The project is funding small projects in a number of territories.
St Helena
Project title: “My Rights and Responsibilities"
The St Helena Human Rights Capacity Building Committee was set up when the project started to help promote capacity and awareness among government and civil society about the human rights that operate in St Helena.
The new constitution of St Helena has a chapter on fundamental rights and freedoms, but this is in legal language. So the Committee is producing a booklet in plain English to explain what these rights and freedoms mean for people. It targets all sectors of society, including children and is due to be launched on 21st May 2011, St Helena day.
Montserrat
Project title: “Stop! Think! Are you aware that…?”
The Montserrat Red Cross is an affiliate of the British Red Cross and works to support vulnerable people in Montserrat. It has a particular concern for the health of young people.
Young people in Montserrat are as much at risk of infection from HIV and AIDS as others elsewhere. Increasing rates of infection in Montserrat are a cause for concern. The project aimed to raise awareness among young people about their right to health and non-discrimination through a series of events in the places where young people get together, as well as media events, culminating in a festival at Carnival time in December 2010.
Project title: “Human Rights Education for All”
Montserrat adopted a new constitution in 2010 that includes a chapter on fundamental rights and freedoms. The language used is not easy for ordinary people to understand, and the Ministry of Labour is producing a booklet in simple English to explain it, funded by the project’s technical assistance facility.
The Alliougana Human Rights Group brings together 10 civil society organisations in Montserrat, some of whose members participated in the human rights training in October 2010. This training was delivered to less than 1% of the population. So the Group will carry out a series of events involving media, focus groups, publicity and public meetings to raise awareness about human rights in the new constitution. They aim to reach over 60% of the people who live in Montserrat before the project ends in late 2011.
Turks and Caicos Islands
Project title: “Child Abuse Prevention: Strategies for Parents and Community Workers”
The Turks and Caicos Islands have accepted the obligations contained in the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child. This imposes on a territory the obligation to protect the life of a child, as well as ensure a child’s development, including by protecting the child from abuse.
The Child Abuse Prevention and Awareness Association (CAPAA) seeks to break the cycle of abuse against children by raising awareness among parents and those having the care of children about the rights children enjoy. This project targets 25 parents of children in primary schools in three communities in the TCI. It will work with them over two weeks to make them familiar with the rights of children and encourage them to protect their children from abuse.