Dominica to accept third-country refugees under new US transfer agreement
Toriann Ellis / Our Today
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Prime Minister Roosevelt Skerrit on Monday announced that Dominica has agreed with the United States to facilitate the transfer of third-country refugees to the island, to address situations in which the US is unable to return these individuals to their country of birth or origin.
“In our discussions with the State Department, there has been careful deliberation on the need to avoid receiving violent individuals or individuals who would compromise the security of Dominica. This has been acknowledged and well received by the State Department,” Skerrit told a news conference.
He said that, given the importance of the bilateral relationship between the United States and Dominica, he, as prime minister and head of government, “believes it is important to find key points of agreement and compromise between our countries.
“This engagement is based on our responsibility to safeguard the well-being of our people, particularly their access to lawful travel, education, employment and family connections, while strengthening cooperation between our governments.
“I believe this will further deepen our longstanding relationship and signal clearly that Dominica remains a willing and reliable partner of the United States in the region,” Skerrit said.
Asked to disclose which countries the migrants would be coming from, Skerrit said “there are details” that he cannot share with the country at this stage.
“But all of the questions you have asked have been considered as part of the discussions and as part of the agreement, the MOU between Dominica and the United States,” Skerrit said, noting that Washington “has been very respectful, reasonable and understanding of our concerns.
“I think they have taken our concerns very seriously, and those concerns are being reflected in the final document agreed between ourselves. But as time goes by, we will know how we operate this agreement,” he added.
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