Tweet

Mon, September 28, 2020, 6:13 AM AST

LONDON, Sept. 28, 2020 /PRNewswire/ — The Federation of St Kitts and Nevis acceded to the United Nations’ Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment. The small Caribbean nation deposited its accession on September 21, 2020, in New York. St Kitts and Nevis joins another 170 countries in their fight against torture through national capacity building, inter-state dialogue and cooperation.

The Federation is among the world’s top 25% countries for rule of law, according to the World Justice Project. During his Independence Day address on September 19, Prime Minister Dr the Honourable Timothy Harris said that the government is committed to further improve on its rule of law ranking, public safety and security.

Dr Alice Edwards, Head of Secretariat at the Convention Against Torture Initiative (CTI), commented on St Kitts and Nevis’ accession as “an important ratification showing global resolve to tackle torture and ill-treatment.” His Excellency Frank Tressler, Permanent Representative of Chile to the UN in Geneva and CTI Core State representative, said: “We congratulate the Government for taking action and showing that the fight against torture is an unremitting priority. I am confident that many other Caribbean States will do the same, and that the region will soon achieve universal ratification and cooperate to effectively implement this core human rights treaty.”

“St Kitts and Nevis is pleased to have joined the ranks of the other like-minded countries in being party to the United Nations Convention against Torture,” said the country’s Foreign Minister Mark Brantley. “As a country, we firmly reject all forms of torture and other inhumane treatment, a position which is also unambiguously reflected in our country’s constitution. With St Kitts and Nevis taking this step, we hope it would encourage other countries, who have not yet acceded to this Convention, to do likewise.”

St Kitts and Nevis is one of the strictest countries as regards who can become its citizen. The Citizenship by Investment Programme, established in 1984, has constituted, at times, 35% of the country’s revenue. Due to its importance, preserving the Programme’s integrity is crucial. Upon passing all due diligence checks, investors can obtain its valuable citizenship within three months by contributing at least US$150,000 to a government fund. Until January 15, 2021, families of up to four can benefit from a reduced investment requirement.