UK Statement on Saint Lucia at the 23rd Session of the Universal Periodic Review, Geneva, 2 to 13 November 2015
The UK delivers its statement on the Universal Periodic Review of Saint Lucia, 5 November 2015.
The UPR takes place at the Palais des Nations in Geneva
Thank you Mr Vice President
We welcome the Government of Saint Lucia’s commitment to human rights and the progress it has been making in ensuring the rights of its citizens are respected.
We encourage a more transparent and timely response from the Government of St Lucia to the IMPACS report into allegations of extra-judicial killings by officers of the Royal St Lucia Police Force, with due regard for the process of law.
We are pleased to see that the St Lucian Government has approved a ‘Use of Force Policy’ and would encourage the government to continue to develop its human rights training for law enforcement officers.
We encourage the St Lucian Government to put in place strong channels of oversight, monitoring and communication between police and child protection agencies to develop a more effective response to the abuse of children.
We also encourage the government to promote a culture of tolerance and to take concrete domestic action to end all discrimination, including gender-based discrimination and discrimination against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people.
We have two recommendations:
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Review criminal justice procedures in order to reduce the length of detention without trial by undertaking a comprehensive review of remand cases and giving priority to the establishment of a new Halls of Justice before the date of the next review.
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Better protect women and children from violence, including by: reviewing child protection systems; amending the Criminal Code to include a provision on marital rape; and prosecuting all alleged perpetrators of sexual and domestic violence.
Thank you Mr Vice President.