The allegations of extrajudicial killings committed by members of the Royal St Lucia Police Force (RSLPF) should be properly investigated, and any perpetrators should be prosecuted and, if found guilty, sentenced appropriately, the US State Department reiterated on Wednesday.
As a result of the alleged extra-judicial killings by the RSLPF and an ongoing failure on the part of the government to bring those responsible to justice, Saint Lucia is currently subject to sanctions imposed by the United States pursuant to the provisions of the so-called Leahy Amendment to the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961, which states that “No assistance shall be furnished under this Act or the Arms Export Control Act to any unit of the security forces of a foreign country if the Secretary of State has credible information that such unit has committed a gross violation of human rights.”
The killings took place in 2010 and 2011 during a security initiative called Operation Restore Confidence, which was aimed at reducing violent crime. In a press statement in July, the United States made it clear to the new government in Saint Lucia that the ongoing failure to bring to justice those responsible within the local police force for gross violations of human rights prevents the US from reconsidering the sanctions imposed on the RSLPF under the Leahy Law.
In the meantime, the newly appointed national security minister, Hermangild Francis, has announced that, as part of efforts to reform policing in Saint Lucia, the new government has plans to establish a border patrol agency; something that he said is desperately needed. According to Francis, “if the marine unit did not fall under the police force, they would have still been receiving assistance from the United States government.”
Asked about the factual basis for the minister’s claim, the State Department responded that the Unit as part of the Security Force would not be exempted.
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