Human rights in the British Virgin Islands
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Human rights in the British Virgin Islands are only found to a limited degree in various statutes.
The new constitution of the Territory provides extensively for human rights, and prevention from all forms of discrimination. However, the constitution has not yet been brought into force, although the draft form was approved unanimously by the Legislative Council of the British Virgin Islands in May 2007.
The British Virgin Islands Criminal Code creates certain specific criminal offences relating to human rights, such as genocide, but does not contain any general statement of human rights.
In practice, basic human rights are broadly respected in the British Virgin Islands; reports of repression of freedom of speech, interference with democracy or the rule of law and arbitrary arrest and torture are virtually unknown. Although complaints are periodically made about the length of time that prisoners are held on remand prior to trial.
However, the laws in the British Virgin Islands do openly discriminate against people who do not hold belonger status of the British Virgin Islands, and this form of discrimination is expressly preserved in the new constitution approved by the Legislative Council, and excluded from the scope of the non-discrimination protections.
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