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U.S. Committee for Refugees World Refugee Survey 2001 - Jamaica

Jamaica hosted 37 refugees and asylum seekers at year's end. The largest number were from Cuba, with 17 recognized refugees, followed by Haiti, with nine, and Sierra Leone, with seven. Eighteen Cubans applied for asylum during the year; all were denied. Three Somalis (all who applied for asylum) were granted humanitarian status.

Jamaica has signed the UN Refugee Convention and Protocol, but has not enacted implementing legislation. In 1999, Jamaica adjudicated asylum claims through a governmental ad-hoc eligibility committee comprised of members of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade, the attorney general's office, and the Ministry of National Security and Justice. The committee has denied all claims to refugee status by Cubans and Haitians since 1994. The UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) provided advice to the eligibility committee on request, but did not always have access to the procedure.