Amnesty Int’l chides Govt over Cubans

THE recent arrest in Port of Spain of 78 Cuban protesters seeking asylum in the United States led to a condemnatory statement on Wednesday by Amnesty International (AI.) The TT authorities must not criminalise the peaceful protest of migrants and refugees but find human rights-based solutions for them in line with TT’s obligations under international law, said AI Americas director, Erika Guevara-Rosas. The Cubans were jailed for two days after arrest on 16 November for obstruction of the free passageway under the Summary Offences Act.

“Having acceded to the 1951 Refugee Convention and its 1967 Protocol, the country is bound by international law to uphold the terms of these treaties.

“This means it must respect the fundamental human right to seek asylum and never return people to countries where their lives or freedom are at risk.

“Although Trinidad and Tobago has not yet adopted national legislation to guide its treatment of people in need of international protection, it is a rule of customary international law that a state may not invoke the provisions of its internal law, or lack thereof, to justify its failure to uphold the terms of a treaty.”.

Contrary to a 2014 Cabinet policy for genuine refugees to access travel documents, authorisation to work and a right to education, Guevara-Rosas said, “In practice, those who apply for asylum or are granted refugee status are not allowed to work, leaving many destitute, and they are not permitted to send their children to school.” The Cubans arrested had been protesting this situation, she said.