Bahamas to ratify key UN human rights covenants by year’s end

The Bahamas has announced plans to ratify two key UN human rights conventions – the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the International Covenant of Economic Social and Cultural Rights before the end of the year.

The Commonwealth is heartened by this announcement made by the Attorney-General and Minister of Legal Affairs of The Bahamas, Michael Barnett, during the 3rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) of his country in Geneva on 1 December 2008. The UPR is an interactive dialogue on the human rights situation in UN member countries that is taking place from 1-15 December. During this session four Commonwealth countries are under review – The Bahamas, Barbados, Botswana and Tuvalu.

The discussion on The Bahamas covered many issues with the States of the Working Group of the Human Rights Council (HRC) recommending the abolition of the death penalty or turning the de-facto moratorium into a legal moratorium with a view to complete elimination.

The human rights of vulnerable groups such as children, women, migrants and indigenous people, were also examined. Enquiries were also made by members of the HRC Working Group about the use of corporal punishment on children. The Government of The Bahamas requested for technical assistance, particularly in relation to human rights education and training.

Meanwhile, the Government of Botswana informed the review that it intends to establish a national human rights institution and to ratify the International Covenant on Economic Social and Cultural Rights to strengthen the protection and promotion of human rights.

Botswana’s Minister of Defence, Justice and Security, Dikigakgamatso Seretse, said his country has put in place measures to implement the rights of the child, and to prevent violence and sexual exploitation of children. He said Botswana has developed a draft legislation incorporating the provisions of the Convention on the Rights of the Child to be considered by the country’s parliament in February 2008.

On the December 2006 ruling allowing the San communities to return to their ancestral land in the Kalahari Game Reserve, the Minister stated that the government has fully implemented the ruling, and there has been progress in dialogue between the two parties.

The challenges facing Botswana in its implementation of economic, social and cultural rights were also discussed. Particular attention was paid to health (HIV/AIDS), education and the overcrowding of prisons.

The Commonwealth Secretariat’s Human Rights Adviser, Jarvis Matiya, who attended the Geneva meeting said: “It is an opportunity for states to have constructive discussions on addressing challenges in meeting national and international human rights obligations.”

The Secretariat is assisting member countries, especially those coming up for review next year, to prepare reports through consultations and seminars.

“We are very pleased by the commitments made by The Bahamas and Botswana to put in place measures to further promote and protect human rights in their countries, and we are very keen to support them in their efforts,” said Mr Matiya.

The Secretariat has also been encouraging the ratification of the two international human rights instruments by 18 member countries which have  yet to do so.

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• Human Rights