CASTRIES, St. Lucia, CMC—Mary Francis, director of the National Centre for Legal Aid and Human Rights, has renewed her call for the establishment of a national human rights commission in St. Lucia.
Francis, an attorney, said there is an urgent need for mechanisms to protect the rights of vulnerable populations, mainly persons with disabilities.
“I think it’s a very good thing, a good approach that has been taken in increasing awareness about the rise of persons with disabilities, persons with disabilities in St. Lucia,” she told the online publication, St. Lucia Times.
“For some time now, the organization has advocated for persons with disabilities. And I think for the longest, over 20 years, the policy was supposed to be in the making. Now there’s a policy.”
Francis noted the progress made in developing regulations and the island’s adherence to international standards, such as the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities. But she said that policies alone are insufficient to protect human rights without mechanisms for redress.
“What is missing in St. Lucia is a redress mechanism. There should be a network. There should be an umbrella body. And for years, I’ve called the government to set up a National Human Rights Commission… All those various bodies and persons can come within [it]; their rights can be overlooked, but the rights can be monitored,” she told the St. Lucia Times.
Francis said she is concerned that public servants responsible for implementing policies often lack the oversight needed to ensure compliance and accountability. She noted the barriers citizens face when seeking justice, especially when the court system is the only avenue for redress.
“When the state abuses human rights, I don’t think the avenue is the court. The court is expensive. There should be a commission looking at those cases and bringing compensation to those people.”
Francis commended the government for raising awareness and creating a ministry portfolio for persons with disabilities but insisted that more action is needed.
“The time has come. It’s more than time for us to have this organization in St. Lucia to ensure that we have human rights properly monitored and promoted,” she said, adding that all individuals, regardless of ability, deserve equal treatment under the law.
“Everybody has equality before the law, never mind that they are differently abled. They are not disabled; they’re just differently abled.”
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