Rights Bahamas members air concerns before Inter-American Commission on Human Rights

Fed-up with the immigration laws of The Bahamas and with how Haitians and other nationals are treated, members of Rights Bahamas did not mince words as they recently addressed the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) on May 10th, voicing their concerns at a hearing on the rights of migrants and their descendants in The Bahamas.

The hearing was held at the regional headquarters of the University of the West Indies in Kingston, Jamaica.

The Commission heard the complaints of Rights Bahamas members Stephanie St. Fleur, Louby Georges and Dawrin Thompson.

The trio were also accompanied by human rights activist Frederick Smith, QC, and Joseph Darville.

The request for the hearing was filed by Rights Bahamas in conjunction with Robert F. Kennedy Human Rights, which is headquartered in Washington, DC. This led the Bahamas government to becalled before the 172nd session of the Inter-American Commission of Human Rights (IACHR), to respond to a petition from Rights Bahamas on the treatment of migrants.

Representing the government of The Bahamas at the session was State Minister for Legal Affairs, Elsworth Johnson.

In addressing the commissioners, Stephanie St. Fleur claimed that since 2015, The Bahamas  has become even more intolerant of Haitian migrants and their descendants, targeting them with increasingly hostile rhetoric and social policies.  Read more >>