Where is refugee law?

File photo: Venezuelan and Cuban asylum seekers protest outside the Parliament building in Port of Spain in February.
File photo: Venezuelan and Cuban asylum seekers protest outside the Parliament building in Port of Spain in February.

WHILE a parliamentary committee has urged that laws be passed for the treatment of refugees, two ministries have given seemingly conflicting updates on the status of such legislation.

The Joint Select Committee (JSC) on Human Rights had made the call in its recent report on the Immigration Detention Centre (IDC) and on Wednesday two ministerial responses were laid in House of Representatives.

The Ministry of National Security response stated, “The draft legislation has been completed and forwarded to the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs (which) has advised that the matter is receiving the attention of Cabinet.”

The Ministry of the Attorney General confirmed some collaboration with the Ministry of National Security regarding the preparation of draft legislation on asylum seekers and refugees, yet suggested the draft had not yet been done.

“Whilst the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs is willing and able to draft the required legislation, such legislation must be based on a clearly articulated policy which takes into account the wider societal and governmental implications that follow the intake of asylum seekers and refugees

within TT.

“The Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs therefore advises that the Ministry of the Attorney General and Legal Affairs stands ready to draft the requisite legislation upon receiving written instructions from the authorized officials at the Ministry of National Security in accordance with the current procedures for the preparation of draft legislation by the Office of the Chief Parliamentary Counsel.”

Otherwise the Ministry of National Security document said the Chef Immigration Officer is preparing a proposal for the permanent secretary to hire an in-house Spanish interpreter for the IDC, in addition to three associate professionals now supplied by the Ministry of Education. The report pledged to fill vacant posts of detention manager, two assistant managers, supervisors and detention officers, the former who will establish a policy to segregate criminal from non-criminal detainees.

Regarding oversight, the report said the International Federation of the Red Cross had been permitted to visit the IDC on December 17, 2018. “The ICRC submitted a report and it was agreed that quarterly visits will be undertaken.”

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