Regional NGO meeting told of human rights concerns arising from new immigration policy; discuss chance of deportees from the Bahamas to Haiti being rendered stateless
The Bahamas government's new immigration policy could be leading to the creation of stateless people, a high level meeting of regional and international NGOs heard.
Paco Nunez, secretary of the Grand Bahama Human Rights Association (GBHRA), told the meeting - convened to discuss strategies for ending statelessness in the region and around the world - that since November 1, 2014, persons under threat of summary deportation to Haiti have included those born in The Bahamas to Haitian parents, who are entitled to be registered as citizens upon application after their 18th birthday.
"With the recent abolition of the certificate of identity, these young people had no way of proving their right to be in the country," he said. "The same goes for the many thousands who have applied according to the rules, but have had no response from the state, sometimes waiting for years.
"Meanwhile, the government has ramped up its detention and deportation exercises, declaring that all non-nationals must be able to produce proof of their right to be in the country upon demand.
"The state told all those born in the country to Haitian parents to apply for a Haitian passport, but for many, the obstacles to a successful application are prohibitive. In particular, many find it impossible to locate the documentary evidence necessary to establish their Haitian heritage, in the absence of which, the government of Haiti will not recognize their claim.

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