The opposition United Progressive Party (UPP) says it will engage residents in a series of public consultations before Parliament debates the Government’s White Paper on the proposed third-country deportee agreement with the United States.

The UPP’s Leader and the party’s lone Member of Parliament, Jamale Pringle, will meet residents for a consultation intended to ensure constituents have an opportunity to express their views before the issue is debated in Parliament.

While the consultations are expected to take place before the week of July 13, when the debate is anticipated, specific dates and venues have not yet been announced.

The UPP argued that elected representatives have a responsibility to seek the views of the people they represent before taking positions on significant national issues.

“We operate within a representative democracy, and representatives should reflect the wishes of the people who elected them,” he said, adding that MPs should not make decisions without first consulting their constituents.

The UPP leader said the party plans to use the parliamentary debate to challenge what it considers shortcomings in the Government’s White Paper.

The UPP says one of the major concerns is the absence of supporting documentation related to the proposed arrangement.

The party intends to question why key documents have not been made publicly available.

The UPP has indicated that further details regarding the consultation meetings, including locations and schedules, will be released in the coming days.

Last week, the Government announced the publication of a White Paper on proposals by the Government of the United States concerning the possible reception in Antigua and Barbuda of certain third-country nationals removed from the United States.

The White Paper sets out the background to the discussions, the issues engaged for Antigua and Barbuda, the Government’s assessment of the proposals received, and the principles and conditions on which any cooperation could responsibly be considered.

The Government has determined that the matter engages important questions of sovereignty, legal responsibility, public finance, national security, social stability, and Antigua and Barbuda’s international obligations.

It has therefore concluded that the issue should be addressed in a clear, orderly, and transparent manner.

The White Paper explains that Antigua and Barbuda has approached the matter in a spirit of friendship and cooperation, while making clear that, as a small state with limited resources and limited absorptive capacity, it cannot responsibly accept open-ended obligations involving persons who are not its nationals and whose removal is sought by another country.

The Government further announces that the White Paper will be laid before Parliament for debate at a Special Session to be convened for that purpose during the week of July 13.