The United Nations General Assembly has unanimously voted to condemn Russia for calling the full-scale invasion of Ukraine, demanding that Moscow cease fighting and evacuate its military forces, a move aiming at diplomatically isolating Russia at the United Nations.
The Caribbean region has also taken a step by the United Kingdom and the European Union to call for peace in the ongoing war and has also imposed heavy restrictions against Russia for invading.
Meanwhile, UK High Commissioner to Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, Scott Furssedonn-Wood, officially tweeted that more than 141 nations have voted in favour of the UN resolution against Russian aggression in Ukraine, which includes almost all the Caribbean nations such as Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Dominica, Grenada, St Kitts and Nevis, St Lucia and St Vincent and the Grenadines.
🚨 141 countries just voted in favour of this UN resolution against Russian aggression in #Ukraine including:
Barbados 🇧🇧
St Kitts & Nevis 🇰🇳
Antigua & Barbuda 🇦🇬
Dominica 🇩🇲
St Lucia 🇱🇨
St Vincent & The Grenadines 🇻🇨
Grenada 🇬🇩 https://t.co/iXgPmWvMaN— Scott Furssedonn-Wood (@UKScottFW) March 2, 2022
As per the information shared by WIC News, a Caribbean-region based media organisation, “In retaliation, Caribbean nations offering the Citizenship by Investment Programme have temporarily stopped the processing of applications from Russia as well as Belarus due to the security and safety concerns.”
The information further reveals that the government of Antigua and Barbuda has released a statement, “The citizenship by investment unit has been keenly following the events transpiring in Ukraine since the commencement of Russian military action in the nation. “The rapidly evolving and deteriorating conditions and the ever-expanding list of Russian sanctions compel us to acknowledge that it has been increasingly challenging for us to operate in these jurisdictions.”
“Our due diligence providers have advised us that their ability to conduct investigations in Russia, Belarus has been severely impacted.” It is well aware that a comprehensive due diligence review in the nation of birth and residence of all applicants is a fundamental component of assessing eligibility for citizenship. Given these developments, the ability to ascertain the suitability of these applicants at the same time is significantly restricted.
At the same time, the CIU of St Kitts and Nevis has issued a letter, stating that the CIU advises that new applications coming from the nations mentioned above will not be accepted and processed at this time. As the situation changes, further information will be provided accordingly, the official letter reads.
Furthermore, the Commonwealth of Dominica, along with St Kitts and Nevis, has made an announcement that with immediate effect that all the new applications from Russians and Belarusians would not be processed, stating that the measure is to safeguard the global community and secure the integrity of the nation’s CBI Programmes.
Along with this, Prime Minister of Dominica, Dr Rossevelt Skerrit, has also condemned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica is deeply disturbed and
condemns the military attack by the Russian Federation against the people of Ukraine.— Roosevelt Skerrit (@SkerritR) February 26, 2022
Notably, all five nations in the Caribbean region offering economic citizenship programmes have the world’s most robust due diligence processing. It has an over 8 to 10% application rejection rate, states Citizenship by Investment Agent, AAA Associates Immigration Services.
According to the reports, these nations prioritise citizens’ safety while ensuring security to the global community. International independent renowned firms perform a thorough check on applicants. All the applicants, who are 16-years-old or above are subjected to these checks in order to assure that no illicit persons are awarded citizenship. The due diligence not just ensures about the criminal activity of an applicant but also investigates the financial standards of the applicants.
Head of Delegations of the European Union to Barbados and Eastern Caribbean, Ambassador Malgorzata Wasilewska, also expressed gratitude to the OECS nations for supporting the EU against Russia by saying no to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine and calling for an end to hostilities.
Barbados & OECS countries 🇦🇬🇧🇧🇩🇲🇬🇩🇰🇳🇱🇨🇻🇨thanks for your support in saying NO to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine & calling for end to hostilities @ABLPGastonbrown @miaamormottley @SkerritR @VoteKeith2013 @pmharriskn @PhilipJPierreLC @ComradeRalph @vonderleyen @JosepBorrellF @eu_eeas
— MWasilewska (@WasilewskaEU) March 3, 2022
