Marilyn Conolly has been selected to lead efforts by London’s Commonwealth Foundation to develop regional human-rights awareness in British Overseas Territories.  Photo by Trent Jacobs

By Trent Jacobs
trent@caymannetnews.com 

Former Cayman Islands’ Ministry of Health officer Marilyn Conolly is scheduled to lead regional efforts for better human rights protection as lead consultant in an ongoing London-funded Commonwealth Foundation project.

At a Friday, 15 August press conference, Mrs Conolly announced that, as project coordinator, she would lead consultations with a series of regional British Overseas Territories (BOTs).

The four-year project, which began in July 2007, seeks to increase BOTs commitment to international standards in regard to such issues as labour rights and the rights of children and women. Other goals include promoting dialogue between government and non-governmental organizations, and working with the media to strengthen democracy in the region.

Meetings with Cayman officials will begin the last week of August. Mrs Conolly said that, because she calls Cayman home, the islands have a slight advantage when vying for her time. “In each of the countries my consultations have been limited to a certain time frame, but fortunately for Cayman I am based here, so it gives me a wider window of opportunity to speak with stakeholders,” Mrs Conolly said.

So far representatives from the Commonwealth Foundation have only met officials from Anguilla and Montserrat. Mrs Conolly was scheduled to leave on Sunday for Turks and Caicos. Bermuda is the only territory planning to abstain from the exercise.

“We expect that civil society, government organisations and national human rights institutions will be stronger because of participating in this project,” Mrs Conolly said. “The fact of the matter is you can opt out of it, but the project is there, the funding is there, the expertise is there and the support is there.” She said it would be a “wasted opportunity” not to participate in the project.

Other territories that have agreed to participate include the British Virgin Islands, the Falkland Islands, Pitcairn, Saint Helena and its dependencies.

Among the various activities included in the project are training seminars, technical assistance and the drafting of a preliminary report to help create a framework for laws protecting various rights in each territory.

Funding for the project comes from the United Kingdom’s Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office.

Mrs Conolly said it was “an exciting project and there is a lot to be gained from it depending on where you are” in development of human rights, she said. ”It’s just a matter of choosing what activities you want to engage with and letting us know that so we can go ahead and tailor make the project.”

In the Cayman Islands, discussions of human rights have sparked intense debate and division within various segments of society. In public meetings convened earlier this year to discuss creation of a new constitution for the Cayman Islands, church leaders and other residents voiced concerns about the practice of non-Christian religions and whether sex changes and same-sex marriage should be allowed.

The debate culminated in April when an off-duty police officer arrested a male tourist for kissing his boyfriend on a local dance floor. While no charges were filed, the incident generated international media attention from gay-rights groups and several websites. In July, when members of the Filipino community asked Government officials to lead a discussion of their labour and immigration rights, public outrage consumed the airways, culminating in abrupt cancellation of the meeting and discouraging organisers from rescheduling the gathering.