Supporting the Extension of the International Human Rights

Conventions to the Overseas Territories

Most of the Overseas Territories face resource and capacity constraints that
affect their ability to consider or implement treaties. Within this context, we
continue to encourage all Territories to agree to the extension of the UN
human rights conventions that the UK has ratified.

Almost all populated Overseas Territories have had the following conventions
extended to them: the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights; the
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights; the
Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination; the
Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading
Treatment or Punishment; and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. We
continue to work with the government of Anguilla to enable them to have the
conventions on civil and political rights and on economic, social and cultural
rights extended to them. The government of Gibraltar continues to keep
under consideration extension of the Convention on the Rights of the Child.

The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against

Women has been extended to the British Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands,
South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands and the Turks and Caicos
Islands. In October, we supported a workshop in Anguilla for all the
Caribbean Territories and Bermuda to educate key government workers and
other interested parties about the convention and explain the reporting
requirements under the convention. The workshop also looked at the various
obstacles to extending the convention to Anguilla, Bermuda, the Cayman
Islands and Montserrat. As a result, each of these Territories agreed to draw
up three-year action plans for working on the convention. The government of
Bermuda has since indicated its wish to have the convention extended to
them in early 2011.
We continue to encourage the remaining Overseas Territories governments to
join the Falkland Islands and St Helena in accepting the extension of
International Labour Organization Convention No. 182 on the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of Child Labour. The
Turks and Caicos Islands have expressed interest in having the convention
extended to them. We await their formal request. The British Virgin Islands,
Gibraltar and Montserrat are considering what changes would be needed in
their domestic legislation to enable extension.

In 2010 Anguilla, Bermuda, Montserrat and the Territory of St Helena,

Ascension and Tristan da Cunha agreed to accept, on a permanent rather
than a renewable five-yearly basis, the competence of the European Court of
Human Rights to receive applications from individuals, NGOs or groups of
individuals. This means that all the Overseas Territories to which the
European Convention on Human Rights applies now have the right of
individual petition on a permanent basis.