Project activities

The project undertakes several activities to fulfil its purposes.

Awareness training

Many of the major international human rights treaties have been extended to each Territory. These treaties impose obligations on the Territory government in regard to everyone present in their Territory. In response to this commitment, the constitutions of each territory have or are soon to have most of the guarantees set out in the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the European Convention on Human Rights to protect the rights of everyone in that Territory.

This training aims to teach officials and members of civil society organisations what that means in practice: how human rights apply in their work and day to day life, the role of civil society and of national human rights institutions to promote and protect human rights, the mechanisms of the reporting process to UN treaty bodies which monitor a country’s compliance with its international human rights obligations under its treaty and the different actions and remedies available to ensure that individuals can enjoy their rights. The training is being followed-up with helping Territories to develop their own national human rights action plans.

International learning and networking

Civil society organisations that aim to promote or protect human rights may seek opportunities to learn about human rights practices and the work of organisations outside their Territory, how to turn human rights treaties into living documents, and strengthen international ties. The project can facilitate networking and offers a limited number of opportunities to visit UN, UK, Council of Europe or Commonwealth Institutions and like-minded civil society organisations.

Technical Assistance and legislative drafting support

Government offices and other public institutions may seek advice or assistance in a number of aspects of implementing human rights. Examples of such advice or assistance might include:

Developing or reviewing the human rights aspects of policies to ensure that they comply with the relevant human rights standards;
Developing a consultative framework for dialogue between officials and civil society on human rights;
Drafting guidelines for government and public officials so that they take account of human rights in carrying out their professional duties;
Developing a curriculum on human rights teaching for use in schools;
Examining specific human rights protections for vulnerable minorities, like the mentally ill or children;
Producing plain English versions of human rights legislation for citizens to help them understand it better;
Providing model laws, or assistance on how to use them, that can be adapted to specific Territories;
Providing materials and guidance on drafting enabling legislation;
Reviewing draft laws for their compatibility with the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention on the Elimination of all forms Discrimination against Women, or the European Convention on Human Rights.

>> Resources:
Technical Assistance guidelines
Legislative Drafting Assistance guidelines

Challenge Fund

To enable civil society to follow-up on the training and play its role, the project has offered grants up to £5,000 for activities that help to promote and protect human rights, including supporting participants or resource people, campaigns, publications, awareness-raising, meetings and workshops, study visits, subsistence and travel, and new initiatives (“seed grants”), as well as towards monitoring and evaluation and reporting of an activity. Preference has been given to national activities.

Treaty Body Reporting

Every Government has to make periodic reports on its implementation of those UN human rights treaties that apply to it and to participate in the reporting process. The project has prepared a Guide to Treaty Body Reporting which covers both the reporting process and the compilation of reports with the aim of assisting Territories to enhance their own reporting capacity. The Guide also includes useful information for civil society organisations, their role in the reporting process and pointers on how to prepare shadow reports. Improving reporting to treaty bodies will be one component of the development of national human rights action plans.

>> Resources:
Guide to reporting to United Nations Treaty Bodies/Committees
Annexes to reporting guide

The UN Convention on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

Three territories have already had CEDAW extended to them – British Virgin Islands, Falkland Islands and Turks and Caicos Islands. The other Territories have committed to doing so. The project can help Territories with extension through reviewing laws and policies for compliance with CEDAW and identifying where changes are needed. We can also help with implementation through assisting in preparing an implementation plan, devising the best methods for data collection, monitoring and reporting. This may also form part of the National Human Rights Action Plans.

In October 2010, a regional workshop for Caribbean Territories was held in Anguilla to examine the challenges to the extension and implementation of CEDAW.

>> Resources:
Report from CEDAW workshop, Anguilla, 27-29 October 2010

National Human Rights Action Plans

After general human rights training has taken place, the project can help Territories with the development of national action plans. This will typically involve an analysis of a Territory’s current human rights situation, based on existing documentation, a commitment from Government to develop a plan, consultation with parliamentarians, officials and civil society on the content of a plan, and a road map towards producing the plan and its implementation over a 3- 5 year time frame. It will involve those human rights treaties which a Territory has extended or which it is committed to extending to it.

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