STATEMENT BY THE HON.

FREDERICK MITCHELL
MINISTER OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS AND IMMIGRATION OF THE
COMMONWEALTH OF THE BAHAMAS
28TH SESSION OF THE HIGH LEVEL SEGMENT OF
THE HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
2 5 MARCH, 2015, GENEVA, SWITZERLAND

Mr. President,
Mr. High Commissioner for Human Rights,
Honourable Ministers,
Excellencies,
Ladies and Gentlemen,

I have the distinct honour to address you in what I

believe, is the first opportunity for a Foreign Minister of The
Bahamas to participate in a High Level Segment of the
Human Rights Council outside of the Universal Periodic
Review.

Mr. President,

During an address to the General Assembly last year, I said

there are three areas of priority to which the Bahamas
Government will give attention, that of illegal immigration
into The Bahamas, climate change and fighting crime.

am happy to see that these priorities are to be addressed in

some form during this session of the Council.

At the

Annual Summit of the CELAC leaders in San Jose, Costa

Rica, the Prime Minister, the Right Honourable Perry
Christie expressed the wish for a focused and candid
discussion on migration. He added that all countries
should work together to arrest irregular migration and
explore modalities for orderly and safe migration.

Mr. President,

The Bahamas appreciates that migration is a necessary

phenomenon which forces people to move from one place to
another, in search of political stability or in pursuit of

improved economic conditions. There are also those who,

due to environmental hazards, are compelled to relocate.
The Bahamas maintains that migration for whatever
reason is a natural state of mankind, however, that
movement should be documented to ensure the safety and
security of the nation state.

For my country, the

Government is resolute in its task to ensure orderly

migration and prevent irregular migration.

The Government therefore, has taken steps that require

that all persons working in The Bahamas have a valid work
permit authorizing him or her to reside and work in the
country. This action is not unique to The Bahamas but to
all other countries. The Government further, requires that
persons who reside in The Bahamas must be in possession
of proof of residency.

Mr. President,

In a spirit of transparency and cooperation, The Bahamas

in

September,

2014

signed

Memorandum

of

Understanding with the International Organization for

Migration (IOM), with a view to strengthening migration
management and identifying appropriate measures to
assist and protect vulnerable migrants. This was further
reinforced during the visit to The Bahamas by the Deputy
Director General of the IOM, who reiterated IOMs support
for regional cooperation to combat irregular migration and
smuggling. The Bahamas takes this opportunity to express
its appreciation to the IOM for its continued support in this
critical area.

Mr. President,
On a related issue, the Special Rapporteur on Trafficking in
Persons, especially women and children, visited The
Bahamas in December, 2013 and presented her report to
the Council in June, 2014. The report highlighted a
number of deficiencies in The Bahamas with respect to
trafficking in persons. The Bahamas, in its response to the

Council

reiterated

the

Governments

commitment

to

addressing the concerns articulated in the report and has

put in place a multi-sectoral mechanism to combat this
crime, particularly with regard to the identification and
prosecution

of

perpetrators

and

the

registering

and

protection of victims.
Our country is a most welcoming country.
tourism is our main business.

After all

It therefore concerns our

government and people when we see reports which vilify

the country and portray just the opposite impression often
without context or notice. Sometimes there is a sense of a
doctrine of " gotcha" in the international arena, instead of
one which seeks to work constructively with us to identify
the issues and solve any problems.

It seems that often

some think the worse of you rather than seeing the good
intentions that may sometimes fall short but to which
shortfalls (if any) our country is always dedicated to
correcting.

We recently put in place new administrative measures on

immigration meant to protect our national identity and our
national security.

Many adverse comments were made

about the policies, some of them portraying migrants as

victims of a policy which is designed for their welfare as the
opposite of what it is.

The public should take note of

reports that the trips that migrants pay to smuggle their

way into The Bahamas and onward can range in price from
1500 dollars to 5000 dollars US. This means that the new
policies are blocking a sophisticated criminal enterprise.
Those who oppose the new measures by fair means or foul
should be careful that they are not unwittingly running
interference for these criminal enterprises which must be
stopped.

The opponents of the policy risk undermining

their credibility and there is a backlash of resentment over

these assertions which seem designed to sully the country
without proper context.

Mr. President,

The issue of climate change is of grave importance to The

Bahamas, which as a Small Island Developing State (SIDS)
is most vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change,
especially since some 80% of the country is within 1.5
meters of sea level. As a country heavily dependent upon

tourism and financial services, addressing climate change

is therefore, central to our economic survivability. The
concern for SIDS and other Least Developed Countries
(LDCs) remains that of inadequate financing to assist in the
mitigation of the negative impacts of climate change. We
are hopeful that the outcome of COP-21 scheduled for
December of this year, would address this concern
satisfactorily,

through

applicable to all states.

legally

binding

arrangement

The Bahamas remains actively

involved in the process leading up to COP 21 to be held in

Paris in December of this year.
We take this opportunity to congratulate the Council for
the full day of discussions on human rights and climate
change, which will take place later this week and we
anticipate a fruitful outcome, as renewed attention is given
to those who suffer from the ravages of devastating climatic
activities worldwide.
The point I wish to reinforce for The Bahamas is that
climate change is existential, not theoretical. The time to
act is now.
Mr. President,

The Bahamas, like many other countries, continues to

grapple with a high crime rate. The Government has
pledged to do more to fight crime.

In September of last

year, The Bahamas deposited its instrument of ratification

for the Arms Trade Treaty, becoming one of 50 countries to
ratify the Treaty, allowing it to enter into force in December
last year. The Bahamas considers this a significant step in
the fight against the illegal drug trade and in trafficking in
persons, throughout the Latin America and Caribbean
region. This collective approach should lead to stricter gun
control and will further serve to enhance our national
efforts in the fight against crime.
It is important to say that those countries who produce the
guns must do more to stop the flow of the weapons to our
shores. It is not enough to say the constitution or law does
not permit the interference in the illegal flow of weapons. It
is important to recognise that millions from the developed
world work and visit our shores each year and they and we
want them to have a safe and enjoyable time in an open
atmosphere. We are dedicated to protecting that fact but
so must the developed world.

One of the ways they can

help is by stopping the flow of illegal weapons to our

shores.

Mr. President,

All of us here today, have been tasked with protecting the

interests of the people we represent. This requires a
determined investment in democratic processes which
would permit all people to exist in a world with dignity and
integrity. We, the peoples of the United Nations collectively,
should seek to uphold the principles of universal respect
for mankind and fundamental freedoms, irrespective of
political strength or economic status.

The

Bahamas

recommits itself to these collective ideals for the good of all

people.

Bahamas Permanent Mission

Geneva