~~Adz:Left~~ WASHINGTON D.C., USA (25TH JULY 2007) – A Hearing/Briefing on Deportees was held by the Sub-Committee on Western Hemispheric Affairs of the US House of Representatives Committee on Foreign Affairs on Capitol Hill, 24th July 2007. The objective of the Hearing/Briefing was to assist the US Government with obtaining information, analyses and ideas on the issue of Deportees, which would then be used to inform the drafting of legislation.
In an unprecedented gesture, the CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors where invited to identify an expert to participate in the second panel and deliver a briefing and field questions related to the challenges posed to Caribbean countries by the large numbers of returning deportees to Caribbean states. Although the Hearing/Briefing was convened to consider the matter of deportees to the entire hemisphere, the Caribbean received special attention, as no other country or region was invited to identify and present an expert witness.
The St. Kitts and Nevis representative, H.E. Dr. Izben Williams, Ambassador to the United States of America, has indicated that this invitation emanated out of the discussions held during the June convening of the “Conference on the Caribbean: A 2020 Vision” and represents a direct attempt by the US Government to address the concerns of the CARICOM Heads of Government. At this Conference, CARICOM Heads of Government and Ministers of Foreign Affairs raised their concerns about the egregious impact that the large influx of returning deportees was having on Caribbean States and sought assistance from the US Government in mitigating this impact. ~~Adz:Right~~
Dr. Anne Marie Barnes was selected to be the Region’s Expert Witness at the Briefing. Dr. Barnes is the consultant who was commissioned by the Governments of Jamaica, Guyana and Trinidad and Tobago to conduct studies on Deportees in the three countries. Her report, entitled “Comparative Deportation Report: Guyana, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago 2007” was completed in May 2007.
The conduct of this study was a direct response by these Governments to the decision taken by CARICOM to examine the impact of deportation on regional crime rates and to develop a coordinated regional framework to guide further negotiations with the major deporting countries.
The study provided compelling evidence and analyses that supported the view that the increased deportation of Caribbean nations has contributed to the problem of serious violent crime within the region; that many deported criminal offenders continue to engage in criminal activities subsequent to their deportation and, importantly that a large percentage of the sample had lived overseas for most of their lives, with families and children located in the deporting country.
The presentation by Dr. Barnes therefore highlighted these findings and made recommendations in support of the Region’s call for attention to be given by US policy makers to issues such as the need for humanity to be exercised in the deportation process; the permission of some measure of assistance to receiving countries and a clarification of the categories of offences which warrant deportation.
Dr. Timothy Harris, Minister of Foreign Affairs et al has stated, “CARICOM’s participation in the hearing is an encouraging development. At the very least we had another opportunity to engage U.S. legislators and policy makers on a matter that has been troubling the region for some time. Hopefully, greater appreciation of our concerns will result and, in due course, action taken on our recommendations and proposals.
Ends
