By Ava Turnquest

Tribune Chief Reporter

aturnquest@tribunemedia.net

RIGHTS Bahamas yesterday claimed the government has not paid out a dollar in damages for years despite several court victories for the victims of human rights abuses.

The human rights group noted the only cost to the government so far has been political capital, and called Immigration Minister Brent Symonette’s argument for an end to litigation over matters of citizenship misleading.

The human rights group said it has long sought to cooperate with the government not only on clearing the backlog of citizenship applications but other human rights challenges facing The Bahamas, and thanked Mr Symonette for extending an invitation.

“Nevertheless,” read its statement, “we must take issue with Mr Symonette’s suggestion that our legal director, Fred Smith, QC, should stop suing the government and collaborate with the Attorney General’s Office to avoid the Public Treasury losing large sums of money in the form of damage awards to victims. 

“First of all, contrary to the minister’s suggestion, Smith has no ‘point’ to prove; he is merely defending clients whose rights have been abused and who are entitled to redress. Rights Bahamas will not participate in any effort to rob these victims of their legitimate claim to justice.

“The call for an end to legal action on our part is also curious in light of the fact that the Attorney General’s Office insists on fighting each and every one of these cases, tooth and nail, even when they know they are wrong. 

“A great deal of time and energy could be saved if the government’s lawyers would just admit when they are on the wrong side of a case and work on a sensible settlement agreement with the victims.”

In an interview with The Tribune on Tuesday, Mr Symonette called for collaboration between attorneys representing clients on immigration matters and the Department of Immigration, to resolve issues without saddling the public purse with hundreds of thousands of dollars in legal costs.

Mr Symonette suggested the money awarded to successful cases amounted to less resources for healthcare and infrastructure upgrades, adding the only people who stood to profit were lawyers.

Rights Bahamas’ statement read: “Our suggestion would be that if government officials do not want to see more lawsuits, they should concentrate on ensuring that public servants stop abusing people’s rights. End the beatings, arbitrary detentions, sexual assaults, unlawful deportations, etc, and the lawsuits will end immediately.

“Regardless of these few points of disagreement, Rights Bahamas stands ready to work with government, wherever possible, to resolve human rights issues. 

“As Smith said during the recent IACHR hearings in Jamaica, the current FNM administration is far more enlightened than its predecessor on questions of human rights and we welcome any opportunity to help make progressive change during their tenure in office.”