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

Fred Dunwoodie Stirton, Peter Clegg, Phillip Cole

Research output: Contribution to journalArticle (Academic Journal)peer-review

5 Citations (Scopus)

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.
Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)46-68
Number of pages23
JournalCommonwealth and Comparative Politics
Volume54
Issue number1
DOIs
Publication statusE-pub ahead of print - 11 Jan 2016

Keywords

  • overseas territories
  • GOVERNANCE
  • rights of the child
  • cultural relativity
  • LGBT rights
  • small-size

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