the conditions at the Detention Centre and within its resources is addressing its recommendations about the Detention Centre.
The assertions in the decision also appear to be related to facts which do not exist now and some of them did not exist at the time the allegations were made.
The government again states that it is committed to maintaining the highest standards in any of its detention facilities in The Bahamas and works continuously at achieving those standards within the level of resources that are available.
© Copyright 2015 by thebahamasweekly.com
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