HRC restates position on rights following FCO talks
Published 10th October 2008, 5:01pm
10 October 2008
The HRC is the national institution established to promote and protect human rights in the Cayman Islands and has a strong interest in the constitutional reform proposals, particularly those that impact on human rights.
Since the first round of talks with the FCO on constitutional reform, there have been a number of reported inaccuracies in the press regarding the HRC’s stated positions on the horizontal application of rights and on drafting of the bill of rights.
The HRC reiterates its position on these points to be as follows:
- Horizontal application of rights
As stated in paragraph 4 of its Opening Statement to the FCO delegation on 28 September 2008, the HRC asserts that horizontal application of rights "should be considered at a later stage for Cayman, in order to develop a full human rights culture".
The HRC does not, contrary to recent press statements, presently advocate horizontal application of rights for the Cayman Islands. Before the Cayman Islands can be ready for horizontal application of rights, there are a number of practical implications, which would first need to be addressed.
By way of comparison, the United Kingdom has had a human rights act for five years and has still not implemented horizontal application of rights to its people. Similarly, the Cayman Islands will need to consider, at a future date, whether it is ready to take the further step - from vertical application of rights only, to the inclusion of horizontal application of rights. It is also important to bear in mind that many citizens of the Cayman Islands could benefit greatly from the development of a human rights culture in a private sphere, for example, in relation to the workplace, schools and other organisations. However, as previously noted, there is significant practical implication which would first need to be addressed before such further step is taken for the Cayman Islands.
- Drafting of the Bill of Rights
In paragraph 2 of its Opening Statement to the FCO, the HRC stated clearly that the Bill of Rights must be accessible and easily understood by everyone in the Cayman Islands. Accordingly, the Bill of Rights should be drafted in plain English. It is also best that the rights are phrased in a positive manner: for example "Every man or woman has the right to life".
Further, the HRC maintains that the Bill of Rights and the Constitution, generally, should be drafted in gender-friendly (not "gender-neutral" as incorrectly stated in recent media reports) language, which properly acknowledges the entire population, both male and female. By "gender-friendly" language, the HRC means the Constitution uses language which recognises the equal place of both the men and women in our society. Thus, the Constitution ought to refer to "man or woman", "he or she" or "his or her" wherever possible.
The HRC considers that the draft Bill of Rights circulated by the Government could be reviewed in order to ensure that the language is positive and meets these objectives.
Omissions from the CIG draft bill of rights
The HRC notes the public release on 6 October 2008 of a CIG Working Draft Bill of Rights which purports to have broad consensus of the NGOs including the HRC, although the HRC was not sent a copy of same or invited to provide any comment of this CIG draft document.
Moreover, following the first round of FCO talks, the HRC’s understanding was that the Foreign and Commonwealth Office will provide a working draft of both the Constitution and the Bill of Rights in due course.
While the HRC are in broad agreement with the Government working draft, the HRC remains concerned that a number of critical issues, such as aspirational rights (to education, housing or healthcare) and an exhaustive list of the proposed grounds of non-discrimination, are absent from the Government draft document. Apparently due to the fact that those and other important issues were not fully discussed at the first round of talks and still do not have broad consensus.
The HRC hopes that the Government’s decision to release its Working Draft does not negatively impact the further discussions with the FCO, who are currently preparing another draft Bill of Rights document for consideration by the Cayman Island’s delegation, or cause any confusion to the people.
As the Cayman Islands await the receipt of a working draft Constitution and Bill of Rights from the FCO, the HRC reserves its right to review and comment on the revised drafts.
The HRC is grateful for the opportunity to contribute in the ongoing constitutional reform negotiations and looks forward to participating in any further talks, as always, with a view to promoting and protecting human rights in the Cayman Islands.
For more information on the work of the HRC, please visit the HRC website at www.humanrights.ky.
For further information contact: Human Rights Committee