The United Nation was established to; ‘maintain international peace and security and to take effective collective measures for the prevention and removal of threats and for the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace, and to bring about by peaceful means, and in conformity with the principles of justice and international law, To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the principle of equal rights and self-determination of peoples, and to take other appropriate measures to strengthen universal peace, to achieve international cooperation in solving international problems of an economic, social, cultural, or humanitarian character, and in promoting and encouraging respect for human rights and for fundamental freedoms for all without distinction as to race, sex, language, or religion; and to be a centre for harmonizing the actions of nations in the attainment of these common ends,’ (Charter of the United Nations 1994). Therefore having a UN covenant on human rights ensures that a country is working in tandem with other nations towards a common goal including a global consensus on the equal and fair treatment of people regardless of their sex or gender, race or ethnicity, age and socio economic background, thereby enhancing the possibility of world peace.
Saint Lucia has come a long way in meeting UN standards for human rights. For instance, ‘Saint Lucia approved the “Use of Force Policy” and the Police Complaints Act, the Counter-Trafficking Act, 2010 was also approved, there has been an increase in gender equality; according to a January 2015 ILO report, 52.3% of managerial positions in Saint Lucia were held by women in 2012, a National Action Child Protection Committee (NACPC) was established and the government introduced the Saint Lucia’s Child Friendly Schools Programme,’ (Caribbean News Now 2015). Although Saint Lucia has accomplished much as it relates to human rights, the island is not without its issues. ‘Saint Lucia has experienced a myriad of challenges that have impacted the government ability to maintain the delicate balance of meeting its international human rights obligations,’ (Report of Working Group 2015). During the 2015 the Universal Periodic Review for Saint Lucia, the following concerns were highlighted; discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, sexual and domestic violence, Child protection measures and systems, extrajudicial killings by police and the death penalty. These problems, among others, raised questions about the progress of human rights in Saint Lucia.
Many of these issues stem mainly from cultural norms and values such as religious beliefs, education, community belief systems, folkways and mores that contradict the United Nations’ covenant on human rights. Firstly, Saint Lucia’s legislation does not fully support the UN’s covenant on human rights as it relates to prohibiting discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity as according to Section 133 of Saint Lucia's Criminal Code of 2004, ‘Any person who attempts to commit buggery, or commits an assault with intent to commit buggery, commits an offence and is liable to imprisonment for five years.’ This law clearly forbids sexual relationships among gay men and still exists today in spite of efforts by LGBT groups. ‘Saint Lucia's Tourism Minister reportedly said that the country remains open to visitors from the LGBT community, but made it clear that there will be no changes of Saint Lucia's colonial-era buggery laws,’ (Human Dignity Trust 2015). Not only is the legislation to be blamed for discrimination against gays and lesbians in Saint Lucia but so is education and community belief systems. Many individuals are of the belief that men who have sex with men pose a risk to public health. This originates from the belief that there are higher cases of HIV/AIDS among other STDs among gays as this has been deduced from several reports. For instance The West Indian Medical Journal (2008) reports that, ‘the HIV epidemic in the Caribbean is due mainly to heterosexual transmission with approximately 60% of AIDS cases reported to CAREC being in this transmission category.’
Sexual and domestic violence in Saint Lucia is another major concern of the UN. Again the country’s legislation is failing to fully support the prohibition of the aforementioned as according to Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2014, ‘the law does not specifically criminalize spousal rape.’ Our society’s customs and values also serve as a hindrance to meeting UN standards. The 2014 Human Rights Report also indicated that approximately one-third of reported sexual offenses, charges did not proceed due to the reluctance of victims to testify and that many victims were reluctant to report cases of rape or press charges due to fear of stigma, retribution, or further violence. In spite of many efforts made by the country to assist these victims, it is often difficult to get them to press charges for fear of being ostracized by society because of the shared values that have been indoctrinated in our people by religion. For example, Christianity emphasizes the man’s role as the head of the family, subordination in marriage and the prohibition of divorce.
The UN also reported that there is concern about the measures and systems for the protection of children. Director of Human Services, Elizabeth Lewis (2015) reported that, ‘statistics show that corporal punishment remains rampant in St. Lucia and that its roots are historical, consequently, trying to convince persons to do otherwise is challenging.’ Many people still believe in what they refer to as, ‘the good old West Indian value; spare the rod and spoil the child.’ Moreover, many parents and even teachers are of the notion that beating a child can help to instil discipline as this is how it was taught to them in their childhood days and as a result they do not classify corporal punishment as abuse. Unfortunately, this way of life is passed on from one generation to the next at the expense of children such as four year old Milan Ferdinand, whose parents were charged for ill treatment, neglect and exposed abandonment after his death in 2015.
The UN recommended that Saint Lucia needs to ensure investigation and prosecution against police officers alleged to have been involved in extrajudicial killings are appropriate, (The Universal Periodic Review, 2015). This recommendation was made in light of increased numbers of extra judicial killings in the country, particularly shootings that took place in 2010 and 2011. Although the use of force” policy designed to help protect human rights, has been introduced on the island, the U.S. embassy for Barbados and the eastern Caribbean noted that the government needs to do more to uphold the law, as the police officers involved this case have not been prosecuted. One can be left to conclude that the lack of effort on the country’s part to prosecute these police officers stems from community belief systems. After all, those persons were murdered during a security drive called Operation Restore Confidence which was aimed at reducing violent crimes and boosting tourism. Therefore, society may be of the view that those men were mere criminals who got what they deserved and rather than asking for justice for their deaths, citizens are relieved to be rid of them.
Finally, Saint Lucia’s failure to abolish the death penalty is another area of concern for the UN and human rights. Saint Lucian people can be described as being deeply conservative and traditional. Therefore, the death penalty is perhaps viewed as a relic of our colonial past not to be parted with, although the last known execution occurred in 1995.
In order for Saint Lucia to fully meet the standards of the UN covenant on Human Rights, a cultural revamp would be required. The demands made by the UN would require us to change our thinking, belief systems, values, religious beliefs, mores and folkways. To some, this may seem as changing their identity. This could be an explanation for why some of the UN’s concerns continue to exist year after year.

Bibliography

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