21050: (Chamberlain) Groups ask UN to probe US treatment of Haitians (fwd)

[Bob Corbett <corbetre@webster.edu>]

From: Greg Chamberlain <GregChamberlain@compuserve.com>

     By Alan Elsner

     WASHINGTON, April 2 (Reuters) - Two U.S.-based human rights groups
have urged the United Nations to investigate a U.S. policy of detaining
Haitians who arrive in the United States seeking political asylum.
     The Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children and the Florida
Immigrant Advocacy Center asked the Geneva-based U.N. Working Group on
Arbitrary Detention this week to investigate the policy as quickly as
possible.
     The detention of non-criminal Haitian asylum seekers violates
international law and is arbitrary and discriminatory, the organizations
said in a legal brief submitted to the U.N. group.
     "Like asylum seekers of other nationalities, these Haitians fled
persecution in their home country to seek refuge in the United States. But
unlike those of other nationalities, Haitian asylum seekers are held for
months if not years without the possibility of release on bond," the filing
said.
     It added that Haitians who had demonstrated a credible claim to asylum
were often detained in overcrowded, unsanitary conditions that left them
severely traumatized.
     Haitian Americans have complained for years that they are treated
differently from other refugees, especially Cubans who are normally allowed
to stay in the United States and can quickly gain legal permanent
residence. The Cubans are treated as political refugees while most Haitians
are viewed as economic migrants seeking a better life.
     The United States tries to intercept and return all Haitian refugee
craft before they reach the coast. However those who make it ashore are
entitled to claim political asylum.
     Under a policy that began in 2001, nearly all Haitian asylum seekers
who make it ashore are detained until their claims are adjudicated.
     Previously, most had been released to the custody of their families or
the community. This has remained the practice for nearly all non-Haitian
asylum seekers, according to the filing.
     Recent unrest in Haiti, which led to President Jean-Bertrand Aristide
fleeing the country in February, raised fears in the United States of a new
wave of refugees heading for Florida. So far, it has not materialized.
     In February, U.S. President George W. Bush said the United States
would "turn back any refugee that attempts to reach our shores. And that
message needs to be very clear as well to the Haitian people."
     In a letter to the Florida Immigrant Advocacy Center dated March 18,
David Lester of the of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services in the
Department of Homeland Security said it was a national priority for the
United States to deter illegal mass emigration from Haiti.
     "The Department of Homeland Security does not plan to parole illegal
Haitian boat migrants currently in immigration proceedings except on a
case-by-case basis due to unusual hardship," Lester wrote.
     The Organization of American States said on March 22 it would
investigate the interdiction and forced return of Haitian refugees and
asked the United States to provide information about its policies.