Minister of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez addressing members of the Infer-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) during a hearing at the Organization of American States (OAS) administrative building in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 20. At left is His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative to the OAS. Seated behind them are Deputy Chief of Mission Chet Neymour and Second Secretary Krissy Hanna.
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WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Denouncing allegations made against The Bahamas by the Grand
Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA) as ”false, baseless and malicious,” Minister
of State for Legal Affairs Damian Gomez told members of the Infer-American
Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on
Friday, March 20, 2015 that The Bahamas
has a history of respecting human rights that “predates our independence.”
“Indeed, our support of Haiti and its people in the attainment of economic,
political and social stability emanates from an abiding and unflinching belief
in the dignity of our shared human condition,” Minister Gomez told the IACHR commissioners,
who convened the hearing based on specific allegations made by the GBHRA President
about the mistreatment of illegal Haitian immigrants in The Bahamas.
GBHRA President Fred Smith also addressed the hearing, held in Ruben Dario Room
of the Organization of American States (OAS) administrative building at 1889 F
Street, N.W.
Underscoring his of the falsity of the allegations made by Mr. Smith, verbally
and in written documents, Minister Gomez specifically highlighted the
outrageous claim made by the GBHRA President that “the Government of The
Bahamas has embraced Fascism and Nazism in a targeted campaign to commit
genocide against Haitian nationals.”
“They even maintained that there are concentration camps in The Bahamas and
compared the Detention Center to Auschwitz,” Minister Gomez said. “These lies
cannot be left unanswered. It is my solemn duty to protect the name and
reputation of our people. That is the sole purpose of my attendance here today.
Let not my good manners detract from the depth of outrage collectively felt by
the people of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas at the defamation of our country.”
Minister Gomez noted that in 1648 “the original English settlers of The Bahamas
arrived to establish a free society in which they might practice their religion
without let or hindrance of the English Crown or the Church of England.”
“They settled on the island of Eleuthera, the Greek word for freedom,” Minister
Gomez said. “Shortly after settlement, a
large number a black slaves were deported from Bermuda to Eleuthera where they
were immediately freed. Without a Royal
permit the settlers pursued the establishment of their new Jerusalem. They held democratically elected assemblies
well before The Bahamas became recognized by the English Crown as a colony to
be kept, where upon Letters Patent were
issued and our democracy institutionalized.
The Common Law protected human rights.
Much later in 1963 a Bill of Rights was enshrined in the second written
constitution affecting The Bahamas. In
the 1969 and 1973 to further constitutions sought further to explicitly protect
human rights by repeating the 1963 Bill of Rights. In colonial and post-colonial times human
rights has been an essential feature of Bahamian Law and Bahamian Culture.”
Pictured from left to right following Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) hearing held at the Organization of American States (OAS) administrative building in Washington, D.C., on Friday, March 20, are: Jose de Jesus Orozco Henriquez, IACHR Commissioner; Tracy Robinson, IACHR Commissioner; His Excellency Dr. Elliston Rahming, Bahamas Ambassador to the United Nations and Permanent Representative to the OAS; the Hon. Damian Gomez, Minister of State for Legal Affairs; Rose Marie Antoine, IACHR Commissioner; and His Excellency Dr. Eugene Newry, Bahamas Ambassador to the United States.
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He added: “It is in this context that the public utterances of the petitioners
have evoked outrage and contempt as openly expressed by ordinary members of
public. We join the public in condemning
the outlandish and bizarre allegations made by the petitioners about the people
of the Commonwealth of The Bahamas.
“Notwithstanding the failure of the Petitioners to identify a victim of human
rights abuses in The Bahamas or of a single failing in our domestic juridical
institutions to provide adequate redress we appear as Portia to demonstrate the
purity of our response to the demands of upholding human rights in good and bad
times when even our neighbours fail to respond.”
Providing further support for his denunciation of the “baseless and malicious”
allegations, Minister Gomez had displayed on a projected screen photographs of
the detention center for illegal migrants and of the safe house used to keep
infants and young persons under the age of 18 with their respective mothers.
“The new dormitories were built at a cost of over $1 million,” Minister Gomez told
the Commissioners. “Note the bunk beds and the state of the art bathroom and
toilet facilities. Hardly a concentration camp, much less Auschwitz. Note also
the furniture and facilities at the safe house rented from the Catholic
Archdiocese of Nassau and The Bahamas. Would the Catholic Church not qualify as
a part of civil society? Here they participate in a private public partnership
to protect young people. Would the Catholic Church partner with purveyors of
genocide? Yet this is what the Petitioners would have you believe.”
Referring to the allegation that Haitians are singled out, Minister Gomez said
public records show otherwise, adding that the Government of The Bahamas “acts
even handedly in respect of the enforcement of our laws” and further pointing
out that “there is no racial or ethnic preference or bias.”
Declaring that The Bahamas’ National Security agencies have collected
intelligence about the smugglers of illegal migrants from Haiti, Minister Gomez
noted that it has been reported that the fee charged each migrant ranges from
$1500 to $5000.
“The criminal enterprise of human trafficking and smuggling is a new scourge to
our people,” Minister Gomez said. “It poses new risks to The Bahamas. These
risks require a measured response to ensure that our laws are enforced and
obeyed by all. The witting or unwitting comfort given by the Petitioners to
these criminal enterprises is noted with deprecation.”
Minister Gomez added, “Our duty to govern is paramount. We cooperate with the
international community in the fight against both human trafficking and
terrorism. Law enforcement requires that we know and account for all aliens in
our jurisdiction as far as is humanly possible. This is consistent with
existing law and the amendments to the Immigration Act now being debated in our
Parliament.
“Our duty to govern also embraces our responsibility to give substance to
constitutional rights enjoyed or to be enjoyed by subjects of our Commonwealth.
Hitherto the passage of the amendments, children who are natives of The Bahamas
but born to foreign parents enjoy no right to remain in The Bahamas during
their infancy or minority. At 18 and until their 19th birthday they have a
right to apply for Bahamian citizenship. The amendments improve upon the situation
of such persons. The amendments confer a status of "belonger" upon
such natives, enabling these children to enjoy a legal right to remain in The
Bahamas, to attend school, college or university as if they were full citizens
of The Bahamas. Additionally, such persons may work without obtaining a work
permit. The only right not enjoyed by them is the right to vote. These salutary
changes to the law of immigration will benefit literally thousands of Haitian
nationals enabling them to open bank accounts and to participate in the formal
economy of The Bahamas. For this laudatory achievement the Petitioners defame
us, the magnanimous Bahamian people.”
Continuing, Minister Gomez noted, “Far from fascism or Nazism, we seek the
embrace of our brothers and sisters born in our midst to foreigners who made
varying degrees of contributions to our development. Many of these people are
of Haitian descent but many also are of other nationalities and ethnicity. Many
of these people are poor but some of these people are well to do or rich. We
seek the inclusion of all of their talents recognizing that The Bahamas
benefits by that inclusiveness more than it loses.
“Madam President and distinguished Commissioners, we in The Bahamas have faced
illegal migration for longer than we have enjoyed independence. Throughout this
experience, we have extended Christian charity to the weakest amongst us:
infants, children, young persons, the aged, the sick and the infirm. We have
provided schools and education even granting it as a legal right irrespective
of the immigration status of the child. We have provided health care
irrespective of persons' immigration status and we have done so for among other
things to promote public health and to prevent the spread of communicable
diseases. Our history of inclusion is now being questioned in spite of
consistent public statements from the Ministers of Immigration, Education,
Health and Social Services. This Bahamian tradition is questioned in the face
of publicly disclosed expenditure and budgetary data which demonstrates the
commitment of The Bahamas to the creation of a democratic, great and socially
fair society.”
He added, “There is no threat to any child in the school system that he or she
will be deprived of an education while within The Bahamas. Nor is there any
threat to any immigrant that he or she will be denied medical care. Simply
there is no basis for the defamatory Petition brought by the Petitioners.”
