We are a grass-roots group fighting for the same recognition of children of descent born outside of marriage in the British Overseas Territories.
We all should be proud of our heritage; all of us should feel welcomed and make us proud of our forefathers' and mothers' homelands. To be able to be embraced, where family and the blood connection and history is essential to one's cultural identity. It is the responsibility of elected leaders to protect this right, to ensure our children of descent know & understand who they are and that they are part of our history, and are valued.
We stand with those affected by the same nasty discriminatory laws affecting people in the Bahamas. We hope the people & government of the Bahamas do the right thing and remedy the problem.
We all should be proud of our heritage, all of us should feel welcomed making us proud of our forefathers and mothers homelands.
Critical points raised in the recent Foreign Affairs Committee report which some in the media/press and locally elected politicians/leaders are either ignoring or not giving enough coverage too, perhaps because the “hot-button” issues in the report are overshadowing and drowning it out? It’s a pity because contained in this report is a significant issue that BOT governments’ should be very concerned about the issue and get behind it.
It mentions the present day & historical unfair & unequal treatment of its people. The denial of British [OT] citizenship right’s to children, now adults of descent, born abroad, outside of marriage. While the same category of children, now adults, with mainland UK fathers, got give a retrospective right to register for their father's nationality under Sec 65 Immigration Act 2014. The same category of children, now adults of BOT descent, were intentionally left out due there being “No time to consult” the territories before the implementation of these amendments (per Home Office Minister Lord Taylor of Holbeach and Lord Ahmad). The same historical discrimination does not apply to BOT mothers, or anyone born to a father or mother after 1 July 2016
Page 3 (Summary): “the UK Government needs to ensure that those who should be able to claim British Overseas Territories citizenship can do so.”
Paragraph 4, Pages 58: “The issue of citizenship by descent stems from an anomaly in the British Nationality Act, which means that fathers with British Overseas Territories Citizenship cannot pass it on to children born outside the OTs between 1948 and 2006 if they were not married to the child’s mother at the time of birth. In May 2018, the Joint Committee on Human Rights described this anomaly as an unacceptable form of discrimination, while Montserrat’s representative, Janice Panton, said it “has caused a lot of anguish among some parents.” Lord Ahmad is not able to indicate when the matter would be resolved. He said that “discussions are ongoing across Government on this.”
Paragraph 4, Point 60: “The Government should urgently address concerns in the OTs about the issue of citizenship by descent and anomalies in the British Nationality Act that have taken too long to resolve.”
The people of the OTs have a right to be fully informed and engaged on the issue. We hope this post will raise the conversation and get people to demand their OT Elected leaders & Governors have a hand in fixing this demeaning and hurtful piece of legislation which places our flesh & blood
Trent says...
We are a grass-roots group fighting for the same recognition of children of descent born outside of marriage in the British Overseas Territories.
We all should be proud of our heritage; all of us should feel welcomed and make us proud of our forefathers' and mothers' homelands. To be able to be embraced, where family and the blood connection and history is essential to one's cultural identity. It is the responsibility of elected leaders to protect this right, to ensure our children of descent know & understand who they are and that they are part of our history, and are valued.
We stand with those affected by the same nasty discriminatory laws affecting people in the Bahamas. We hope the people & government of the Bahamas do the right thing and remedy the problem.
Trent L. Miller
BOTC Campaign
www.botccampaign.com
[link text][1]
[1]: http://www.botccampaign.com
http://tribune242.com/users/photos/2019…
On Time we stopped turning a blind eye
Posted 24 April 2019, 7:12 p.m. Suggest removal
Trent says...
We all should be proud of our heritage, all of us should feel welcomed making us proud of our forefathers and mothers homelands.
Critical points raised in the recent Foreign Affairs Committee report which some in the media/press and locally elected politicians/leaders are either ignoring or not giving enough coverage too, perhaps because the “hot-button” issues in the report are overshadowing and drowning it out? It’s a pity because contained in this report is a significant issue that BOT governments’ should be very concerned about the issue and get behind it.
It mentions the present day & historical unfair & unequal treatment of its people. The denial of British [OT] citizenship right’s to children, now adults of descent, born abroad, outside of marriage. While the same category of children, now adults, with mainland UK fathers, got give a retrospective right to register for their father's nationality under Sec 65 Immigration Act 2014. The same category of children, now adults of BOT descent, were intentionally left out due there being “No time to consult” the territories before the implementation of these amendments (per Home Office Minister Lord Taylor of Holbeach and Lord Ahmad). The same historical discrimination does not apply to BOT mothers, or anyone born to a father or mother after 1 July 2016
Page 3 (Summary): “the UK Government needs to ensure that those who should be able to claim British Overseas Territories citizenship can do so.”
Paragraph 4, Pages 58: “The issue of citizenship by descent stems from an anomaly in the British Nationality Act, which means that fathers with British Overseas Territories Citizenship cannot pass it on to children born outside the OTs between 1948 and 2006 if they were not married to the child’s mother at the time of birth. In May 2018, the Joint Committee on Human Rights described this anomaly as an unacceptable form of discrimination, while Montserrat’s representative, Janice Panton, said it “has caused a lot of anguish among some parents.” Lord Ahmad is not able to indicate when the matter would be resolved. He said that “discussions are ongoing across Government on this.”
Paragraph 4, Point 60: “The Government should urgently address concerns in the OTs about the issue of citizenship by descent and anomalies in the British Nationality Act that have taken too long to resolve.”
The people of the OTs have a right to be fully informed and engaged on the issue. We hope this post will raise the conversation and get people to demand their OT Elected leaders & Governors have a hand in fixing this demeaning and hurtful piece of legislation which places our flesh & blood
On Fred Smith voices concerns over new immigration bill provision
Posted 6 April 2019, 6:09 p.m. Suggest removal