(Statement) The Bahamas’s failure to become a member of the UN Human
Rights Council should serve as a reminder to government that as our human
rights standards continue to deteriorate, the world is indeed watching, the
Grand Bahama Human Rights Association said.
The GBHRA called the country’s failure to attract
sufficient votes from other member states unfortunate, but reiterated its
stance that the government should turn its attention to rights abuses at home
before it seeks to police the rest of the world.
"The failed bid is lamentable, in that it reflects
poorly on The Bahamas on the international scene. At the same time, we believe
the effort to join the council in the first place was nothing but a cynical
ploy on the part of government desperate to deflect attention from its record
on human rights at home, which sadly leaves much to be desired," said
GBHRA president, Fred Smith Q.C.
The decision to seek a seat on the council came as the
government continued to face pressure from human rights advocates, both at home
and abroad, over its record on human rights – particularly in terms of the
harsh and much-criticized new immigration policy, launched one year ago.
"The GBHRA is of the view that The Bahamas'
treatment of migrants - including detention and deportation without due
process, steps taken to deny children of migrants access to education, police
brutality, and cases such as the recent one of Jamaican Matthew Sewell,
detained for nine years in hellish prison conditions without having been
convicted of a crime –are just a few examples of why The Bahamas should rightly
be considered unfit for such a post at this time.
"This is not to mention the government's continued
flagrant failure to enact a Freedom of Information Act which would open it up
to public scrutiny like the majority of the world's governments and ensure that
the Bahamian public's human right – to public information – is upheld and
respected," said Smith.
With its campaign to win the seat over, the GBHRA said
it hopes the government will turn much needed attention to addressing these
critical issues.
"We continue to hope for a day when The Bahamas
will rightly be able to take a seat at this institution and make pronouncements
on the human rights failings of others with integrity," Smith said.
Disclaimer:
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