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| Prime Minister Freundel Stuart and United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, in discussion during??the courtesy call at Ilaro Court. (C. Pitt/BGIS) |
Barbados’ human rights record came in for high praise today from the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, Navanethem Pillay, while holding talks with Prime Minister Freundel Stuart.
During the meeting at Ilaro Court the High Commissioner noted that Barbados had accepted 15 of the 21 recommendations to improve human rights which it had been asked to consider when it first submitted its Universal Periodic Review on December 3, 2008.
However, despite the strides made in this regard, Ms. Pillay noted that there were still some gaps to be filled.??
Notwithstanding this, the Human Rights Commissioner pointed out that there were other recommendations to consider
Ms. Pillay also suggested the creation of a National Human Rights institution.??
In turn, Prime Minister Stuart said since the last review in 2008, Barbados had been aiming to comply with the set recommendations.?? He further stated that within the context of what was going on in other parts of the world, Barbados did not have any major human rights issues to deal with.
"It is true that human rights are not a destination – it’s a constantly unfolding process. As Barbados integrates itself more and more within the international community, it expects to be dragged along by other states whose human rights records may be barbaric by comparison with the standards to which we have subscribed in this country…," he affirmed.
To date, Barbados has signed six of the nine human rights conventions.?? They are the Convention on Civil and Political Rights; Convention on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; Convention on the Rights of the Child; Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women; and the Convention on the Rights of the Disabled.