United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1996 - St Vincent and the Grenadines, 30 January 1997, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aa3034.html [accessed 22 May 2023]
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SAINT VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES Released by the Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, January 30, 1997 St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a multiparty, parliamentary democracy and a member of the Commonwealth of Nations. A prime minister, a cabinet, and a unicameral legislative assembly compose the Government. A Governor General, appointed by the British monarch, is the titular head of state, with largely ceremonial powers. Prime Minister Sir James F. Mitchell and his New Democratic Party returned to power for an unprecedented third term in free and fair elections held in February 1994. The Royal St. Vincent Police, the only security force in the country, includes a coast guard and a small Special Services Unit with some paramilitary training. The force is controlled by and responsive to the Government, but there continued to be occasional allegations of police brutality and the use of force and other extralegal means to elicit confessions from suspects. St. Vincent has a market-based economy. Much of the labor force is engaged in agriculture, in particular, banana production. Bananas are the leading export and the major source of foreign exchange earnings. The tourism sector is growing. However, unemployment remains high at over 30 percent, and per capita gross domestic product is low, at approximately $2,517. Human rights are generally well respected. The principal human rights problems continued to include occasional instances of excessive use of force by police, the Governments's failure to punish those involved in such abuse, inadequate and overcrowded prisons, and an overburdened court system.
Respect for Human Rights
Section 1 Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including Freedom from:
a. Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing
There were no reports of political or other extrajudicial killings.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of politically motivated disappearances.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution prohibits torture and other forms of cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. However, a very high percentage of convictions (estimated at 90 percent by the regional human rights group, Caribbean Rights) continue to be based on confessions. A local human rights group claims that some of these confessions resulted from unwarranted police practices, including the use of physical force during detention, illegal search and seizure, and not properly informing those arrested of their rights. The Police Commissioner has dismissed or demoted officers involved in extralegal activity. The authorities charged one police officer with manslaughter; his trial had not concluded by the end of the year. There is no independent review board to monitor police activity and to hear public complaints about police misconduct. Caribbean Rights has advocated such a board to protect the rights of citizens complaining of these activities. In a shocking case of police brutality, the local press reported that on April 8 two police officers allegedly burned McCarthy Patterson, a 12-year-old boy accused of stealing a radio, on the chest, thighs, back, and penis. The authorities dismissed the case against the two officers, however, after the child and his mother refused to testify. Following an investigation, the Police Commissioner dismissed the two officers from the force, demoted another officer, and accepted the resignation of a fourth. In a March 22 letter to the editor, the president of the local human rights association called on the Police Commissioner to investigate two other incidents of police brutality. A plain clothes policeman allegedly pistol whipped Everard Knights in the face and struck him in the back as another officer held him. In addition, a police officer allegedly assaulted a 15-year-old boy. Inadequate and overcrowded prisons remain a serious problem. These conditions are particularly harsh for juvenile offenders. There is a small facility for delinquent boys, but it is seriously inadequate and is generally used for those already convicted through the criminal system. Although separate legal statutes exist for youthful offenders, there are no separate magistrates or prosecutors to handle such cases.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution provides for persons detained for criminal offenses to receive a fair hearing within a reasonable time by an impartial court. Although there are only two official magistrates, the registrar of the High Court and the presiding judge of the family court now effectively serve as magistrates when called upon to do so. While this reduced the backlog, complaints remain regarding police practices in bringing cases to court. Some defense attorneys claim this has caused 6- to 12-month delays in preliminary inquiries for serious crimes. There were no reports of instances of arbitrary arrest, detention, or exile.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides for public trials before an independent and impartial court. The court appoints attorneys for indigent defendants only when the defendant is charged with a capital offense. Defendants are presumed innocent until proven guilty and may appeal cases to a regional high court system and ultimately to the Privy Council in the United Kingdom. There are no separate security or military court systems. There were no reports of political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary search and seizure or other government intrusions into the private life of individual citizens, and there were no reports of such abuses.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press. There are two major newspapers and numerous smaller, partisan publications; all are privately owned, and most are openly critical of the Government's policies. There were no reports of government censorship or interference with the operation of the press. The lone television station in St. Vincent is privately owned and operates without government interference. Satellite dishes are popular among those who can afford them. There is also a cable system with mainly North American programming that has approximately 300 subscribers. The Government controls programming for the government-owned radio station. There are no call-in talk shows; the Government canceled such a show in 1988, claiming it was politically slanted. The Government does not restrict academic freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Constitution provides for these rights, and the Government respects them in practice.
c. Freedom of Religion
The Constitution provides for freedom of religion, and the Government respects this right in practice.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
The law provides for these rights, and the Government respects them in practice. No formal government policy toward refugee or asylum requests exists. The issue of the provision of first aslyum did not arise. There were no reports of forced expulsion of anyone having a valid claim to refugee status; however, government practice remains undefined.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens have the right to change their government through regularly scheduled free and fair elections. St. Vincent has a long history of multiparty parliamentary democracy. During the last elections in 1994, the two opposition parties united to challenge the ruling New Democratic Party. The effort was successful to the extent that the "Unity" coalition won 3 of 15 parliamentary seats the NDP held all 15 prior to the election. The opposition continues to charge that the ruling party has not complied with what the opposition asserts is a constitutional obligation to answer questions it puts forth. Two of the 15 members of Parliament are women. The same two women hold ministerial portfolios in the current Government.
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Opposition political groups and the Vincentian press often comment on human rights matters of local concern. The St. Vincent and Grenadines Human Rights Association, affiliated with the regional Caribbean Human Rights Network, closely monitors government and police activities, especially with respect to treatment of prisoners, publicizing any cases of abuse. The Government is generally responsive to public and private inquiries about its human rights practices.
Section 5 Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion, Disability, Language, or Social Status
The Constitution provides for equal treatment under the law regardless of race, sex, or religion, and the Government adheres to this provision.
Women
A local human rights group reports that violence against women (particularly domestic violence) is a major problem. The Government has failed to take steps to determine the seriousness of the problem. To speed up the judicial handling of such cases, the Government established a family court under the Domestic Violence Act of 1995. Depending on the magnitude of the offense and the age of the victim, the penalty for rape is generally 10 or more years in prison. In May 1995, the legislature amended the Child Support Law to allow for payments ordered by the courts even though notice of an appeal has been filed. Previously, fathers who had been ordered to pay child support could appeal decisions and not pay while the appeal was being heard. This resulted in a huge backlog of appeal cases and effectively reduced the number of mothers and children receiving support payments. The Ministry of Education, Youth, and Women's Affairs has a women's desk which assists the National Council of Women with seminars, training programs, and public relations. The minimum wage law specifies that women should receive equal pay for equal work.
Children
The Social Welfare Office is the government agency responsible for monitoring and protecting the welfare of children. The police are the enforcement arm the Social Welfare Office refers all reports of child abuse to the police for action. Marion House, a social services agency established by the Catholic Church in 1989, provides counseling and therapy services.
People with Disabilities
There is no specific legislation covering those with disabilities. Most severely disabled people rarely leave their homes because of the poor road system and lack of affordable wheelchairs. The Government partially supports a school for the disabled which has two branches. A separate, small rehabilitation center treats about five persons daily.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
The Constitution provides citizens the right to form unions, organize employees, and strike. There are no laws to complement this constitutional provision, however, and employers often ignore it by claiming it is their constitutional right not to recognize a trade union. Some employers, however, seek a good industrial relations environment, and cooperate with trade unions. There were no major strikes. Unions have the right to affiliate with international bodies.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
There are no legal obstacles to organizing unions; however, no law requires employers to recognize a particular union as an exclusive bargaining agent. Some companies offer packages of benefits with terms of employment better than, or comparable to, what a union can normally obtain through negotiations. The law prohibits antiunion discrimination by employers against union members and organizers. Generally effective mechanisms exist for resolving complaints. The authorities can order employers found guilty of antiunion discrimination for firing workers without cause (including for participation in union activities) to reinstate the workers or give them severance pay. There are no export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
Forced or compulsory labor is illegal and does not exist.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The law sets the minimum working age at 16 years of age, although a worker must be 18 years of age to receive a national insurance card. The labor inspection office of the Ministry of Labour monitors and enforces this provision, and employers generally respect it in practice. The age of leaving school at the primary level is 15 years; when these pupils leave school they are usually absorbed into the labor market disguised as apprentices. There is no known child labor except for children working on family-owned banana plantations, particularly during harvest time, or in family-owned cottage industries.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The law sets minimum wages, which were last promulgated in 1989. They vary by sector and type of work and are specified for several skilled categories, including attendants, packers, cleaners, porters, watchmen, and clerks. In agriculture the wage for workers provided shelter is $0.82 (EC$2.25) per hour; skilled industrial workers earn $7.36 (EC$20) per day, and unskilled workers earn $3.68 (EC$10) per day. In many sectors the minimum wage is not sufficient to provide a decent standard of living for workers and their families, but most workers earn more than the minimum. The Wages Council, according to law, should meet every 2 years to review the minimum wage. However there has been no meeting of the council for the last 7 years. There is no legislation concerning the length of the workweek; however, the general practice is to work 40 hours in 5 days. The law provides workers a minimum annual vacation of 2 weeks. According to the Ministry of Labour, legislation concerning occupational safety and health is outdated. The most recent legislation, the Factories Act of 1955, has some regulations concerning only factories, but enforcement of these regulations is ineffective. Workers enjoy a reasonably safe working environment; however, the trade unions have dealt with some violations relating to safety gear, long overtime hours, and the safety of machinery. There were some reports of significant visual deficiency by visual display unit workers, and some reports of hearing impairment by power station and stone crushing employees.
