United States Department of State, U.S. Department of State Country Report on Human Rights Practices 1994 - Barbados, 30 January 1995, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6aa378.html [accessed 26 May 2023]
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Barbados, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations, is a constitutional democracy with a multiparty, parliamentary form of government. The Queen is Head of State and is represented by an appointed Governor General. Prime Minister Owen Arthur is the Head of Government and governs with an appointed Cabinet. Two major and one minor political parties and several independent candidates contested free and fair national elections in September. The Royal Barbados Police Force is charged with maintaining public order. The small volunteer Barbados Defense Force (BDF), responsible for national security, can be employed to maintain public order in times of crisis, emergency, or other specific need. The BDF continues to assist the police by patrolling certain tourist areas in response to an increase of crime. On the whole, the police respected constitutional and legal guarantees of human rights, but there continued to be infrequent reports of incidents of use of excessive force by police. The economy is based on tourism, services, light manufacturing, and agriculture, which makes it vulnerable to external economic developments. Per capita gross domestic product (GDP) exceeds $5,000 per year. In order to stimulate demand and reverse a 3-year decline in GDP and employment, the Government decided in May 1993 to abandon attempts to meet economic targets set in consultation with the International Monetary Fund. Nevertheless, Barbados experienced a cyclical economic recovery in 1994. Barbadians enjoy a wide range of rights and freedoms, and the Government respects constitutional provisions regarding human rights. Principal human rights problems continued to be societal violence against women and children and instances of excessive use of force by police.
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 extrajudicial killings. In the case of Ryan Jordan, a 17-year-old who died in police custody in April 1992, Amnesty International called on Barbadian officials to initiate an impartial investigation and prosecute those responsible. In 1994 the coroner returned an open verdict which exonerated the police from responsibility for Jordan's death; the report said excessive drugs in his system caused his death.
b. Disappearance
There were no reports of disappearance.
c. Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading Treatment or Punishment
The Constitution specifically prohibits torture and cruel, inhuman, or degrading treatment or punishment. However, the Caribbean Human Rights Network and the local press reported numerous allegations of coerced confessions. There continued to be credible reports that law enforcement officials sometimes used force during detention to extract confessions from detainees. Recently implemented police procedures provide that the police may question suspects and other persons they hold only at a police station, except when expressly permitted by a senior divisional officer. An officer must visit a detainee at least once every 3 hours to inquire about the detainee's condition. After 24 hours, the detaining authority must submit a written report to the deputy commissioner. The authorities must approve and record all movements of the detainee between stations. The Caribbean Human Rights Network is satisfied that the authorities adhere to these basic principles. Barbados is in the forefront of an initiative to standardize police procedures throughout the English-speaking Caribbean region. The authorities issued firearms to special units and some foot patrols in high-crime areas in response to the 1993 shooting death of a policeman and a rise in gun- and drug-related crime. Aside from this, the Barbados police force is mainly unarmed, in keeping with its British traditions.
d. Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary arrest and imprisonment and requires detainees to be brought before a court of law within 72 hours of arrest. The Government generally respects these provisions in practice. Criminal defendants have the right to counsel, and attorneys have ready access to their clients. The authorities do not use exile as a punishment or means of political control.
e. Denial of Fair Public Trial
The Constitution provides that persons charged with criminal offenses be given a fair, public hearing within a reasonable time by an independent and impartial court. The judicial system provides for rights of due process at each level. The law presumes defendants innocent until proven guilty. The Government provides free legal aid to the indigent. The judiciary acts independently and is free of intervention from other branches of government. Criticizing the Government is not a political offense, and there are no political prisoners.
f. Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or Correspondence
The Constitution prohibits arbitrary entry, search, or seizure, and the law requires warrants to be issued before privately owned property may be entered and searched. The Government does not routinely interfere in the private lives of its citizens. Nonetheless, there continued to be credible reports that, in response to increased drug-related crime, the police resorted to searches of homes in certain neighborhoods, sometimes without warrants. The Government neither censors mail nor restricts the receipt of foreign correspondence or publications.
Section 2 Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:
a. Freedom of Speech and Press
The Constitution provides for freedom of speech and press, and the authorities respect these rights in practice. There are five radio stations, two of which are owned by the Government. The Caribbean Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) television service (the only television source, excluding direct satellite reception) is government owned. Though CBC is a state enterprise, it regularly reported views opposing government policies. There are two independent daily newspapers, both of which present opposition political views. The Government regularly comes under attack in the newspapers and on daily call-in radio programs. Although critics allege that the Government sometimes uses its influence to discourage media from reporting on sensitive issues, the press remained vigorously critical of the Government on a broad span of issues. The Government does not restrict academic freedom.
b. Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association
The Government observes the constitutional provisions for peaceful assembly and private association. It routinely grants the permits required for public demonstrations. Political parties, trade unions, and private organizations function and hold meetings and rallies without hindrance.
c. Freedom of Religion
There is full freedom of religion. Numerous active religious denominations and organizations practice their faiths and proselytize freely.
d. Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation
Citizens and legal residents move freely within Barbados and leave and enter the country without restriction.
Section 3 Respect for Political Rights: The Right of Citizens to Change Their Government
Citizens have this right in law and exercise it in practice. Political parties freely compete in fair elections by secret ballot at least every 5 years. The most recent occurred in September, in which the Barbados Labour Party won a decisive victory, gaining a 19-to-8 majority over the Democratic Labour Party which had held an 18-to-10 advantage in the 1991 elections. The New Democratic Party won one seat, its first ever in Parliament. There are no impediments to participation in the political process, and all Barbadians over age 18 may vote. The Prime Minister exercises executive power along with the Cabinet of Ministers he appoints, balanced by the bicameral Parliament and the judiciary system. Women are well represented at all levels of government and politics, including the Head of State, Governor General Dame Nita Barrow. After the September elections, Prime Minister Arthur appointed women to several cabinet-level portfolios. For the first time, the Deputy Prime Minister is a woman (she also serves concurrently as Foreign Minister).
Section 4 Governmental Attitude Regarding International and Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations of Human Rights
Local groups involved with human rights matters operate freely and without government hindrance. The Caribbean Human Rights Network, a Caribbean-wide human rights organization which has its headquarters and a small staff in Barbados, investigates and reports on allegations of human rights violations throughout the region.
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, religion, or sex.
Women
Women actively participate in all aspects of national life and are well-represented at all levels of both the public and private sectors. They form a large percentage of heads of household and are not discriminated against in public housing or other social welfare programs. However, violence against women and children continued to be a significant social problem. Women's rights groups reported that the incidence of sexual assaults, domestic violence, incest, and rape among family members increased, despite the fact that there is still some reluctance on the part of victims to report such incidents. There are public and private counseling services for domestic violence, rape, suicide, and child abuse. The 1992 Domestic Violence Law specifies the appropriate police response to domestic violence, intended to protect all members of the family, including men and children. It applies equally to marriages and to common law relationships. Criminal penalties for violent crimes are the same, regardless of the sex of the offender or the victim. The courts heard a number of cases of domestic violence against women involving assault or wounding. Victims may request restraining orders, which the courts often issue. The courts can sentence an offender to jail for breaching such an order. Human rights monitors continued to criticize the inconsistency in sentencing for rape, incest, and statutory rape, which is often left to the discretion of the judge. They noted that the lack of sentencing guidelines resulted in longer sentences being handed down for persons accused of petty theft than for incest; and lesser sentences for incest than for rape or sexual assault of nonfamily members.
Children
The Government is committed to children's human rights and welfare, although violence against children remains a serious problem. The Child Care Board is the key agency responsible for monitoring and responding to the critical welfare needs, interests, and rights of children.
People with Disabilities
Neither local legislation nor regulations within the Labor Code prohibit discrimination against the physically disabled in employment, education, or the provision of other state services. The Labour Department, which is responsible for finding jobs for the disabled, unsuccessfully advocated the introduction of such legislation in the 1980's. Similarly, there is no legislation mandating provision of handicapped access to public thoroughfares or public or private buildings. Interest groups have lobbied for this type of legislation from time to time, but without success.
Section 6 Worker Rights
a. The Right of Association
Workers freely exercise their right to form and belong to trade unions and to strike. There are two major unions and several smaller ones, representing various sectors of labor. The civil service union, the National Union of Public Workers, is completely independent of any political party or the Government. The largest union, the Barbados Workers' Union, was historically closely associated with the opposition Democratic Labour Party. The law accords full protection to trade unionists' personal and property rights. Another longstanding law prohibits strikes against public utilities. All other private and public sector employees are permitted to strike; however, there were no strikes or long-term work stoppages in 1994. Trade unions are free to form federations and are in fact affiliated with a variety of regional and international labor organizations.
b. The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively
The law provides for the right to organize and bargain collectively, and the authorities respected it in practice. Recent losses of jobs in the economy resulted in a reduction in union membership to about 20 percent of the working population. Normally, wages and working conditions are negotiated through the collective bargaining process, but a tripartite wage policy accord signed in the summer of 1993 established a 2-year wage freeze, thus impinging on the ability of unions to bargain for wage and benefit increases. Employers have no legal obligation to recognize unions under the Trade Union Act of 1964, but most do so when a majority of their employees signify a desire to be represented by a registered union. While there is no specific law prohibiting antiunion discrimination, the courts provide a method of redress for employees alleging unfair dismissal. The courts commonly award monetary compensation but rarely order reemployment. There are no manufacturing or special areas where collective bargaining rights are legally or administratively impaired. Barbados has no specially designated export processing zones.
c. Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor
The Constitution prohibits forced or compulsory labor, and there were no reported instances in 1994.
d. Minimum Age for Employment of Children
The legal minimum working age of 16 is generally observed. Compulsory primary and secondary education policies, which require school attendance until age 16, reinforce minimum age requirements. Occasionally, especially among migrant worker families, children assist in agricultural production during peak season. The Labour Department has a small cadre of labor inspectors who conduct spot investigations of enterprises and check records to verify compliance with the law. These inspectors may take legal action against an employer who is found to have underage workers.
e. Acceptable Conditions of Work
The law sets and the authorities establish minimum wages for specified categories of workers. Only two categories of workers have a formally regulated minimum wage--household domestics and shop assistants (entry level commercial workers). Household domestics receive a minimum wage of about $32.50 (bds $65.00) per week, although in actual labor market conditions, the prevailing wage is almost double that amount. There are two age-related minimum wage categories for shop assistants. The adult minimum wage for shop assistants is $1.87 (bds $3.75) per hour; the juvenile minimum wage for shop assistants is $1.62 (bds $3.25) per hour. Agricultural workers (i.e., sugar plantation workers) receive a minimum wage as a matter of practice, but such compensation is not found in legislation. The minimum wage for shop assistants is marginally sufficient to meet minimum living standards; most employees earn more. In 1992 an International Labor Organization (ILO) Committee of Experts (COE) cited Barbados for not adhering to the ILO Convention on Equal Remuneration in its wage differentials in the sugar industry. The COE admonished the Government to ensure the application of the principle of equal remuneration for work of equal value to male and female workers in the sugar industry or to provide further information on job descriptions which might justify such wage distinction. This case was not resolved at year's end. The standard legal workweek is 40 hours in 5 days, and the law requires overtime payment for hours worked in excess of that. Barbados accepts ILO conventions, standards, and other sectoral conventions regarding maximum hours of work. However, there is no general legislation that covers all occupations. Employers must provide workers a minimum of 3 weeks' annual leave. Unemployment benefits legislation and national insurance (social security) cover all workers. A comprehensive government-sponsored health program offers subsidized treatment and medication. Under the Factories Act of 1983, which sets out the officially recognized occupational safety and health standards, the Labour Department enforces health and safety standards and follows up to ensure that problems cited are corrected by management. Workers have a limited right to remove themselves from dangerous or hazardous job situations without jeopardizing their continued employment. The Factories Act requires that in certain sectors firms employing more than 50 workers set up a safety committee. This committee can challenge the decisions of management concerning the occupational safety and health environment. Recently, however, trade unions called on the Government to increase the number of factory inspectors in order to enforce existing and proposed safety and health legislation more effectively, and to follow up to ensure that problems cited are corrected by management. Government- operated corporations in particular were accused of doing a "poor job" in health and safety. The Government promised to undertake inspections of government-operated corporations and manufacturing plants as a priority.
