Governor To Respond To UK FAC Report

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Ahreefa Bacchus/BVI Platinum News

(PLTM) - Governor Augustus Jaspert will be responding to the report by the United Kingdom’s (UK) Foreign Affairs Select Committee—which has recommended that territories such as the BVI legalise same-sex marriage and remove belongership, among other things—and he has invited the new Government to do the same.

The report by the Committee follows an inquiry into the relationship between the UK and Overseas Territories (OTs) that was conducted last year.

However, the report’s recommendations have been met with heavy criticisms from several sections of the BVI society, and the Governor says that he will ensure that these positions are reflected in his response to the UK.

In a recent press conference, the Governor stated, “I am aware of the concerns being expressed about the report, and it raises important issues about British Overseas Territories’ citizens and their rights living in the United Kingdom, and British citizens in British Overseas Territories living in the territories and their rights.”

He continued, “The debate locally is something I will be feeding into London as it considers its response. The report does speak to important issues that are things that should be discussed locally. And I am encouraging persons to read the document for themselves as these are important issues about the society that we live in here.”

According to Governor Jaspert, the UK Government will have to respond to the report and its recommendation by April 21, and he has encouraged the new Government to provide feedback on the recommendations to the UK.

He said that there are channels online through which locals can also provide feedback, and encouraged them to read the report so that they can submit their views if they so desire.

Asked whether he would allow the public to submit their views to him for the incorporation into his response, he said that such a decision would have to be taken by the Government.

“I would never assume I know everybody’s views so I wouldn’t speak on behalf of everybody in the territory. Many different people have views on many issues in that report. It’s a discussion, as I said, I will be having with the elected Government about how they wish to respond, if that’s something they wish to open up,” he said.

The Governor also attempted to clear up some misconceptions about the report and its implications.

“The important point is that it’s not UK Government policy. It is a set of recommendations from essentially from across different parties in the UK Parliament,” he stated.

“It is important to clarify what the report is. This is a report from a Parliamentary Committee, not the UK Government. The Foreign Affairs Committee is one of the many Parliamentary Select Committees. Select Committees, what they do is they check, they report on areas, they produce numerous reports each year and recommendations from Government on topics ranging right across the business of Government,” the Governor highlighted.

The function of this particular Committee, he explained, is to examine “topics and essentially provide what they think are recommendations. The results of these inquiries are public and they may require—and many of them do require—a response from the UK Government.”

According to Governor Jaspert, “The Foreign Affairs Committee specifically examines the expenditure, administration and policy of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and its associated public bodies. Hence, it looked at the Overseas Territories as part of its work.”

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