Human rights in the overseas territories: In policy but not in practice?

Clegg, Peter; Dunwoodie-Stirton, Frederick; Cole, Phil

Abstract

Since the late 1990s emphasis has been placed by the UK government on enhancing human rights in its Overseas Territories. Some early changes were enforced, but more recently persuasion and capacity building have been prioritised. However, due to the complexity of the bilateral relationships and the cultural diversity that exists, fostering and embedding reform is difficult. These challenges are seen most clearly in two examples: the rights of the child to be protected from sexual exploitation, and the securing of equality in relation to sexual orientation with reference to LGBT rights. The article analyses the constitutional and legal changes that have been made in regard to these two issues, and whether the creation of stronger human rights principles has led to enhanced rights in practice.

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Dec 1, 2015
• Online Publication Date: Jan 11, 2016
• Publication Date: Jan 11, 2016
• Deposit Date: Jan 13, 2016
• Publicly Available Date: Nov 20, 2018
• Journal: Commonwealth and Comparative Politics
• Print ISSN: 1466-2043
• Electronic ISSN: 1743-9094
• Publisher: Routledge
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 54
• Issue: 1
• Pages: 46-68
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2015.1126886
• Keywords: overseas territories, governance, rights of the child, LGBT rights, cultural relativity, small-size
• Public URL: https://uwe-repository.worktribe.com/output/915286
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2015.1126886
• Additional Information: Additional Information : This is an Accepted Manuscript of an article published by Taylor & Francis in Commonwealth and Comparative Politics on 11 January 2016, available online: https://doi.org/10.1080/14662043.2015.1126886
• Contract Date: Nov 20, 2018