Constitutional reform body recommends human rights commission

he Constitution Reform Commission (CRC) has recommended the establishment of a human rights commission for Barbados’ first republican constitution, and an expanded bill of rights.

The recommendation was made in a report presented to President Dame Sandra Mason, at State House on Monday, marking the culmination of 27 months of deliberations by the commission to draft a new constitution, nearly three years after the last major rewriting of the 1966 constitution when the country became a republic in 2021.

Retired Justice Christopher Blackman, the CRC’s chairman, told the Government Information Service that the draft bill accompanying the report “expands the provisions of the current Constitution by more than 50 per cent, with a notable aspect being the greatly expanded Chapter on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms”.

“While the commission has recommended the maintenance of the status quo in respect of matters such as the first-past-the-post outcome at elections and elections being called at the discretion of the Prime Minister, other proposals – limiting the powers of the Prime Minister on appointments and the like – have been proposed,” Blackman added.

He also noted that there were “dissenting opinions on the office of the President, in terms of whether the holder should be directly elected, and the qualifying criteria for the post, as well as in relation to the judiciary”.

The CRC, which was given its mandate in June 2022, held several town hall meetings locally and consulted with various institutions, stakeholders, and members of the diaspora to gather public input.

Blackman expressed gratitude to the drafting team, consisting of retired Justice of Appeal and former Chief Parliamentary Counsel, Sherman Moore, and acting Parliamentary Counsel, Gabrielle Whitehall, for their hard work and timely delivery.

The commission’s membership included Senator Gregory Nicholls as deputy chairman, along with representatives from various sectors of Barbadian society, including education, religion, disability advocacy, and youth representation.

The other commissioners were: Senator Reverend Dr John Rogers; former attorney general Adriel Brathwaite; president of the Barbados Secondary Teachers’ Union, Mary-Anne Redman;Kerryann Ifill, vice President of the Barbados Council for the Disabled and a former Senate deputy president; Suleiman Bulbulia, Islamic chaplain of the University of the West Indies at Cave Hill; business executive Christopher deCaires; lawyer Sade Jemmott; and student advocate Khaleel Kothdiwala.

(BGIS/BT)