Gender discrimination should be deleted from the Constitution, the Constitutional Commission said in a preliminary report released yesterday that recommends the removal of any bias against a married Bahamian woman’s ability to transmit citizenship to her child born outside The Bahamas.
The Constitutional provision which automatically grants Bahamian citizenship to children born outside The Bahamas to married Bahamian men, should also apply to children born outside the country to married Bahamian women, regardless of the nationality of their spouse, said the Commission.
In its provisional recommendations on issues of citizenship, the Commission also said that the position of children born outside The Bahamas to unmarried Bahamian parents – male or female – should be the same and should provide for automatic citizenship, subject to proof of paternity in the case of a Bahamian male.
“It appeared to be the view of the majority of those who expressed opinions on the Constitution that gender bias, wherever it applies to the acquisition or transmission of citizenship, should be removed,” the Commission said in its report.
Gender bias in the Constitution was one of the issues raised in the 2001 referendum.
It was among the six questions – Do you agree that all forms of discrimination against women, their children and spouses should be removed from the Constitution and that no person should be discriminated against on the grounds of gender? – rejected by Bahamians who voted in the exercise.
According to the Commission, the issue which consumed the people most was who should be made citizens under the Constitution.
Appointed in December of 2002, the Commission, co-chaired by former attorney general Paul Adderely and Harvey Tynes, canvassed the public through more than 40 town meetings held all over The Bahamas, before putting together the preliminary report that is soon to be circulated.
When the preliminary report was released yesterday, both Mr. Adderley and Prime Minister Perry Christie foreshadowed that a referendum would be held sometime in the future.
The Commission also recommended that different treatment accorded to non-Bahamian spouses of Bahamian citizens should be deleted and the Constitution should provide that non-national spouses of Bahamian citizens should be treated equally.
“Such persons upon marriage should have a right to reside and work in The Bahamas and own property jointly and upon application the right to become a Bahamian citizen five years after marriage, subject to such exceptions or qualifications as may be prescribed in the interests of national security or public policy,” said the Commission.
With respect to children born in The Bahamas to non-Bahamians, the Commission recommended that the person should be entitled to citizenship at the age of 18, provided that they had previously lived in the country for at least 10 years immediately before their eighteenth birthday. However, the right to citizenship would be lost if no application was made before the age of 21.
In the case of children born in The Bahamas to acquire citizenship if either parent is Bahamian, the Commission has recommended that a proviso should be added to make it clear that the entitlement to pass on citizenship applies equally to both parents, except that proof of paternity would be required where the unmarried parent is a Bahamian male.
Regarding dual citizenship or nationality, the Commission said that persons who are eligible for Bahamian citizenship should not be denied registration simply because they possess another nationality. However, renunciation of another citizenship should be made a “condition/precedent” to the grant of citizenship.
“The principles which are to govern the grant of citizenship in a small country occupying the geo-strategic space of The Bahamas must be carefully conceived,” noted the Commission.
“They must be conceived with compassion for the rights of others and regard for international legal principles, but realistically to protect our identity and culture as Bahamians.”
By: Erica Wells, The Bahama Journal
