TCN U-TURN - Govt backtracks on commitment to make deal public

A decision by Jamaica and the United States to withhold the full details of the controversial third-country nationals (TCN) agreement has been described as “odd” by former diplomat Byron Blake, who says similar deals have been made public in other countries.

Blake, the former deputy permanent representative to the United Nations and former assistant secretary general of CARICOM, said the memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the two countries in June must pass through various legislative bodies in the US.

“So, you can expect to see it public in the US. It is a little odd to say that Jamaica can’t make it public,” Blake told The Gleaner.

“If my reading is correct, I’ve seen where other countries in the Caribbean have made public certain elements of their arrangements. So, I find it strange that Jamaica, after committing to the country that it would make the arrangement public, has now agreed with the United States that it cannot be made public,” he added.

Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister, Senator Kamina Johnson Smith, on Wednesday confirmed that the Government will not release the MOU governing the arrival of TCNs into Jamaica, following a reported refusal from the US to make the bilateral agreement public.

Johnson Smith told journalists at a post-Cabinet briefing at Jamaica House that while Cabinet ministers Dr Horace Chang and Dr Dana Morris Dixon had previously committed to publishing the document, consultations with US authorities resulted in a rejection of that.

“This is not a unilateral arrangement. It is a bilateral arrangement, and one in which they have not generally released their agreements, and they have not agreed to release this one,” Johnson Smith conceded during the briefing, confirming that Washington’s policy on non-disclosure has sealed the document.

“So I just want to give you the assurance, though, that ministers who had indicated that they would be willing to, made those indications in full, good faith and as a response to public interest. I give you every assurance as well that we have all shared all the relevant and material matters, provisions, in relation to the matter.

“So there’s nothing being hidden, per se, but as you would note, even under the ATI (Access to Information) [Act], bilateral agreements, security agreements, arrangements that are sensitive to relations between countries and otherwise are treated differently from other agreements,” she said.

The disclosure comes amid sustained public interest and transparency concerns surrounding the security and operational framework under which the deportees are being processed in Jamaica.

At the same time, the minister said there is no start date for the arrangement.

Johnson Smith said the International Organization for Migration (IOM), which is spearheading the process, is still completing its assessment.

In a media release issued on Wednesday, the Ministry of National Security and Peace and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the operating procedures for the MOU have been finalised.

Both ministries disclosed that the IOM has been formally engaged to manage the housing, support, and repatriation of the TCNs through its Assisted Voluntary Return Programme.

The arrangement will not cost Jamaican taxpayers, the the release said, and excludes individuals with criminal antecedents.

It is expected to be suspended if 10 TCNs apply for asylum or humanitarian relief.

Meanwhile, the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP) is demanding the immediate tabling of the MOU in Parliament.

Opposition Spokesman on National Security Fitz Jackson, in a statement on Wednesday, branded the Government’s stance as “autocratic” and an “erosion of democratic traditions”, charging that the Andrew Holness administration has failed to disclose critical details regarding migrant numbers, housing locations, stay durations, funding sources, and vetting protocols.

“Around the world, these arrangements have been marked by hidden payments and weak oversight. Once again, this Government has shown an autocratic disregard for Parliament and for the people’s right to know. This is a further erosion of our democratic traditions,” said Jackson.

“Jamaicans must not tolerate this growing pattern of bullying by the Government. Silence is not governance,” Jackson added.

kimone.francis@gleanerjm.com