Saint Lucia-Overview

St Lucia has an active and diverse civil society, and civil society has participated in constitutional reform processes, which remain ongoing. There are however concerns about high levels of police violence. In 2013 the US government cut aid to St Lucia’s police force out of concern at extrajudicial killings. In response the government commissioned an external inquiry, which established that the police plant weapons after extrajudicial killings to justify their actions and maintain a ‘death list’ of subjects. There are also reports of violent crimes against LGBTI people. There is no national human rights institution. St Lucia was recommended to establish one at its UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) held in 2015, but the government has stated that it is not yet able to do so on cost grounds and is seeking international support. Civil society has also drawn attention to a lack of progress on ratifying core international human rights treaties and domesticating St Lucia’s international human rights obligations.