BAHAMAS UNLIKELY TO SUPPORT OAS DECLARATION ON US

UNCLAS NASSAU 001609 SIPDIS SIPDIS STATE FOR USOAS AND WHA/CAR RCBUDDEN E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: PREL PHUM PTER SMIG MX XM OAS BF SUBJECT: BAHAMAS UNLIKELY TO SUPPORT OAS DECLARATION ON US BORDER SECURITY REF: STATE 176810 ¶1. On October 23, Poloff delivered Reftel talking points to Ministry of Foreign Affairs Acting Permanent Secretary Marilyn Zonicle. Following discussion of U.S. concerns, Zonicle acknowledged similar Bahamian sensitivity to border control issues in light of Bahamian challenges with Haitian and Cuban migration. She promised to forward U.S. points to the Bahamian OAS representative before the October 25 vote. ¶2. COMMENT: While Ms. Zonicle did not commit to support the U.S. position, Post does not expect The Bahamas to be favorable to the declaration. The Bahamas is beset with migration issues and has recently undertaken a more aggressive approach in its own enforcement of immigration law. The Bahamas is traditionally loath to join multilateral initiatives that criticize national policies, and the precedent of multilateral criticism of a national policy is not one it is likely to embrace in this case. END COMMENT. HARDT