Human rights in the British Virgin Islands

In practice, basic human rights are broadly respected in the British Virgin Islands. Reports of repression of freedom of speech, interference with democracy or the rule of law, and arbitrary arrest and torture are virtually unknown. The BVI have been described as “generally free of human rights abuses” and its government has been characterized as taking “a strong and proactive approach to the protection of human rights.”

However, the laws in the British Virgin Islands do openly discriminate against people who do not hold what is called “belonger status.” This form of discrimination is expressly preserved in the BVI constitution, which excludes non-belongers from the full scope of its non-discrimination protections. Belongers and non-belongers enjoy unequal rights to employment and to the right to purchase property. Also, non-belongers in certain professions are subject to exploitation and abuse which their status makes it more difficult for them to challenge

Constitutional human-rights protections

Human rights in the British Virgin Islands are codified in the 2007 constitution.

Section 9 of the constitution is entitled Fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual, and provides:

Whereas every person in the Virgin Islands is entitled to the fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual;

Whereas those fundamental rights and freedoms are enjoyed without distinction of any kind, such as sex, race, colour, language, religion, political or other opinion, national, ethnic or social origin, association with a national minority, property, family relations, economic status, disability, age, birth, sexual orientation, marital or other status, subject only to prescribed limitations;

Whereas it is recognised that those fundamental rights and freedoms apply, subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest, to each and all of the following, namely—

(a) life, equality, liberty, security of the person and the protection of the law;

(b) freedom of conscience, expression, movement, assembly and association; and

(c) protection for private and family life, the privacy of the home and other property and from deprivation of property save in the public interest and on payment of fair compensation;

Now, therefore, it is declared that the subsequent provisions of this Chapter shall have effect for the purpose of affording protection to the aforesaid rights and freedoms, and to related rights and freedoms, subject to such limitations of that protection as are contained in those provisions, being limitations designed to ensure that the enjoyment of the protected rights and freedoms by any individual does not prejudice the rights and freedoms of others or the public interest.

The subsequent sections of the constitution enumerate and elaborate on certain specific basic human rights, including the right to life, equality before the law, protection from inhuman treatment, protection from slavery and forced labour, the right of prisoners to humane treatment, freedom of movement, freedom of conscience, the right to education, freedom of expression, and freedom of assembly and association.

The constitution also provides for the formation of a Human Rights Commission to oversee the protection of human rights, although to date no such commission has been formed.

Human rights in the criminal code

The British Virgin Islands Criminal Code creates certain specific criminal offences relating to human rights, such as genocide, but does not contain any general statement of human rights.

Orders-in-council

Although the BVI have their own constitution and laws, the United Kingdom government retains sovereign power over the islands, and from time to time has exercised that power by issuing so-called “orders-in-council” that have imposed certain laws upon the BVI, including human-rights protections, the spirit of which is contrary to the desires of the majority of BVI residents. For example, the UK abolished the BVI's death penalty for murder in 1991, and decriminalized homosexuality on the islands in 2000.

Human-rights conventions and covenants

The following UN human-rights conventions and covenants apply to the BVI: United Nations Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racial Discrimination, 1965 (CERD) International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, 1966 (ICESCR) International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1966 (ICCPR) United Nations Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women, 1979 (CEDAW) United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child, 1989 (CRC)

HRRCC

The BVI government established the Human Rights Reporting Coordinating Committee (HRRCC) in 1999 to monitor and report on human-rights conditions on the islands. Since 2001, the HRRCC has also published pamphlets, held public meetings, and pursued other means of informing the people of BVI about their rights.

See also

• Law of the British Virgin Islands