Freedom Imaginaries calls for CARICOM to protect the rights of Haitian refugees

Advocacy group Freedom Imaginaries is calling for CARICOM to implement a rights-based regional approach for the protection of Haitian migrants and refugees as leaders prepare to meet in Jamaica on Monday to try to broker a solution to the crisis in Haiti.

In an open letter to the chairman of CARICOM, Dr Irfaan Ali, on Saturday, Freedom Imaginaries expressed deep concern about the "escalating cycle of migration-related abuse targeting Haitians who seek refuge in Caribbean countries".

It argued that amid the devastating crisis in Haiti, some Caribbean countries are carrying out repressive measures against Haitian migrants and refugees, with reports of arbitrary detentions, forced returns and collective expulsions without due process or an individualised assessment of protection needs.

"Even as CARICOM leaders convene in Jamaica to address the rapidly deteriorating situation in Haiti, Jamaica is seeking to forcibly return 37 Haitian asylum seekers to a country in the throes of catastrophic violence, without giving them an opportunity to be heard," Malene Alleyne, an international human rights lawyer with Freedom Imaginaries said.

Alleyne noted that international law prohibits the forced removal of people to a place where they may face risk of persecution, torture or other serious or irreparable harm.

Headlines Delivered to Your Inbox

Sign up for The Gleaner’s morning and evening newsletters.

She further argued that the Refugee Convention also establishes the principle of non-penalisation for irregular entry, which means that Haitians fleeing persecution should not be criminalised for "illegal entry", nor excluded from refugee status on that basis.

She said the convention only refers to narrow exclusion criteria, which relate to persons who have committed serious crimes.

Alleyne urged CARICOM states to reform their asylum procedures and adopt a rights-based response to Haitians fleeing persecution, with strict adherence to the principle of nonrefoulement and the rule of law.

She explained that this entails a requirement to establish effective procedures for the individualised assessment of protection needs and exclusion considerations that may arise in individual claims.

"To operationalise this approach, we call on governments and stakeholders to establish a regional inter-agency coordination platform for Haiti to implement humanitarian, protection, and socio-economic integration activities to assist the situation of Haitian refugees and migrants," Alleyne said.