Information relating to articles in parts I, II and III of the Covenant
The following information is supplementary to that provided in the first and second reports of the United Kingdom on the Turks and Caicos Islands and given by the United Kingdom delegation at the meetings of the Human Rights Committee which discussed these reports. Articles in relation to which no new legislative or administrative developments have occurred are not included in this report. Inclusion of particular points does not necessarily mean that the United Kingdom considers that they fall within the scope of particular articles of the Covenant.
7.
Article 1
Information hereunder is provided in the general introduction to this
report.
8.
Article 2
Since the introduction of the Constitution on 4 March 1988, there have been no legal proceedings or challenges alleging any form of discrimination on the part of the Government. From this it is inferred that the rights enshrined in the Covenant and reiterated in the Constitution are being respected by governmental officials.
Article 3
9. Reference is made to the previous report and relevant supplementary information provided. Since that information was provided, the Employment Bill has become law and is in operation. The rights conferred by it apply equally to men and women. In addition, it confers rights of maternity leave in respect of up to four confinements.
Article 4
10.
To date, there have been no proclamations of emergencies and the Emergency Powers Ordinance has not been invoked.
Article 6
11. It is now reported that, on 27 April 1988, a man named Perez was sentenced to death for murder, having been convicted by a jury of that offence. On 20 February 1989, the Court of Appeal quashed the conviction and substituted a conviction for manslaughter, and a sentence of seven years' imprisonment. In passing judgement, the Court of Appeal decided that, if the murder conviction had been upheld, it would also have ruled that the death sentence for murder was mandatory, not discretionary, following the decision of the Court of Appeal of the Bahamas in a similar case decided upon a similarly worded statutory provision.
12. The right to apply for a pardon or commutation of sentence is contained in the Constitution.