Wayzata World Factbook 1996/The World Factbook - 1996 Edition - Wayzata Technology (3079) (1996).iso/mac/TEXT/HUMANrts/TRINIDAD.TXT

Text File | 1996-01-05 | 27KB | 544 lines

TITLE:  TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO HUMAN RIGHTS PRACTICES, 1994
AUTHOR:  U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
DATE:  FEBRUARY 1995

                      TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO


Trinidad and Tobago, a member of the Commonwealth of Nations,
is a parliamentary democracy in which there have been free and
fair general elections since independence from the United
Kingdom in 1962.  A bicameral Parliament and a Prime Minister
govern the country.  Parliament elects the President, whose
office is largely ceremonial.  A 12-member elected House of
Assembly handles local matters on the island of Tobago.

The Ministry of National Security controls the police service
and the defense force, which are both generally responsive to
civilian authority.  An independent body, the Police Service
Commission, makes all personnel decisions in the police
service, and the Ministry has little direct influence over
changes in senior positions.  Some members of the police
service allegedly committed human rights abuses, often with
impunity.

The country's mixed economy is based primarily on the petroleum
and natural gas industries, but efforts continue to diversify
the economy into services, manufacturing, and tourism.  The
Government has historically owned many businesses wholly or
partially; however, a major divestment program continued to
privatize several state-owned corporations, either partially or
completely.

Citizens enjoy a wide range of civil liberties and individual
rights.  Human rights abuses included overcrowded prisons,
violence against women, and allegations of beatings and
extrajudicial killings by police.  Sharply increased violent
crime and narcotics trafficking created unprecedented strains
on the administration of justice system, which was severely
undermined by murder and intimidation of witnesses, allegations
of corruption, and excessive delays.

RESPECT FOR HUMAN RIGHTS

Section 1  Respect for the Integrity of the Person, Including
           Freedom from:

     a.  Political and Other Extrajudicial Killing

There were no reports of politically motivated killings by the
police or other security forces.

Police shot and killed approximately 11 people during 1994.
All allegedly occurred during exchanges of gunfire, with the
police acting in self-defense, and none was determined to be
extrajudicial killings.  The authorities' inquest into the
death of a man shot by the police in 1990 was still under way
at the end of 1994.  The inquest heard evidence that the post
mortem report appeared to have been altered before submission
to the coroner.

There were several alleged suicides of prisoners while in
police custody.  In one case, when a 34-year-old man died from
drinking herbicide while handcuffed in his jail cell, family
members charged it was a "cover" for an extrajudicial police
killing.  They asserted that the police had forced the deceased
to drink the poison.  No inquest had been held on the matter by
year's end, and the inquest may be delayed for several years
because magistrates hold such inquests on an ad hoc basis.

     b.  Disappearance

There were no reports of disappearances.

     c.  Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman, or Degrading
         Treatment or Punishment

The Constitution prohibits the imposition of cruel or unusual
treatment or punishment.  However, allegations of beating while
in police custody were common.  For example, one prisoner
accused jailers of beating him in custody pending trial and
appeared at a court hearing with his jaws wired shut and
showing evidence of other injuries.  He stated that he had not
complained to prison authorities for fear of being forced to
miss his court date.  The authorities conducted an internal
investigation but closed it when the accused prison officers
denied any involvement.  Other prisoners complained of beatings
by prison guards, but the authorities took no action to
investigate the complaints or punish the perpetrators.  By law
the government Ombudsman may investigate charges of prisoner
beatings, but in practice he does not.

Courts frequently order the flogging of prisoners, but this is
not actually carried out in practice.  The relevant statute
requires that the punishment be carried out within 6 months of
sentencing; defendants appeal all flogging sentences, and
courts do not hear the appeals before the 6-month deadline.

Overcrowding is a serious problem in prisons which, together
with shortages of guards and unsanitary conditions, leads to
serious social and health consequences.  Conditions are worst
in the older facilities:  Port of Spain prison was built to
hold 250 inmates, but houses 1,079; Carrera prison, designed to
hold 185, has 547.  There were many reports of rapes, murders,
assaults, and attempts to commit these crimes among inmates and
between inmates and guards.  Diseases such as chicken pox,
tuberculosis, AIDS, and other viruses spread easily in the
prisons.  A large, modern detention facility is scheduled to
open in March 1995.

The facilities for, and treatment of, women prisoners appear
exceptionally humane, with a strong and successful orientation
to rehabilitation.

     d.  Arbitrary Arrest, Detention, or Exile

The Constitution prohibits arbitrary detention, imprisonment,
or exile of any person.  A police officer may arrest a person
either based on a warrant issued or authorized by a magistrate
or without a warrant when the officer witnesses commission of
the alleged offense.  In less serious offenses, the authorities
typically bring the accused before a magistrate within 24
hours; for indictable offenses, the accused must appear within
48 hours.  At that time the magistrate reads the charge and
determines the availability of bail.  (A recently enacted bail
bill authorizes magistrates to deny bail to violent and repeat
offenders.)  If for some reason the accused does not come
before the magistrate, the case comes up on the magistrate's
docket every 8 to 10 days until a hearing date is set.  The
courts notify persons of their right to an attorney and allow
them access to an attorney once they are in custody and prior
to any interrogation.  The authorities do not always comply
with these standards, however, and a court awarded $18,000 to
three brothers whom police wrongfully arrested, detained for
3hdays, threatened with beatings, and failed to advise of their
right to an attorney.

The Minister of National Security may authorize preventive
detention in order to prevent actions prejudicial to public
safety, public order, or the defense of Trinidad and Tobago,
and must state the grounds for the detention.  A detainee under
this provision has access to counsel and may have his detention
reviewed by a three-member tribunal established by the Chief
Justice and chaired by an attorney.  The Minister must provide
the tribunal with the grounds for the detention within 7 days
of the detainee's request for review, which shall be held "as
soon as reasonably practicable" following receipt of the
grounds.  There have been no reports that the authorities
abused this procedure.

     e.  Denial of Fair Public Trial

The Constitution provides the right to a fair public trial for
persons charged with criminal offenses.  It also provides for
presumption of innocence, reasonable bail, fair and public
hearing by an independent and impartial tribunal, and an
interpreter for non-English speakers.  The authorities
generally respected these rights in practice.  Appeals may be
made to the national court of appeals and then to the Privy
Council in London.  All criminal defendants have the right to
an attorney.  In practice, the courts appoint an attorney for
those persons charged with indictable offenses (serious crimes)
if they do not retain one on their own behalf.  The law
requires a person accused of murder to have an attorney.  An
indigent person may refuse to accept an assigned attorney for
cause and obtain a replacement.  In spite of these provisions,
however, there were several allegations by prisoners charged
with narcotics trafficking offenses that the authorities did
not provide them with attorneys even after they specifically
requested counsel.

Despite the constitutional provisions outlined above, the
administration of justice system has been seriously undermined
by murder, intimidation, corruption, and excessive delays.  A
remarkable number of witnesses and potential witnesses (mostly
in narcotics-related cases) were killed, or disappeared,
emigrated, or otherwise failed to cooperate with the
prosecution.  In most of these instances, the authorities
dropped charges against the accused as a result of the absence
of key witnesses.  The murders highlighted the Government's
inability to protect prospective witnesses, undermining public
confidence in the justice system's ability to provide a fair
public trial to all defendants.  The most significant test case
is the proceeding against one of the reputed major narcotics
figures in the country, who has been charged with murder.
Witness protection has been successful through the preliminary
inquiry stage of the proceeding.

Credible witnesses frequently allege bribery of police,
magistrates, and judges in drug cases, but the authorities
conducted no investigations.  There were also charges that drug
traffickers bribed witnesses not to testify.  Trials often
occur as long as 6 to 10 years after the alleged criminal act,
when evidence may be lost, memories fade, and any deterrent
effect is lost on the accused.  Inordinate court delays, which
stem partially from the system itself but also from defense
attorneys' and prosecutors' use of repeated adjournments, have
undermined public confidence in the judicial system's ability
to provide a fair trial.

     f.  Arbitrary Interference with Privacy, Family, Home, or
         Correspondence

The authorities generally respected in practice the
constitutional provisions for the rights to security of the
person, enjoyment of property, and respect for private and
family life.  Police must obtain search warrants to enter
private property.  There were occasional reports of search
warrants or drug raids executed on the wrong houses, but
persons injured in this manner have redress through a civil
action for damages.

Section 2  Respect for Civil Liberties, Including:

     a.  Freedom of Speech and Press

The Constitution recognizes these freedoms and an independent
judiciary, a democratic and pluralistic political system, and
independent and privately owned media protect these rights in
practice.

The two major daily newspapers sometimes criticize the
Government in their editorials; the widely read tabloids are
extremely critical of the Government.  Licensing agreements
require the three television stations to broadcast a certain
amount of informational programming produced and provided by
the Government.  The opposition has, over the years, accused
the government-owned station of favoring the ruling party.
There are seven radio stations, one of which is government
owned.

The Government may prohibit the import or circulation of
publications under the Sedition Act, but the authorities have
rarely invoked it in recent years.  A board of film censors is
authorized to ban films it considers to be against public order
and decency or contrary to the public interest.  This includes
films which it believes may be controversial in matters of
religion, seditious propaganda, or race.

The law protects academic freedom, and the authorities respect
it.

     b.  Freedom of Peaceful Assembly and Association

The Constitution recognizes the rights of freedom of
association and assembly, and the Government respects them in
practice.  Registration or other governmental permission to
form private associations is not required.  The police
routinely grant the required advance permits for street
marches, demonstrations, or other public outdoor meetings.
Political activity by trade associations or professional bodies
is not restricted, and these organizations affiliate freely
with recognized international bodies in their fields.

     c.  Freedom of Religion

The Constitution provides for freedom of conscience and
religious belief, and the authorities respect these rights in
practice.

     d.  Freedom of Movement Within the Country, Foreign
         Travel, Emigration, and Repatriation

The Constitution recognizes freedom of movement as a
fundamental human right, and the authorities respect it in
practice.  Residents are free to emigrate, return, and travel
within or outside the country, as well as to change residence
and workplace.  Although Trinidad and Tobago is not a party to
any U.N. convention or protocol on refugees, there were no
reports of forced expulsion of those having a valid claim to
refugee status.  There is no provision for persons to claim or
be classified as refugees or asylum seekers; any such cases are
handled on a case-by-case basis by the Ministry of National
Security's Immigration Division.

Section 3  Respect for Political Rights:  The Right of Citizens
           to Change Their Government

Citizens choose their government by secret ballot in free and
fair multiparty elections held at intervals not to exceed 5
years.  Elections for the 12-member Tobago House of Assembly
are held every 4 years.  The Constitution extends the right to
vote to citizens as well as to legal residents with citizenship
in other Commonwealth countries, who are at least 18 years of
age.

Prime Minister Patrick Manning's People's National Movement
(PNM) holds the majority of seats in the 36-member lower house
of Parliament.  The President appoints a 31-member Senate, 16
on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 on the advice of the
leader of the opposition, and 9 at the President's discretion.
The ruling PNM is primarily but not exclusively
Afro-Trinidadian; the opposition United National Congress party
is primarily but not exclusively Indo-Trinidadian.  The
fundamentalist Muslim "Jamaat al Muslimeen", which attempted a
coup in 1990, organized a New Vision political party and
contested a local election in 1994.

There are no specific laws that restrict women or minorities
from participating in government or the political parties, and
women hold many positions in the Government and political party
leadership.  There are 14 female Members of Parliament, 4 of
whom are ministers, and the head of a newly formed opposition
party is a female Member of Parliament.

Section 4  Governmental Attitude Regarding International and
           Nongovernmental Investigation of Alleged Violations
           of Human Rights

Several nongovernmental human rights groups operate freely
without government restriction or interference.  A law
established the office of the Ombudsman, which receives
complaints relating to government administrative issues and
investigates complaints of human rights abuse; it can make
recommendations but does not have authority to force any
government offices to take action.

Regional and local human rights groups focused on a Privy
Council ruling on a Jamaican case in 1993, which commuted
death sentences for 56 inmates who had been on death row for
5 years or more in Trinidad.  The Trinidad authorities hanged
Glen Ashby, a condemned murderer, in July less than 1 week
before the 5-year cut-off date.  Based on the Jamaican case,
Ashby's attorneys had filed additional appeals to the Privy
Council challenging the State's intention to carry out the
execution as unconstitutional.  Prison officials hanged Ashby
only minutes before the Privy Council's decision to stay the
execution reached Trinidad from London.

Human rights monitors alleged that Ashby's hanging was illegal
because all appeal rights had not been exhausted.  Legal and
human rights groups held a "public commission of inquiry" in
Barbados 1 month after the hanging, but Trinidad officials
refused to participate on the grounds that such a commission
had no authority in a domestic legal matter.  As a result of
the Ashby case, the Prime Minister's blue ribbon anticrime
committee recommended that appeals of death sentences be
limited to the national court of appeals, eliminating the Privy
Council as the court of final decision on such motions.

Section 5  Discrimination Based on Race, Sex, Religion,
           Disability, Language, or Social Status

The Government respects in practice the constitutional
provisions of fundamental human rights and freedoms to all
without discrimination based on race, origin, color, religion
or sex.

     Women

Many women hold positions in business, the professions, and
government, but men tend to hold the most senior positions.
There is no law or regulation requiring equal pay for equal
work.

Physical abuse of women continued to be an extensive problem.
Domestic violence resulted in the deaths of 15 women, in some
cases despite the existence of a protection order.  There are
several shelters for battered women, and a rape crisis center
offers counseling for rape victims and perpetrators on a
voluntary basis.  In 1994, 68 rape victims and 48 battered
wives (new cases) came in voluntarily for counseling.  Law
enforcement officials and the courts are generally not
sensitive to family violence problems.  There were repeated
reports of officers refusing to take women's complaints of
domestic violence.  More than 300 women filed for protection
orders under the Domestic Violence Act, and some courts decided
to stop hearing protection order cases because they were too
time-consuming.

The Division of Women's Affairs in the Ministry of Community
Development and Culture is charged with protecting women's
rights in all aspects of government and legislation.  The
Division received funding for four positions in 1994 and
established an agenda with the following priorities:  access to
credit, employment, domestic violence, and sexual harassment in
the workplace.

     Children

The Government's ability to protect children's welfare is
limited by a lack of funding and expanding social needs.  The
public school system seriously fails to meet the needs of the
school age population, due to overcrowding, substandard
physical facilities, and classroom violence from gangs.  There
is no pattern of social abuse directed against children.  The
Domestic Violence Act provides protection for children abused
at home.  Abused children are usually placed with relatives if
they are removed from the home; if there is no relative who can
take them, there are two Government institutions and several
nongovernmental organizations (NGO's) which take children.

     National/Racial/Ethnic Minorities

Various ethnic and religious groups live together peacefully,
generally respecting each other's beliefs and practices.
However, racial tensions continue between Afro-Trinidadians and
Indo-Trinidadians, with each group comprising over 40 percent
of the population.  The private sector is dominated by
Indo-Trinidadians and people of European and Middle Eastern
descent.  Indo-Trinidadians also predominate in agriculture.
Afro-Trinidadians find employment in disproportionate numbers
in the civil service, police, and military.  Some
Indo-Trinidadians assert that they are excluded from equal
representation in the civil service due to racial
discrimination.  Since Indo-Trinidadians constitute the
majority in rural areas and Afro-Trinidadians are the majority
in urban areas, competition between town and country for public
goods and services often takes on racial overtones.

A very small group in the population identifies itself as
descendants of the original native American population of the
island.  They maintain social ties with each other and other
aboriginal groups.

     Religious Minorities

Some groups charged the authorities with religious
discrimination over the question of the extent to which female
students should be allowed to alter the standard school
uniforms of the partially state-funded, denominational schools
by wearing the Muslim hijab.  In prior years, denominational
school boards had accommodated the question of the hijab by
allowing students to wear a head covering in addition to the
regulation uniform.  Negotiations between denominational school
boards and representatives of Islamic groups were unsuccessful
in working out a compromise solution for the 1994-95 school
year.  The Trinidad and Tobago courts will have to decide:
What is a hijab, whether it is a bona fide religious
requirement, and what accommodation in the school uniform, if
any, will be required.  More fundamentally, public discussion
of this issue led to calls for broad reexamination of the
"concordat"--the 1960 agreement by which denominational schools
receive public funding for accepting students from public
elementary schools--and of church-state relations in general.
The Government stated that the concordat will not be reopened
or revised for the time being.

     People with Disabilities

There is no legislation which specifically enumerates or
protects the rights of disabled persons, nor which mandates the
provision of access to buildings or services.  Nonaccessibility
of transportation, buildings, and sidewalks is a major obstacle
to the disabled; only two vans in the country are equipped with
hydraulic lifts.  The Government does provide some public
assistance and partial funding to a variety of NGO's which, in
turn, provide direct services to disabled members or clients.

Section 6  Worker Rights

     a.  The Right of Association

The law provides that all workers, including those in state-
owned enterprises, may form or join unions of their own
choosing without prior authorization.  Union membership has
been decreasing, with 26 unions still functioning, but many
doing so with a fraction of their membership from former
years.  Most unions are independent of the Government or
political party control, although the Sugar Workers' Union is
historically allied with the current opposition party.

The law prohibits antiunion activities before a union is
legally registered, and the Ministry of Labor enforces this
provision when it receives a complaint, or a union may bring a
request for enforcement to the Industrial Court.  All employees
except those in "essential services" (basically government
employees, including police) have the right to strike.  There
were no major strikes, but a number of work stoppages lasted
several days.  The Labor Relations Act prohibits retribution
against strikers and provides for grievance procedures if any
is alleged.  A special section of the Industrial Court handles
mandatory arbitration cases.  Arbitration agreements are
enforceable and appealable only to the Industrial Court.

Unions freely join federations and affiliate with international
bodies.  There are no restrictions on international travel or
contacts.

     b.  The Right to Organize and Bargain Collectively

The Industrial Relations Act of 1972 establishes the right of
workers to collective bargaining.  The Ministry of Labor
conciliation service maintains statistical information
regarding the number of workers covered by collective
bargaining agreements and the number of antiunion complaints
filed.  The Industrial Court may order employers found guilty
of antiunion discrimination to reinstate the worker, pay
compensation, or can impose other penalties including prison.
When necessary, the conciliation service also determines which
unions should have senior status.

There are several newly organized export processing zones
(EPZ's) in Trinidad and Tobago.  The same labor laws apply in
the EPZ's as in the country at large.

     c.  Prohibition of Forced or Compulsory Labor

The law does not explicitly prohibit forced or compulsory
labor, but there were no reports that it was practiced.

     d.  Minimum Age for Employment of Children

The minimum legal age for workers is 12 years.  Children from
12 to 14 years of age may only work in family businesses.
Children under age 18 may legally work only during daylight,
with the exception of 16- to 18-year-olds, who may work nights
in sugar factories.  The Probation Service in the Ministry of
Social Development and Family Services is responsible for
enforcing child labor provisions, but its enforcement is lax.
There is no organized exploitation of child labor, but children
can be seen vending and begging, and some are used by criminals
as guards and couriers.

     e.  Acceptable Conditions of Work

There is no national minimum wage; the Government has set
minimum wages for 53 job categories in 5 nonunionized
occupational groupings.  The minimum pay ranges from $26 per
week (TT$130.45) to $57 per week (TT$285).  These rates were
supposed to be adjusted for cost-of-living increases at regular
intervals, but Parliament has never considered any adjustment
since passing the laws.   The Ministry of Labor enforces the
minimum wage regulations.  A minimum wage income is not
sufficient to support an individual, but most workers earn more
than the minimum.

The standard workweek is 40 hours.  There are no restrictions
on overtime work.  Daily rest periods and paid annual leave
form part of most employment agreements.  For those sectors
covered, the minimum wage laws provide holiday pay, 2 weeks'
vacation, and 14 days' sick leave per year.

The 1948 Factories and Ordinance bill sets requirements for
health and safety standards in certain industries and provides
for inspections to monitor and enforce compliance.  The
Industrial Relations Act of 1972 protects workers who file
complaints with the Ministry of Labor regarding illegal or
hazardous working conditions to the extent that, should it be
determined upon inspection that conditions exist in the
workplace which present hazards to life or limb, the worker is
absolved in refusing to comply with an order which would have
placed him or her in harm's way.