During the week of November 23, articles by three columnists, David Jessop, Rickey Singh, and Kayode Soyinka have appeared in various sections of the Caribbean media on the subject of the region's bid to secure the post of Commonwealth secretary general when the matter is decided by CHOGM next year.
All three columnists have eschewed the fundamental principles of their high calling. For, rather than giving an objective analysis of the comparative merits of the three regional candidates vying for the honor to represent CARICOM against other potential competitors from the wider Commonwealth, they have chosen instead to launch simultaneous unwarranted attacks on one candidate alone, Patricia Scotland QC, a national of my country Dominica. And they have done so without any attempt to check the facts, or to seek comment from the nominating government or, I am assured, from the candidate herself.
As a Dominican national and a Caribbean citizen who has lived and worked throughout the region, I know that our leaders and our people have a strong sense of fair play. I am sure that they will be as appalled and disappointed as I am at these unfortunate attempts to sully the good name of one of Dominica's most distinguished daughters, and a formidable champion of Caribbean causes in the Diaspora.
In the circumstances I feel it my duty, as someone who has direct knowledge of Patricia Scotland's exemplary personal and professional attributes, her unquestionable integrity and her significant contribution to the Caribbean, to set the record straight.
The half-truths, bias and innuendo in the columns centre around three main themes: That Patricia Scotland is not really Dominican or Caribbean, but a British candidate being run by the Foreign Office by stealth, using Dominica as a willing proxy; that her public service in Britain ipso facto implies disloyalty to the Caribbean, and moreover that she has delivered nothing for our region.
Let me reply with fact:
Patricia Scotland is Dominica's nominee
Patricia Scotland is Dominican by birth, Antiguan by descent through her father and British by operation of the law. She holds citizenship only of those countries to which she is constitutionally entitled by birthright. Anyone who has met or worked with Patricia Scotland knows that she is passionately Caribbean by disposition and by commitment, and that she has been a constant presence in Dominica and the wider region for her entire professional life.
The speculation that Patricia Scotland is the nominee of Britain for the post is patently false. I speak from a position of knowledge when I say that it is Dominica, and Dominica alone that has put forward her candidature. As a member state of the Commonwealth my country has the sovereign right to nominate a Dominican national for the post of secretary general and I am immensely proud of the outstanding calibre and personal integrity of the nominee the government of Dominica has chosen.
Admittedly, another country was keen to nominate her also, but that country most certainly was not Britain, with whom the government of Dominica has had absolutely no discussions on the matter. Rather it was, ironically enough, Antigua and Barbuda, whose former Prime Minister Baldwin Spencer fully embraced Patricia Scotland as a daughter of the soil, and committed his government's enthusiastic support.
Those are the facts. To state or even imply that Dominica is being manipulated or coerced by any third state is an affront to my government and by implication, to the entire region.
Public service in Britain: an asset, not a liability
It is true that Patricia Scotland emigrated to Britain with her parents at an early age, as have thousands of other Caribbean citizens. But it is also true that like other prominent members of the Caribbean Diaspora in the UK she has retained strong and active ties to our region and immense pride in her Caribbean heritage. She has given freely of her exceptional talent both to the region of her birth and to the society in which she grew up. There is tangible proof of this, if your columnist would take time to enquire.
In the Caribbean we celebrate the significant achievements of the members of our Diaspora; we do not tear them down. As a Dominican I am immensely proud, as all Caribbean patriots should be, that a young woman from the village of St Joseph, Dominica, made it to the top in a far-off land as the only black person and the only woman ever to hold the post of attorney general in the United Kingdom. Yes, she served in the Cabinet of a Labour administration, and yes she sits in the House of Lords. But what is relevant here is whether or not, having reached the inside of the British Establishment purely on the basis of her ability and expertise, she used her unique position to advocate for policies supportive of the region of her birth and her experience of both worlds to build bridges towards greater UK-Caribbean understanding.
We in the Caribbean know she has done and continues to do so in abundance. One of the three columnists, Mr. Jessop, also knows this from direct experience and from his numerous consultations with Patricia Scotland on Caribbean issues over the past three decades.
It is misleading in the extreme to imply that Patricia Scotland is regarded, by regional political and academic figures not identified, as "tainted" by her supposed Britishness and as forfeiting Caribbean trust in supporting Britain's decision to invade Iraq.
On the first point, I believe that we in the Caribbean have long cast off this jaundiced anti-colonial paranoia and has readily sought to tap the skills and expertise of our overseas nationals, in whatever capacity they are qualified to serve.
The second argument is desperately hollow. It is known full well that in 2003 Patricia Scotland was neither attorney general nor a member of the Cabinet that decided the matter of intervention in Iraq nor of the House of Commons, which voted on it. It is also known that the Caribbean itself was divided on the issue, and several CARICOM states declined to denounce the action.
Patricia Scotland's record in the Caribbean
It is clear that Soyinka has no direct knowledge of the candidate or her work in the Caribbean, and he can therefore be excused for jumping to the conclusion that she has served all her working life in Britain, and consequently has done nothing for the Caribbean. The same cannot however be said for Singh or Jessop who have covered the Caribbean extensively for decades.
In that capacity they should be aware, or could easily have discovered that in 1978 Patricia Scotland was called to the Bar in Antigua and Barbuda and in Dominica and enjoyed a 20-year career in private practice before entering the political arena in Britain. During that time she worked extensively with Caribbean governments advising on governance, constitutional and family law issues, and advocating on behalf of the disadvantaged and vulnerable sectors of society. Her work on behalf of the youth and in support of efforts to end domestic violence is well known.
It would be invidious of me to itemize her concrete contributions to individual countries in the region. They themselves are aware of the details. Suffice it for me to mention the model Family Court system that she designed for Trinidad and Tobago, which continues to be cited as an international best practice. Indeed it was in recognition of her stellar legal career and her extensive and longstanding contribution to the Caribbean that she was awarded an Honorary Doctorate by the University of the West Indies in 2008.
As regards her subsequent political career in Britain, it is most perplexing that Jessop failed to acknowledge Patricia Scotland's significant work as chairman of the Government's Advisory Group on the Caribbean, out of which was born a new strategic partnership to strengthen UK/Caribbean relations for mutual benefit. A central part of the enhanced dialogue was the UK-Caribbean Forum, initiated in 1998 on the basis of the Advisory Group's recommendation, which Patricia Scotland shaped and developed when she became Minister for the Caribbean in 1999. Jessop's Caribbean Council was given pride of place at the forum.
I have taken pains to set the record straight because I cannot stand idly by and allow the character and motivations of an exemplary Dominican to be so blatantly misrepresented.
The choice of the next Commonwealth secretary general at this critical juncture is a serious responsibility for all heads of government. If the Commonwealth's relevance is to be restored, Heads must identify and put in place a strong leader who possesses vision, integrity and innovation and a proven ability to implement transformational change. They must choose a person who is well-respected throughout the Commonwealth and who has extensive experience in the core areas of Commonwealth action. Above all they must choose a consensus builder in the creation of a shared vision for the Commonwealth's future. For my part, I believe that Patricia Scotland possesses all these attributes.
Caribbean heads will no doubt look carefully and objectively at the personal character, professional attributes and career record of the three regional candidates under their consideration, and on their suitability for the challenging task at hand. Journalists too should be encouraged to delve deep into the candidates' backgrounds, career trajectory and international reputation. Any assessments they publish on the candidates' relative merits and suitability should be based on sound research, not on speculative commentary or hearsay.
o Dr. Nicholas Liverpool served as president of the Commonwealth of Dominica from 2003 to 2012 and also as a judge on high courts and appeals courts in Antigua, Montserrat, Grenada, Belize and The Bahamas. This article is published with the permission of Caribbean News Now.
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