Establishment of CARICOM policy on refugees slowed by lack of national positions
Published:Thursday | March 14, 2024 | 12:10 AMKimone Francis/Senior Staff Reporter
The Caribbean Community (CARICOM) is yet to establish a policy for treating Haitian refugees who arrive on the shores of member states even amid the decision to establish a presidential council for the violence-torn country that would oversee a future national election.
CARICOM Chairman Dr Mohammed Irfaan Ali, Guyana’s president, insisted that the matter was not at the forefront of Monday’s high-level meeting in Kingston, attended by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken and other regional heads of government.
“That was not for discussion,” Ali told journalists during a press conference, asserting that the focus was on stabilising Haiti.
Ali, who noted that more people have died in Haiti since January than those in Ukraine – which remains locked in a lopsided war with Russia – said the regional bloc’s mind is centred on finding a solution for and bringing comfort to the Haitian people.
The president said Haitians are being killed indiscriminately and “too many have had to flee for their lives” while women have been violated and children traumatised.
“We’re working towards putting Haiti on a path of prosperity, development, on a path of political stability and leading to free and fair elections. That is the priority and the security of Haitian people and having humanitarian aid in there. That is where our focus was,” he added.
Still, thousands of Haitians have fled the French and Creole-speaking country, bordered by the Dominican Republic, with dozens arriving in Jamaica since July.
On Wednesday, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, minister of foreign affairs and foreign trade, told journalists that while Jamaica has a refugee policy, other CARICOM member states do not.
“It is difficult to reach a regional position if you don’t even have a national position. So if you have 13 non-national positions and one position, it is going to make your discussions [hard],” Johnson Smith said.
She echoed that CARICOM is focused on securing stability in Haiti, which she called a foundational problem, while noting that the illegal migration of Haitians is a symptom of the problem.
“We’re trying to help Haiti solve its problem so that people are not seeking to leave. That is our aim; that is our primary role,” she said, adding that Minister of National Security, Dr Horace Chang, is convening discussions on how Jamaica deals with the inevitable result of the instability.
Difficult to deal with
She said that this is an illegal movement that is difficult to deal with.
Only two weeks ago, news emerged that the Jamaican Government had rejected the asylum applications of 37 Haitian refugees who arrived on the island in July.
The group arrived by boat in Portland and subsequently applied for asylum.
The group received the rejection letters on February 27.
“I’m sure the population recognises that refugee status does not automatically apply to someone once they have left a country. Whether you have a policy or not, that is a reality.
“We know it’s a deeply emotional issue. We recognise that as well, and we are sensitive to the circumstances which drive people to leave their country. But international law is as it is. We have not been in breach of it despite what some people would like to say,” said Johnson Smith.
She said countries retain a clear domestic responsibility to secure their borders and population.
This is a principle that also exists in international law, she said.