Seychelles commended for its political will in promoting and protecting human rights |11 April 2015

The Seychelles government has been commended for its political will and its efforts in promoting and protecting the human rights of the people of Seychelles, but it should strengthen its commitment, programmes, plans and policies to promote and protect these rights.

The commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, Yeung Kam John Yeung Sik Yuen, said this during a press conference yesterday afternoon at the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Transport at the end of his team’s promotion mission from April 6-10 on the invitation of the Seychelles government.

“You (Seychelles) are doing very well in terms of human rights,” said Mr Yeung Sik Yuen who noted earlier this week that no country can score a 100% on human rights.

Mr Yeung Sik Yuen said the Seychelles government has shown its political will and efforts in promoting and protecting the human rights of the people of Seychelles by adopting several legislative and institutional measures and establishing bodies to implement relevant policies, plans and programmes with a positive impact on the rights guaranteed by the African Charter and other regional and international human rights instruments.

“The delegation notes with satisfaction the programmes, activities and strategies put in place for the realisation of human rights, such as the establishment of the Human Rights bodies; the low percentage of joblessness; efforts to align prisons conditions with international standards, the significant measures taken in the health sector, in particular the provision of free health care, the reduction of the child and maternal morbidity as well as the outstanding management of the HIV/Aids pandemic; the significant reduction of backlog of cases before courts; the noticeable representation of women in decision-making bodies; the existence of other various social schemes aimed at protecting vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly and persons with disabilities; the protection of environment through the use of renewable energy, protection of the biodiversity, recycling of domestic waste, banning of certain types of plastic bags,” said Mr Yeung Sik Yuen.

A former chief justice in Mauritius, Mr Yeung Sik Yuen, who has for the last seven years been the commissioner of the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights, also commended the dynamism and commitment of Seychelles civil society organisations which contribute to the national promotion and protection of human rights despite the challenges faced in mobilising financial, material and technical resources for the success and sustainability of their programmes.

The delegation has also urged the country to address the inconsistencies in its legal framework that limit the enjoyment of certain human rights guaranteed under the African Charter.
“There is need to reconcile the compulsory ten years mandatory schooling and the legal age of employability; repeal the mandatory sentencing in order to avoid any apparent or real hindrance to the sacrosanct principle of the separation of powers in a democratic system; criminalise expressly torture in its national laws and establish a national preventive mechanism in compliance with international standards, etc,” explained Mr Yeung Sik Yuen.

Other challenges which inhibit the full realisation and enjoyment of human rights in Seychelles according to the African Commission on Human and Peoples’ Rights delegation, include the system of automatic promotion with regard to the education sector, alleged lack of access to adequate housing and alleged lack of transparency in allocation of social housing; alleged discrimination based on political affiliation or opinion which would negatively impact access to public services and other economic and social rights; the persistence of stigma hindering the control of HIV; the legal age of employability fixed at 15 which is inconsistent with the compulsory 10 years schooling policy that ends at the age of 16; infrastructures which are unfriendly to persons with disabilities; human rights issues stemming from the high prevalence of drug consumption and trafficking in the Seychellois society; the issue of mandatory sentencing; the shortage of local professionals in key sectors like the judiciary and the police; the lack of specific legal provisions criminalising torture; the absence of a significant number of opposition parties in the electoral processes; the non-ratification of some relevant regional and international human rights instruments; the existence of institutions that do not meet international standards, in particular the non-compliance of the National Human Rights Commission with the Paris Principles and the fact that the Ombudsman presides also the National Human Rights Commission; the lack of material and financial resources for the effective functioning of the National Human Rights Commission and the Seychelles Media Commission; the difficulty for the media access to information from the authorities, the non-compliance with Article 62 of the African Charter with five outstanding reports.

“We call on Seychelles to expedite its ratification of regional and international instruments that have not yet been ratified, in particular the Protocol to the African Charter on the Establishment of an African Court on Human and Peoples’ Rights; the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights establishing the African Court for Human and Peoples’ Rights; the African Union Convention for the Protection and Assistance of Internally Displaced Persons in Africa; the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance; the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment,” noted Mr Yeung Sik Yuen.

The government of Seychelles has also been urged to align the National Human Rights Commission with the Paris Principles by providing it with the necessary human and material resources to ensure its independence and to effectively implement its mandate.

The country’s prison services should also be complemented with a comprehensive rehabilitation programme which enables former prisoners to reintegrate the Seychellois society and contribute their quota to national development.

There is also a need for the government to comply with Article 62 of the African Charter by submitting its periodic report on the measures taken to implement the rights and freedoms guaranteed by the African Charter. It also encourages the government to involve the civil society in the compilation of the periodic reports.

Civil society organisations should engage with available networks in order to ensure human rights promotion and protection in Seychelles, while the international community should continue providing the government of Seychelles with the necessary financial, material and technical resources in the area of human rights promotion and protection.

During its mission here the delegation, who comprised legal officers at the secretariat of the commission – Bagona Anita and Bruno Menzan – as well as finance officer at the secretariat, Philbert Bayeka, met a cross-section of the Seychelles society in order to have a fairly representative view of the human rights situation in the country.

The main objectives of the mission included assessing the human rights situation in Seychelles, identifying best practices, affirmative action measures and where necessary, factors restricting citizens from effectively enjoying their rights; strengthening of relations between the commission and the government of Seychelles regarding the promotion and protection of rights guaranteed by the African Charter and other relevant regional and international legal instruments; engaging in dialogue with the government and other stakeholders on legislative and other measures taken to give full effect to the provisions of the African Charter, its protocols and other regional and international instruments ratified by Seychelles; promoting the African Charter and other regional and international human rights legal instruments and visiting prisons in order to gather information on prison conditions in Seychelles.

Other than paying a courtesy call to President James Michel and Vice-President Danny Faure, the delegation held fruitful discussions with the members of government including the ministers. It also met with the Speaker of the National Assembly, the chairpersons of parliamentary committees, the leader of opposition, and representatives of political parties. It further held discussions with Attorney General Rony Govinden, acting Chief Justice of the Supreme Court Durai Karunakaran, the Bar Association and the police department.

The delegation also held working sessions with the Ombudsman and chairperson of the National Human Rights Commission, members of the Seychelles Media Commission and the Constitutional Appointments Authority, representatives of the United Nations system, such as the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, the World Health Organisation and the United Nations Development Programme. It also held meetings with media practitioners, civil society, and non-governmental organisations working on human rights issues.

The delegation visited the Montagne Posée prison where it discussed with the superintendent of prisons Maxime Tirant and prisoners on conditions of detention. It also visited the Regional Home for Elderly at North East Point.