U.S. Mission to International
Organizations in Geneva

As delivered by Jessica Carl
29th Session of the Human Rights Council’s UPR 
Geneva, January 19, 2018

The United States welcomes the Barbadian delegation to the UPR Working Group.

The United States is pleased to note Barbados’ strong respect for human rights.

Nevertheless, we are concerned about lengthy pretrial detention, that more could be done to combat corruption, and reports of children being subjected to sex trafficking.

Bearing in mind these concerns, we recommend that Barbados:

1. Address backlogs and undue delays in scheduling of court dates and appearances of, witnesses, juries and defendants, including by creating an accurate and transparent online case tracking system, in order to ensure that all criminal defendants are afforded fair trial guarantees and equality before the courts consistent with Barbados’ international obligations;
2. Promulgate the Prevention of Corruption Act of 2012; and
3. Step up efforts to prosecute human traffickers, including child sex traffickers, and identify and assist victims of this crime.

(end statement)