The United Kingdom will require a human rights ‘chapter’ within any new constitution negotiated between the Cayman Islands and the UK.
A letter from the UK Foreign and Commonwealth Office earlier this month left little doubt about what has recently been a hotly debated topic in constitutional reform talks.
‘The British Government would not agree to a new Cayman Islands Constitution that did not include an up-to-date human rights chapter,’ wrote Meg Munn, FCO under-secretary of state. ‘This chapter would need to reflect the fundamental rights set out in international human rights treaties that have been extended to the Cayman Islands for many years.’
As previously reported in the Caymanian Compass, government officials have decided to push back the original May date for the constitutional referendum to allow more time for public debate.
Leader of Government Business Kurt Tibbetts said the vote would now be held ‘in the second half of the year.’ It’s likely the referendum date would be set in either July or August, since Cabinet ministers have previously stated their desire to hold it before September. No firm date has been set.
Education Minister Alden McLaughlin has recently stated that holding the referendum in July or August would be problematic with people going off island during summer break. It’s thought the government will then be aiming for a vote date in early July, if that’s possible.
Opposition Leader McKeeva Bush and the Cayman Islands Ministers Association have argued for years that human rights should not be written into the constitution, but rather should be introduced as a separate piece of legislation.
Mr. Tibbetts said the letter from Ms Munn essentially rules out that option.
‘The matter is now beyond doubt,’ he said. ‘What we need to do — is to focus our energies and our thoughts on the contents of the bill of rights, on Caymanising it, on making it our own.’
Mr. Bush said he hadn’t seen the letter from Ms Munn, but he believed the bill of rights issue was one that should have been left up for negotiation with the UK.
‘He’s (referring to Mr. Tibbetts) pre-empted that discussion,’ Mr. Bush said. ‘They have always said they would prefer (to have a bill of rights in the constitution), but that they would be open to discussion.’
The ruling People’s Progressive Movement government wants to define human rights in the constitution so that successive governments would not be able to change the bill of rights by a majority vote in the Legislative Assembly. It’s more difficult legislatively to change the country’s constitution than it is to amend a law.
‘The rights of citizens should not be changed on a whim,’ Mr. Tibbetts said.
Government ministers also clarified how and to whom human rights would apply during a press briefing Thursday.
Mr. McLaughlin said the bill of rights would not be limited to citizens. In other words, non-Caymanian residents and island visitors would also be afforded human rights protections.
However, Mr. Tibbetts said the bill of rights would only apply to governmental entities; not to private schools, churches or businesses.
‘It applies only to government,’ he said, ‘and no, it will not prevent prayer in schools or parliament, and no, it will not permit gay marriages.’
Both issues have been among the most contentious in Cayman’s human rights debate and have led in part, to government reversing its earlier stance on how many questions would be asked in the referendum.
Mr. McLaughlin said in February that government planned on making the referendum a single question, a ‘yes or no’ vote. However, ministers said Thursday there will be a number of questions asked on specific issues, including what should be included in the bill of rights.
He said a draft of the referendum questions would be published a month before the vote so Caymanians would have a chance to study each issue.
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