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It’s encouraging to hear Jamaican Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade Minister A.J. Nicholson explain that CARICOM has not been silent on the latest developments in the Dominican Republic, where thousands of people of Haitian descent, stripped of citizenship by a 2013 ruling of the DR’s Constitutional Court are now in fear of forced eviction to Haiti.

While encouraging, though, I don’t think it’s unreasonable to say I want to hear more, and more loudly.

Senator Nicholson addressed Jamaica’s Upper House of Parliament on Friday and explained that CARICOM placed on the agenda of a June 11 high-level meeting of CARIFORUM (CARICOM plus the Dominican Republic) and the European Union the human rights violations being committed against Dominicans of Haitian descent.

He said that “both sides agreed on the importance of the principles of the protection of the status of citizenship and the presumption that persons shall not be rendered stateless. The meeting also agreed that consideration would be given to proposals for “appropriate benchmarks and monitoring mechanisms” to be presented by CARIFORUM.”

Senator Nicholson also noted that at the 26th Inter-Sessional Conference of Heads of Government of the Caribbean Community held in The Bahamas in February, CARICOM Heads had decided that “the Chairman of CARICOM should engage with the EU High Representative on the Community’s concerns with regard to the Dominican Republic.”

The meeting also issued a statement expressing “grave concern a number of recent developments affecting grievously Dominicans of Haitian descent and Haitian migrants in the Dominican Republic. The process of regularisation of Dominicans of Haitian descent arbitrarily deprived of their nationality by the Dominican Republic Constitutional Court ruling of September 2013 expired on 1 February 2015. Government Officials indicated that it would not be extended despite the fact that only a very small number (6937) of the persons affected were able to apply in time, leaving a large number estimated to be over 100,000 vulnerable to expulsion.

“This distressing development needs to be placed in the context of the judgement of 22 October 2014 of the Inter-American Court of Human Rights which called for the nullifying of all the dispositions resulting from the ruling on nationality and for the reversal of the ruling itself. The Community reiterates its condemnation of the DR Government’s repudiation of international law.”

I have seen CARICOM’s statements on the issue and welcome the expressions of condemnation. The diplomatic efforts to get the EU on board should strengthen CARICOM’s position, and it is hoped will continue, and that we will see a coalition of outrage grow, and press the DR to reverse its current unjustifiable actions, and negate the Constitutional Court ruling which has left thousands of people stateless.

But call me greedy. I still want more from CARICOM.

It shouldn’t be that we have to be calling for the regional grouping to state its position. I want to hear voices from CARICOM raised in international fora, not confined to statements published discreetly on the CARICOM website, and for which you have to search closely and diligently.

I don’t want to wait for a single Foreign Minister (no disrespect Senator Nicholson) to elucidate the group’s position. Glad as I am to hear of the efforts that have been taking place, the voices I want to hear in public are those of the region’s Prime Ministers. PM Ralph Gonsalves is now the lone voice representing CARICOM in the media on controversial issues. What will happen when he retires?

The first time I wrote about this issue I was complaining about the lack of a strong position from CARICOM, and again it was PM Golsalves who was speaking for the region. CARICOM did come through with a much stronger position but the group never appears to have a strong committed voice and leader (apart from PM Golsalves.)

The main problem is that  the current crop of CARICOM Prime Ministers is a generally disappointing lot, seemingly perpetually so caught up with domestic crises and petty parochial politics there appears to be little inclination to assume that position of regional stateman or statewoman willing to speak on the world stage.

On this, I would love to be proven wrong. I really would.