The Tribune

By JADE RUSSELL

Tribune Staff Reporter

jrussell@tribunemedia.net

ATTORNEY General Ryan Pinder said he understands the frustration some feel waiting for the government to address citizenship inequalities, but that buy-in from “the collective” is critical.

“It’s a difficult process,” he told The Tribune yesterday. “And this has been a process that has been ongoing since I was in Cabinet before, so 10 years, even longer.”

Last year, the Privy Council affirmed that people born out of wedlock to Bahamian men are Bahamians at birth regardless of their mother’s nationality. However, children born outside the country to a Bahamian woman and a foreign father are not automatically granted Bahamian citizenship. Bahamian women also do not have the same rights as men in getting citizenship for their foreign spouse.

Mr Pinder noted that some in the executive have been personally affected by the inequalities.

“Many of us who sit in Cabinet also experienced the challenges of it,” he said. “I’ll give you an example. My mother would be entitled to citizenship as a spouse of a Bahamian automatically, whereas my brother-in-law would have to go through a naturalisation process and be selectively determined for citizenship even though he’s married to a Bahamian. But only because he’s a male and my mother is a female the process in obtaining the citizenship as a spouse of a Bahamian is different.”

“This touches all of us, and I appreciate the frustration of the time that women and men –– because it cuts both ways –– may be experiencing. But there is a responsibility that we have to do a full review to get it right. We don’t operate on our own in this regard.”

Mr Pinder said the administration will engage the Official Opposition, letting it review the options available and provide views.

“It’s not a unilateral rush or decision that is made by the Cabinet of The Bahamas that are 21 members,” he said. “This has got to be a collective buy-in amongst the collective all in order to be able to address something that’s so fundamental to being a Bahamian.”