ST. GEORGE’S, Grenada, Mar 5, CMC – Immigration Ministers from Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) began a two-day meeting here on Wednesday, with Prime Minister Dickon Mitchell warning of significant changes to the existing global environment.
Mitchell told the third OECS Council of Immigration Ministers meeting that there is now a major global player revisiting and even re-writing some eight decades of global rules and norms.
“There are unilateral trade and economic actions being taken against countries; what appears to be a more confrontational approach to countries within our hemisphere; massive crackdowns on illegal immigration and a retreat to nationalism,” said Mitchell, the outgoing chairman of the Council.
Mitchell, who is also Grenada’s Minister for National Security, said that while citizens of the region must continue to live in hope and expect the best, it is also incumbent on them to prepare for the worst.
“In these circumstances, there is a burden of responsibility on us as leaders, policymakers and decision-takers, to accelerate and consolidate our collective endeavors to deepen OECS integration.
“In a very real sense, our closer integration ought to be seen as a response to the external pressures which we face, whilst providing an opportunity for our growth and development.
“Therefore, the third meeting of the Council of Ministers for Immigration that I am pleased to chair, will allow delegates the opportunity to renew their commitment to going the full nine yards with the implementation of the Economic Union project,” he said.
Within the context of the Economic Union, contingent rights according to the Policy must be Rights that are accorded to OECS citizens taking advantage of the Right of Freedom of Movement, who are termed the principal beneficiaries and Rights accorded to persons who are not Citizens of the OECS but are moving with the principal beneficiaries.
OECS Director General, Dr. Didacus Jules, said that member states must work together as a unified bloc in order to face the challenges that are being created because of “shifts in global politics and policy,” especially changes in the United States.
“To face these challenges, we must work together as a unified bloc. By strengthening our bonds, we can reinforce our economic and social integration, making us more resilient against external pressures,” he said.
Jules said that the OECS member states themselves at a crucial moment in history as some of the shifts in global politics and policy, especially changes in the United States are already heavily impacting the region.
“These include deep constrictions of foreign aid, stricter immigration policies, and tariffs on exports. Such developments place additional pressure on the OECS to accept deportees, reintegrate them into our societies, and bear the related social and security costs,” he said, adding that in light of these global shifts this council meeting is more important than ever.
“We aim to enhance our regional integration through new policies and frameworks that not only support free movement but also maintain secure borders and modernize immigration procedures. This is meeting is not about talk but action,” he added.
The two-day meeting will discuss key issues including enhancing border security personnel’s capacity, addressing environmental disaster impacts, implementing the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Arrest Warrant Treaty and Model Bill, as well as enacting Advance Passenger Information (API) and Passenger Name Record (PNR) legislation for timely passenger data.
The API and PNR are passenger data used by airlines and governments to manage and identify travelers.
In addition, the meeting will also discuss the implementation of the free movement regime and the OECS Policy on Rights Contingent on the Right to Freedom of Movement, which grants citizens indefinite stay, work, and access to services without discrimination.
The regime is a core component of the Eastern Caribbean Economic Union (ECEU) established on June 18, 2010 under the Revised Treaty of Basseterre (RTB).
In May 2011, OECS leaders took the decision to grant their citizens and their qualifying family members within the ECEU several benefits associated with free movement of persons.
These include indefinite stay, whereby OECS citizens can live in any protocol member state indefinitely receiving an indefinite stay stamp upon arrival as well as hassle-free travel, allowing for the citizens to travel within the ECEU with a valid government-issued picture ID such as a driver’s license, national identification card, and voter cards.
In addition, OECS citizens can also drive within any protocol member state using a valid driver’s license issued by their home country and OECS citizens and their third-country spouses can work in any of these states without obtaining a work permit.
The OECS groups the islands of Antigua and Barbuda, Dominica, Grenada, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia and St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Montserrat.
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