The Bahamas

The Bahamas is serving a term from 2019-2021 on the UNHRC for the first time. It has been quiet in the UPR process, tending to accept many of the recommendations concerning basic human rights concerns. During the Meeting of Foreign Ministers on the Situation in Venezuela, at the 2017 OAS General Assembly, the Bahamas broke with many of its CARICOM members and voted in favor of a U.S.-backed resolution that called for the release of political prisoners, and urged the Venezuelan government not to convene a constituent assembly that would rewrite the Venezuelan constitution.

Below is a breakdown of the Bahama’s actions and votes at the various venues we are monitoring. For more information click on each title and summary.

Scoreboard:

Freedom House  
Freedom Status Free
Aggregate Score (100 is perfect freedom and protection of rights) 91/100
Political Rights (scores out of 40, with 40 being the best)  38/40
Civil Liberties (scores out of 60, with 60 being the best)  53/60
Reporters Without Borders  
World Press Freedom Index (scores out of 100, with 1 being the best) Not assessed
Transparency International  
Corruption Perception Index (CPI) 64/100
 Global Rank 29/180
World Justice Project  
Rule-of-Law Index 0.61
 Regional rank  9/30
 Global rank 41/128
UN Human Development Index  
 Human Development Index 0.814
 Global rank 58
Americas Quarterly (latest report 2016)  
 Social Inclusion Index N/A
Regional rank N/A

United Nations Human Rights Council (UNHRC or Council)

The Bahamas are currently serving their first term on the UNHRC from 2019-2021.

UNHRC’s Universal Periodic Review

As part of its mandate to promote human rights around the globe, the UNHRC has instituted a Universal Periodic Review, where, once every four years, each country’s human rights record is examined. Other countries are invited to review the record and make comments and suggestions for improvement. The country under review then acknowledges each comment by either “accepting” the comment, meaning typically that they agree to focus on, or “noting” it, indicating that they disagree and will not be focusing on improvements in this area.

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As recipient: The Bahamas received 113 recommendations. Accepted 53, noted 60. (only select topics listed below)

Area Received Accepted Noted
Civil society  2  2  –
Elections  –  –  –
Enforced disappearances  1  –  1
Extrajudicial executions  –  –  –
Freedom of association and peaceful assembly  –  –  –
Freedom of opinion and expression  –  –  –
Freedom of religion and belief  1  –  1
Freedom of press  –  –  –
Human rights defenders  –  –  –
Human rights violations by state agents  2  2  –
Impunity  –  –  –
Indigenous peoples  –  –  –
Internally displaced persons  –  –  –
International instruments  38  9  29
Justice  12  4  8
Migrants  6  3  3
Minorities  3  2  1
Racial discrimination  2  –  2
Sexual orientation and gender identity  10  –  10
Torture and CID treatment 14  2  12
Women’s rights  30  19  11
Total  84  32  52

Note: some comments are classified under multiple categories.

As commenter: The Bahamas has not been active in the UPR process, with 14 comments made so far in the 2nd cycle (for data available). With 78% made towards other Latin American countries, it consistently made 2-3 comments for most, but not all, countries around the globe.

Note: This data is for the 2nd cycle of the UPR. However, the final round of countries were reviewed in November/December 2016, and that data is not yet available to include in our analysis here.[/expandableContent]

UN NGO Committee

The Bahamas has not been on the committee since 1993.

Inter-American System:

OAS Permanent Council

Under the former leadership of Secretary General Luis Almagro, the OAS has re-found its focus on defending democracy but is still bound by the wishes and will of its members. But the newfound leader’s commitment—and the challenges—were shown at a meeting in June 2016 where Almagro presented his report on the state of democracy in Venezuela and proposed invoking the Inter-American Democratic Charter.

In June 2016, OAS members voted on whether Secretary General Luis Almagro should present his report laying out the evidence on how and why it was necessary to invoke the Inter-American Democratic Charter in Venezuela. The Bahamas, although a part of PetroCaribe alliance that receives subsidies from Venezuela, voted in favor of hearing the report. The Bahamas joined a list of PetroCaribe countries that abandoned their usual support for Venezuela.

During the Meeting of Foreign Ministers on the Situation in Venezuela, at the 2017 OAS General Assembly, the Bahamas voted in favor of a U.S.-backed resolution that called for the release of political prisoners, and urged the Venezuelan government not to convene a constituent assembly that would rewrite the Venezuelan constitution. It abstained from voting on a CARICOM backed resolution asking Venezuela to reconsider leaving the OAS. The Bahamas joined other countries like Jamaica and Honduras, who broke from the traditional PetroCaribe voting patterns and voted against the interest of Venezuela.

Inter-American Commission for Human Rights (IACHR or Commission)

The Bahamas has not financially support the IACHR.

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Year Contributions by the Bahamas Percentage of Total
Contributions to IACHR
2011
2012
2013
2014  –
2015
2016

Voluntary financial contributions to IACHR  (as of Sept. 16, 2016):

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Electoral Missions

The OAS has conducted two electoral observation missions to the Bahamas. Both missions observed the general elections in 2012 and 2017.

Freedom of Information Laws

Since 2000 the right to information and freedom of information laws have expanded across the region. However, the existence of the laws on the books does not necessarily mean full enforcement.

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Signatory/Participant in MESICIC* Yes
Constitutional protection* No
Specific law enacted* No
Is there a presumption of right* No
Scope/Exceptions/Overrides* N/A
Received information under FOIA law?** N/A
Received information within a week?** N/A
Received the appropriate information?** N/A

*Data taken from the Global Right to Information ratings, provided by the Center for Law and Democracy.
**Information from the 2015 World Justice Project Open Government Index

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Women’s rights:

Protecting women against gender-based violence is a human rights issue often overlooked globally even though it crosses social, economic and national boundaries. And according to the United Nations Population Fund, gender-based violence undermines the health, security, dignity, and autonomy of its victims. Although 16 countries in Latin America had modified their laws to include a specific type of crime referring to the murder of women by 2015, they are not uniformly implemented, and practices to convict perpetrators of gender-based violence are still extremely weak. A 2016 report published by the Small Arms Survey found that Latin America and the Caribbean is home to 14 of the 25 countries with the highest rates of femicide in the world.

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The Bahamas has a female homicide rate of 8.5 per 100,000 women. In 1991, the Bahamas had passed the Sexual Offense Act to criminalize sexual offense. Up until 2012, it has passed eight other laws addressing domestic violence, trafficking and child protection. In 2006, it established the National Crime Prevention Unit, a 24 hour hotline for receiving complaints of violence against women. However the Unite became a center for complaints on all crimes rather than just crimes against women. The Bahamas still does not have a specific law on femicide, or a plan of action on violence against women. As their female homicide rate shows, what the country has done is not enough to end femicide in the Bahamas.

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[1] WJP Rule-of-Law Index measures 4 principles: 1) The government and its officials and agents as well as individuals and private entities are accountable under the law; 2) The laws are clear, publicized, stable, and just; are applied evenly; and protect fundamental rights, including the security of persons and property and certain core human rights; 3) The process by which the laws are enacted, administered, and enforced is accessible, fair, and efficient; 4) Justice is delivered timely by competent, ethical, and independent representatives and neutrals who are of sufficient number, have adequate resources, and reflect the makeup of the communities they serve.
[2] AQ Social Inclusion Index uses 23 different factors to measure how effectively governments are serving their citizens, regardless of race or income, and is published annually by Americas Quarterly at the Americas Society/Council of the Americas.
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