READ WHY DOMINICA WILL NOT PUBLICLY RELEASE THE NAMES OF THEIR "DIPLOMATS"

Francine Baron

 
When members of Dominica's legislature, the National Assembly, asked their Minister of Foreign Affairs, Francine Baron, to publish the names of all individuals who hold diplomatic passports acquired from the Commonwealth, she issued this statement:

"The Government has never, as a rule, publicized sensitive details of these appointments outside of the corresponding countries to which persons are engaged. Effective foreign policy is never practiced in the media or the public domain. While the Government could have no difficulty sharing the number of diplomatic appointments and postings established, it remains opposed to the idea of divulging detailed information on all appointees in a forum that is essentially public in nature, and to which the entire world has access."

The statement is complete hogwash. Governments that are democracies operate best in the sunshine; to withhold the names (only the names, not the personal information) smacks of information management, which means dictatorship*. In the international arena, the names of accredited diplomats are NOT classified or restricted; to the contrary, most are freely available through open-source research. Go search through the the Internet. Diplomats do not hide their occupational status; they list them on LinkedIn, for example. Only criminals work in the shadows.

In truth and in fact, many of the so-called diplomats are Russian organized crime members, Iranians engaged in sanctions evasion, Chinese PEPs hiding stolen wealth, North Korean agents, and other career criminals, all of whom bought their Dominica diplomatic passports for cash, and are legally unqualified to be diplomats, due to their failure to meet these UN requirements:

(1) They are not Dominica citizens.
(2) They have not been posted to specific jurisdiction or international agency.
(3) They never presented their credentials to any specific government abroad.
(4) They never had a job title, and specific work assignment.
(5)  They do not live at a diplomatic facility or compound.
(6) They are not assigned to a mission or consulate or embassy.
(See the 1961 Vienna Convention on Diplomatic Relations)

One final note, the serial numbers on the Dominica diplomatic passports, from those that I have seen, is presently up to over 500. Given that there are only a handful of Dominica diplomatic facilities or posts abroad, there must be at least 200-250 bogus "diplomats" running around with these passports, which can be used to facilitate money laundering, evade customs search at airports, open bank accounts, and to commit any number of white-collar crimes.
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* Given that in every national election in Dominica, the incumbent party engages in massive illicit payments to voters, gives others temporary jobs, and import expats from abroad, all expenses paid, to keep them in power, the objective conclusion is that Dominica is no longer a state with free and fair elections. These are Human Rights violations that should be brought to the attention of the United Nations.