Human Rights Day to be observed in BVI

Friday, December 10, 2004

ROAD TOWN, BVI: The Human Rights Reporting Coordinating Committee (HRCC) is advising people in the British Virgin Islands to observe Human Rights Day on December 10 by becoming more informed and reflecting on the significance of Human Rights. 

According to Governor Tom Macan, “it is easy to take human rights for granted in these tranquil islands. But it helps to remind ourselves of the fundamental principles by which we live.”

On December 10, 1948, the United Nations adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights at the Palais de Chaillot in Paris. The historic document called the Universal Declaration of Human Rights outlines the human rights standards the United Nations believes should be enforced by all nations. The document refers to rights such as "the right to life, liberty and nationality, to freedom of thought, conscience and religion, to work, to be educated, and to take part in government." 

In the BVI, Executive Council appointed the HRCC in 1999, to monitor adherence to the UN Human Rights Conventions which have been extended to the BVI, as an overseas Territory of the U.K. The Committee coordinates the necessary information and prepares various reports to be submitted on behalf of the Virgin Islands to the United Nations, as required by the aforementioned human rights instruments. Under the auspices of the Attorney General’s Chambers, the HRCC continues to meet, discuss issues, prepare reports, collect and disseminate information about human rights at various levels. 

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