St. Lucia police during a patrol. * Photo credit: Telesurv.
The 2015 US Department of State Human Rights Report has highlighted a number of human rights violations in Saint Lucia, the most serious being the long delays in investigating reports of unlawful police killings.
The report highlighted the delay in prosecutions of the officers implicated in the IMPACS report.
It also said, “The investigators completed the report, but it has not been made public.”
The report which was recently released also states that Saint Lucia has issues when it comes to abuse of suspects and prisoners by the police, and continued postponements of trials and sentencing.
It said although the government took limited steps to prosecute officials and employees who committed abuses, the procedure for investigating police officers was lengthy, cumbersome, and often inconclusive.
During 2015, citizens filed a number of complaints against the police, most of which were for abuse of authority.
It noted that while the DPP is responsible for filing charges in such cases, the DPP was unable to monitor their progress due to limited resources.
“Although the government sometimes asserted that it would launch independent inquiries into allegations of abuse, the lack of information created a perception among civil society and government officials of impunity for the accused officers,” it further added.
Other human rights problems included violence against women, child abuse, and discrimination against persons based on their real or perceived sexual orientation or gender identity.
(44)
(1)