A new Immigration Act, citizens’ legislation, a revised Child Justice Act and a review of Barbados’ penal reform system are among the priorities of the Ministry of Home Affairs.
Minister Wilfred Abrahams, who also has responsibility for Information and Public Affairs, outlined these key areas during a recent courtesy call with United States Ambassador Linda Taglialatela.
He explained that a new Immigration Act and citizens’ legislation were in the final stages of drafting and expected to go before Cabinet soon.
He explained that the new immigration policy would look at regularising the status of persons already on island and expanding the net of who qualified for citizenship.
“The amendment to the Act will clean up the anomalies and make the application process simpler and more user friendly,” Abrahams said.
With regards to children, the Minister said he wanted to develop a framework that dealt with the welfare and wellness of children and addressed the first signs of problems to prevent them entering the system.
“As it is now, the Child Justice Act becomes effective after the child has entered the system,” he said, noting that there was a need to look holistically at the legislation pertaining to children.
Meanwhile, he outlined that the intention of a new penal reform system was to keep people out of prison and get those who are in out as quickly as possible, through measures such as a parole system and electronic monitoring.
“Prison is a place for those for whom there is no other option. We want to have alternatives to incarceration,” the Home Affairs Minister said.
Ambassador Taglialatela offered support and assistance with updating Barbados’ legislation, while expressing concern about key areas, including supporting legislation and prosecution for the trafficking of persons and protocols for arriving in the island, and going straight to work following a disaster.
She expressed concern about Barbados’ ability to maintain its Tier 2 ranking as it relates to the trafficking of persons’ report.
Tier 2 countries are those whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards of the United States’ Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
“I fought hard to keep it there, but if you do not set up a system to have the necessary legislation and prosecutions, Barbados will fall to Tier 3, which will impact the funding we can provide,” the Ambassador cautioned.
The TVPA states that the US shall not provide non humanitarian, non trade-related foreign assistance to any government of a country that is ranked on Tier 3 for failure to comply with minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking or make significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with such standards.
In response, Abrahams said the Government would be happy to support the anti-trafficking legislation and push for prosecutions, advancement in legislation and stepped-up investigations.
The Minister also gave the undertaking to raise the issue regarding protocols for relief assistance post-disaster with the Ministries of Foreign Affairs and Health and Wellness.
During the courtesy call, Ambassador Taglialatela was joined by Thomas Pajusi, from the US Embassy’s Political and Economic Section, while Abrahams was accompanied by acting Deputy Permanent Secretary in the Home Affairs Ministry, Lorna Leacock. (BGIS)
