This update covers developments relating to the freedom of peaceful assembly and LGBTQI+ rights from 1st November 2024 to 19th August 2025.
GENERAL
Constitutional Review Committee resumes work
In March 2025, the Constitutional Review Committee resumed work, after holding its inaugural meeting a year ealier, in March 2024. The Constitutional Review Committee is a 12-member body composed of representatives of the government, opposition and civil society, whose mandate is to make recommendations for a new constitution and a revised status for Saint Lucia.
ASSEMBLY
Protest over healthcare facilities and funding
On 27th November 2024, members of the United Workers Party (UWP) staged a peaceful demonstration outside the Owen King EU (OKEU) Hospital to denounce the state of healthcare and government accountability. The situation is due to the closure or limited operations of other health facilities and this adds strain on the medical practitioners at the OKEU hospital.
Residents frustrated over road conditions and dust
On 14th March 2025, Roseau residents set up a roadblock in their neighborhood that impacted operations at Saint Lucia Distillers. They denounced deteriorating road conditions and excessive dust affecting their daily lives. The protest prevented vehicles from entering and exiting the distillery, disrupting deliveries and sales. Police and distillery officials engaged with the protesters and promised that works would start soon. The next day, repairs started.
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The protest is a demonstration of “democracy alive and well at work”
- Wayne Girard, Member of Parliament for Anse La Raye-Canaries
Truck drivers protest over port’s logistics
On 28th and 29th May 2025, truck drivers held a protest at the Vieux-Fort port in Castries, to demand better working conditions. Truckers denounce a situation of overcrowding of imported cars and cargo at the port, forcing them to park along public roads. Protesting truck drivers drove slowly and then parked their vehicles and blocked a road.
The next day, the Saint Lucia Air and Seaports Authority (SLASPA) announced a series of steps aimed at alleviating congestion and improving operations.
LGBTQI+
Supreme Court decriminalises consensual same-sex conduct
On 29th July 2025, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court determined that sections 132 and 133 of the Criminal Code criminalising same-sex relations are unconstitutional. Saint Lucia still had colonial-era laws criminalising same-sex relations, and a 2004 amendment entailed prison sentences for buggery and gross indecency. As CIVICUS Lens reports, the legal challenge was spearheaded by the Eastern Caribbean Alliance for Diversity and Equality and St Lucia’s first LGBTQI+ organisation, United and Strong.
The ruling in Saint Lucia gives us hope, demonstrating that justice and equality can prevail and that our courts are advancing public health initiatives by protecting human rights
- Richard Amenyah, UNAIDS Country Director for the Caribbean