The Government of Saint Lucia has welcomed the “support and partnership of the Commonwealth” in strengthening human rights, good governance and democracy in the country.
The Government of Saint Lucia has welcomed the “support and partnership of the Commonwealth” in strengthening human rights, good governance and democracy in the country.
On 9 October 2015 the Commonwealth Secretariat concluded a three day mission to Saint Lucia to scope a technical assistance and cooperation cohort with the Government of Saint Lucia. The Commonwealth initiative aims to strengthen the governance and accountability frameworks of key national institutions tasked with safeguarding and promoting democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
Advocate Karen McKenzie, Commonwealth Secretariat Head of Human Rights, welcomed the opportunity to work with the Government of Saint Lucia.
She said: “The national human rights protection system in Saint Lucia requires strengthening and this includes the review of existing legislation; the development of new legislation where gaps exist; and efforts to build stronger and independent institutions.
“This will ensure a legislative and institutional framework which is supportive of the promotion and protection of human rights and respect for the human dignity of all persons in Saint Lucia.”
Amongst others, the delegation met with the Acting Prime Minister and Minister for Commerce, Business Development, Investment and Consumer Affairs, Hon. Emma Hippolyte, Minister for Legal Affairs, Home Affairs and National Security, Hon. Victor La Corbiniere, the Attorney General, the Royal Saint Lucia Police Force, the Police Complaints Commission, the Director of Corrections, the Saint Lucia Red Cross and the Parliamentary Commissioner.
Discussions during the official visit centred on:
Effective implementation of accepted recommendations under the UN’s Universal Periodic Review mechanism. The Universal Periodic Review is an international human rights mechanism under the auspices of the Human Rights Council which examines the human rights landscape of all UN member states every four and a half years. This peer review mechanism gives member states the opportunity to report on how they are fulfilling their human rights obligations and the improvements made to promote and protect human rights;
Institutional reform of democracy strengthening institutions;
Review of key pieces of legislation which aid accountability, transparency and good governance;
Review of basic and refresher training curricula for law enforcement agencies;
Mainstreaming of victim-centred approaches and the development of related protocols within the criminal justice sector;
The need to expand the framework for effective oversight to ensure good governance practices and interventions and to work towards a holistic National Human Rights Framework.
“The Government of Saint Lucia is committed to ensuring good governance, democracy and respect for human rights and welcomes the support and partnership of the Commonwealth Secretariat in furtherance of these objectives,” said Hon. Victor Phillip Lacobiniere, Minister for Legal Affairs, Home Affairs and National Security.
Saint Lucia underwent its first cycle of the Universal Periodic Review in 2011 under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council. The parties recognised that in 2013 the Commonwealth Heads of Government “remained committed to assisting countries to build capacity to work with the Universal Periodic Review and implement the accepted recommendations, with the assistance of the Commonwealth Secretariat as appropriate. They noted the work being done by the Commonwealth Secretariat in this regard, particularly with small States, and encouraged these efforts to continue.
