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Human rights in Antigua and Barbuda comprise a series of rights legally protected by the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda. Additionally, the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda has ratified various international conventions and treaties to protect the human rights of its population. If a person in Antigua and Barbuda believes that their constitutional rights have been violated, they may appeal to the Antigua and Barbuda High Court.
Antigua and Barbuda faces significant issues with gender equality. As of December 2020, Antigua and Barbuda has only adopted 44.4% of legal frameworks that protect women's rights, [1] and as of December 2024, only 5.6% of seats in the House of Representatives [2] and 41.2% of seats held in the unelected Senate are held by women. [3] Women have rose to some important political positions in Antigua and Barbuda, such as the former governor-general Louise Lake-Tack, multiple speakers of the House of Representatives, and the current president of the Senate Alincia Williams-Grant. The first woman elected to the House of Representatives was Jacqui Quinn-Leandro in 2004. [4] Discrimination by sex in Antigua and Barbuda is prohibited by section three of the Constitution. [5]
Freedom of the press does not have a particularly reputable history. On 23 July 1982 during the V. C. Bird administration, twenty police officers raided The Outlet, a socialist anti-government newspaper. [6] Later that year, the High Court ruled the raid unconstitutional. [6] The editor of the newspaper, Tim Hector, was later charged with defamation for his comments in the newspaper, although the Privy Council later ruled this action unconstitutional as well. [7] [8] The press continues to be attacked in Antigua and Barbuda, with Prime Minister Gaston Browne frequently suing his political opponents and opposition newspapers for defamation. [9]
Freedom of religion is generally respected in Antigua and Barbuda. However, the present Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party government has used the preamble to the Constitution of Antigua and Barbuda as justification for bringing religion into public schools. After a series of youth violence incidents in 2024, Browne required that all public schools in the country conduct a mandatory Christian prayer in their morning assemblies. [10] Also in 2024, the government established a national day of prayer. [11] The government has expressed a commitment to the protection of the Rastafarians, however. [12]
Antigua and Barbuda is a sovereign archipelagic country in the Caribbean. It lies at the conjuncture of the Caribbean Sea and the Atlantic Ocean in the Leeward Islands part of the Lesser Antilles.
The politics of Antigua and Barbuda takes place in a framework of a unitary parliamentary representative democratic monarchy, wherein the sovereign of Antigua and Barbuda is the head of state, appointing a governor-general to act as vice-regal representative in the nation. A prime minister is appointed by the governor-general as the head of government, and of a multi-party system; the prime minister advises the governor-general on the appointment of a Council of Ministers. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the two chambers of the Parliament. The bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate and the House of Representatives.
The Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party (ABLP) is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. The current leader of the party is Gaston Browne, who serves as the Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda. The party had previously been led by Lester Bird, who was chairman of the party since 1971, and was Prime Minister and political leader in 1994.
The United Progressive Party is a political party in Antigua and Barbuda. It was previously led by Baldwin Spencer, it was the governing party from 2004 to 2014. It has been in opposition since the 2014 election. Jamale Pringle was elected leader of the party on 21 April 2024, after the resignation of Harold Lovell on 20 January 2023.
The Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago is the legislative branch of Trinidad and Tobago. The Parliament is bicameral. Besides the President of Trinidad and Tobago, it is composed of the House of Representatives, which is composed of the Speaker of the House of Representatives in addition to 41 directly elected members serving a five-year term in single-seat constituencies, and the Senate which has 31 members appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed by the President to represent other sectors of civil society. It is at present the only parliament in the world with an incumbent female President, President of the Senate, Speaker of the House of Representatives and Leader of the Opposition and made history by appointing the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian on 15 February 2022. As of 20 April 2021, there are only 24 female members, or 32.9% and eight members born in Tobago or 11.0%.
The Senate of Trinidad and Tobago is the appointed upper house of the bicameral Parliament of Trinidad and Tobago, along with the President and House of Representatives of Trinidad and Tobago. The Senate currently sits at the Red House. The Senate has 31 members all appointed by the President: 16 Government Senators appointed on the advice of the Prime Minister, 6 Opposition Senators appointed on the advice of the Leader of the Opposition and 9 Independent Senators appointed on the discretion of the President from outstanding persons who represent other sectors of civil society. The presiding officer, the President of the Senate, is elected from among the Senators who are not Ministers or Parliamentary Secretaries. A senator must be at least 25 years old and a citizen of Trinidad and Tobago. The current President of the Senate is Senator Nigel de Freitas. As of 20 April 2021, there are only 13 female senators, or 41.9% and 6 Tobagonian senators or 19.4%. The Senate made history on 15 February 2022 by appointing Jowelle de Souza as an acting opposition senator, thus making her the Caribbean's first and only transgender parliamentarian.
The following outline is provided as an overview of and introduction to Antigua and Barbuda:
Christianity is the dominant religion in Antigua and Barbuda, with Anglicanism being its largest denomination.
Lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) persons in Antigua and Barbuda may face legal challenges not experienced by non-LGBTQ citizens.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 12 June 2014. The result was a victory for the opposition Antigua and Barbuda Labour Party led by Gaston Browne, which won 14 of the 17 seats. Following the election, Browne became the country's youngest Prime Minister.
Gaston Alfonso Browne is an Antiguan politician serving as the prime minister of Antigua and Barbuda and leader of the Labour Party since 2014. Before entering politics, he was a banker and businessman.
Alincia T. H. Williams-Grant is an Antiguan and Barbudan politician. She was appointed as a Senator and elected as the President of the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda in June 2014.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 21 March 2018 to elect members to House of Representatives of the 15th Antigua and Barbuda Parliament. Each of the 17 constituencies elected one Member of Parliament (MP).
The COVID-19 pandemic in Antigua and Barbuda was a part of the ongoing viral pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19), which was confirmed to have reached Antigua and Barbuda on 13 March 2020. As of 6 July 2021, there are a total of 1,265 confirmed cases, of which 1,222 have recovered and 42 have died.
Maria Vanessa Bird-Browne is a politician in Antigua and Barbuda. She was elected as a member of the House of Representatives for St. John's Rural East in the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda in 2018, becoming the youngest lawmaker in the country. She is the country's minister for housing, lands, and urban renewal.
General elections were held in Antigua and Barbuda on 18 January 2023 to elect members of the House of Representatives. The Labour Party (ABLP) has held an absolute majority of 15 seats in the House of Representatives after the 2018 general election, with Gaston Browne remaining as prime minister. Browne initiated a constitutional referendum after the 2018 election, which was rejected by voters, and following the death of Elizabeth II in 2022, he announced his intention to organise a referendum for the transition of Antigua and Barbuda to a republican system. Besides ABLP, the United Progressive Party (UPP), Democratic National Alliance, Barbuda People's Movement (BPM), and three independent politicians filed candidacies for the 2023 general election.
Osbert Richard Frederick is an Antiguan and Barbudan politician. He was appointed senator by Prime Minister Gaston Browne. After his appointment, he was elected the Deputy senate president in the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda.
Gail Christian is an Antiguan and Barbudan politician and senator. She is a senator of the Upper House of Parliament in Antigua and Barbuda. She was appointed senator by Prime Minister Gaston Browne.
The Sexual Offences Act, 1995 is an Act of the Parliament of Antigua and Barbuda. It replaced all previous law on sexual offences, codifying a wide range of offences including rape, "marital sexual assault", sexual intercourse with minors and mentally subnormal people, incest, buggery, bestiality, indecent assault, "serious indecency", procuration, procuring defilement of a person, detention or abduction of a person for sexual purposes, brothel-keeping, and living on the earnings of prostitution.
Republicanism in Antigua and Barbuda is a movement for the replacement of the constitutional monarchy of Antigua and Barbuda with a republican form of government.
