The UK Foreign Affairs Committee published a report earlier this year which included suggestions for improvement to the governance of the Overseas Territories. It included specific areas to improve accountability and transparency in Bermuda.
In an effort to shoot the messenger, Dr. Brown criticized the report in Parliament, claiming it “jeopardized” Bermuda’s reputation. He’s raising the noise level to avoid discussion of the issues – these are the real threat to Bermuda’s reputation, not the report that calls them out.
He also complained that the UK is likely to force the Overseas Territories to comply with international treaties that it has signed. Examples include the international standards on human rights, discrimination against women, freedom of information, and anti-corruption. Sayeth the Doc:
“Cultural norms and political sensibilities appeared to have little sway when raised by territory leaders as reason for not amending local legislation to accord with some of these sensitive areas.
With this in mind it seems to me that we may not be far away from the UK Government using those legislative mechanisms at its disposal to impose on territories, standards and laws which may not be desired by their people.”
The Doctor is wanting to have his cake and eat it too. His beloved UN Special Committee on Decolonisation is leading the charge to insist that “administering powers” ensure that international standards are carried through to their overseas territories. And if Bermuda were to become an independent state, the pressure would be even greater to sign on to these standards.
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