It is good news that government is finally planning to establish a legal framework for processing asylum seekers in the territory.
Without such a system in place, it is hardly surprising that inconsistent treatment of asylum seekers has resulted in possible human right violations in recent years.
In the most egregious case that we know about, a group of Sri Lankans was held at the Immigration Detention Centre for more than two years between 2008 and 2010. Only after they got in touch with the local press and mounted a hunger strike were they released to live at Prospect Reef while their asylum requests were processed — and ultimately approved — by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, which sometimes assists countries and territories that have no legal framework in place.
Six years later, the territory still lacks the requisite system, and there are signs that the situation may not have improved much.
In 2014, for example, eight Cuban asylum seekers were held for about nine months at the Immigration Detention Centre before being released to Prospect Reef and ultimately obtaining refugee status through the UNHCR.
More recently, a group of 20 Cubans and Haitians claimed in October that they were treated not as asylum seekers but as prisoners during much of the month they spent at the centre. Officials denied these claims and said government is doing its best to accommodate the group, and the migrants now have been released to Prospect Reef while the UNHCR processes their requests. Nevertheless, their allegations raise serious concerns that a longstanding problem has not been properly resolved.
As a United Kingdom overseas territory, the VI is not bound by the main international treaties on asylum seekers — the 1951 Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol — but it still has an obligation to follow international standards, according the UNHCR.
In this respect, as the above cases suggest, the territory apparently has fallen short at times. Accordingly, we are glad that the government is now working to amend the Immigration and Passport Act to include a framework for processing asylum seekers. This important step should come as soon as possible, and certainly during this session of the House of Assembly as promised in the recent Speech from the Throne.
In the coming months, migrants are likely to arrive on these shores with increasing frequency. Cuban migration has surged recently in the midst of fears that the country’s warming relations with the United Stated will bring an end to a longstanding US policy that gives Cubans a privileged immigration status. Meanwhile, the economic situation in Haiti remains tragically bleak.
Because of such pressures, the VI is sure to continue seeing US-bound asylum seekers from both of those countries on a regular basis. The territory has a responsibility to process them efficiently and effectively without violating their rights.
The issue, however, is complex, and leaders must work carefully with UNHCR and other experts and stakeholders to establish a process that is fair, cost-effective, and in keeping with international standards.
Expedient success in this matter is a moral imperative. After all, it was not so long ago that poverty-stricken Virgin Islanders frequently travelled abroad in large numbers, with or without papers, seeking a better life.
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