The Ministry of Foreign Affairs says what the U.S State Department’s 2016 Human Rights Report has conveyed about The Bahamas as it relates to human’s rights is inaccurate.
In its most recent statement condemning the report, the ministry says action will be taken.
“Now that the US report has been publically released, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Immigration is preparing an official response from the Bahamas Government and intends to issue a formal protest in this regard,” it said.
“With regard to the matter pertaining to the Hon. Minister of Education, the ministry reminds the media that the ruling of the Supreme Court is being appealed and it is only upon the resolution of the matter that it can be substantively addressed further.”
The government says it made every effort to stop the department from releasing the report.
“The Bahamas Government spoke with representatives of the United States Government prior to the release of the US State Department’s 2016 report on human rights in The Bahamas,” it said.
“During those conversations, it was made clear to the US that the proposed report contained significant inaccurate information with no basis in fact and in some cases incomplete information.”
Last month, Amnesty International highlighted, for the first time ever, concerns about infringements upon the right to privacy of citizens in The Bahamas.
The report notes that local human rights groups have expressed fear regarding government surveillance online and made specific reference of the Supreme Court ruling that Minister of Education Jerome Fitzgerald had breached the constitutional rights to privacy and to freedom of expression of members of environmental group Save the Bays (STB).
The report additionally highlighted that members of STB had been granted precautionary measures by Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) following threats against their lives and personal integrity because of their work as human rights defenders.
The 2016/2017 report also added a new section on discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender and intersex people, and highlighted the failed gender equality referendum, noting that, the result maintained inequality in Bahamian laws so that women and men pass on citizenship to their children and spouses in different ways.
The globally respected annual report delivers a comprehensive analysis of the state of human rights around the world, covering 159 countries.
