Submission from the Citizenship Commission
of the Island of St Helena
THE CITIZENSHIP
COMMISSION
1. The Citizenship Commission is a non-government
charitable organisation set up by the Anglican Church in 1992
with a mandate to restore citizenship rights and seek the establishment
of the Island of St Helena as a British Island of the United Kingdom.
St Helena is Britain's second oldest colony. Britain established
a settlement in the uninhabited island in 1659 with its own people,
their English citizenship status, in perpetuity, clearly set out
by Royal Charter in 1673 "to all intents and purposes as
if they had been abiding and born within this our Kingdom of England"
(Ref 1). The setting up of the Citizenship Commission in 1992
was to address the erosion of citizenship rights as result of
the British Nationality Act of 1981.
2. The Commission has wide local recognition
and public support. In its campaign to restore citizenship rights
it has also gained recognition overseas, including that of the
British Government. Special mention is made in the March 1999
White Paper on the Overseas Territories, which shows that
St Helenians feel a strong sense of British
identity by birth, language, history and culture. They have never
known any other sovereignty. They consider that modern immigration
and nationality legislation has cut them off from the UK and has
added to their isolation.
Such was the strength of local sentiment that
the Bishop of St Helena set up the "Bishop's Commission on
Citizenship," in 1992... to support restoration of the full
rights of citizenship to those British subjects who are St Helenians.
(Ref 2)
3. Help and support came from various people,
groups, organisations, politicians both here and overseas, particularly
British people and MP's. It included Canadian lawyers from Toronto
University putting St Helena's case to the UN in July 200U. (Ref
3) In the event, full citizenship rights were given by Britain
to citizens in all the British Overseas Territories, the law bringing
this into effect on the 21 May 2002, the timing being the most
significant contribution to St Helena's $00 anniversary celebrations
for the discovery of the Island and the important role it played
for Britain in the early days of trade with the Far East.
4. The evolving role of the Commission changed
to it now being the Citizenship Commission as a voice for ordinary
citizens, taking up issues of public concern on their behalf.
PUBLIC CONCERNS
5. St Helena was settled to be a vital staging
post for the British during the early days of trade with the Far
East and played an important part in establishing Britain as a
great trading nation. From early settlement in 1659 to the present
day St Helena has never been self-financing. When the English
East India Company pulled out in 1834 and the Crown took over,
the Island became very poor. From this time to the present day
because of lack of employment, there has been a history of Islanders
immigrating or seeking work offshore. It reached a stage several
years ago before British citizenship was restored, and is still
current today, when about half the working population work offshore
on contract, many not being accompanied by their families. Remittances
sent home directly and indirectly, mostly to build family homes,
are one of the main sources of the island economy. The other is
British Aid. Though income from Islanders working offshore supports
the economy it also has severe social consequences. As an example
currently there is almost a quarter of the total school population
that has at least one parent working offshore. The large number
of the working population working offshore impacts on the running
of essential services.
6. The British and St Helena Governments
are attempting to address the situation through improved access
by providing an air service. At the moment access to the Island
is by ship, the purpose-built RMS St Helena that carries passengers
and provisions. In the whole process of development and change,
with an economy to be mainly based on tourism and moving to a
free market economy, the Commission is concerned that basic needs
for Islanders are being neglected. Housing in one example. The
Commission put its concerns to an informal meeting of the Island's
Legislative Council in November 2005. A copy of the paper dated
October 2005 presented to Council is attached. (Appendix A ref
4)[6]
7. The same month, November 2005, the Chairman
of the Commission, Councillor Stedson George, expressing the concerns
in the Commission paper, put the following motion to a formal
session of Legislative Council:
That this House requests that government put
in place a bridging strategy and plan to take the Island from
its present economic situation to anticipated improvements stemming
from air access taking account of the need to upgrade infrastructure
particularly to cater for housing demands for Islanders.
The motion, put up on the 14 November 2005,
was given unanimous support.
8. The Commission is concerned in the far-reaching
developments that are taking place in preparation for air access
and changes in the economy towards a free market economy, that
it is creating a divide in Island society particularly when it
comes to housing. In March this year the St Helena Government
issued a Land Disposal Policy (Ref 5) setting out policies and
prices for commercial and social housing for Government land.
Social housing in local terms means the St Helena Government scheme
whereby Islanders buy a plot of Government land to build their
own family homes. The St Helena Government over the last decade
has itself built few council houses. It should be noted that the
St Helena Government and Solomon and Company Plc in which the
St Helena Government is the majority shareholder, own most of
the land on the Island. What the Land Disposal Policy has done
overnight is to increase the price of land for social housing
by some 2,000% putting it out of reach of the majority of Islanders
earning a living on St Helena. With the St Helena Government over
the last decade building few council houses, changes in development
are depriving Islanders from basic affordable housing, a basic
human right.
9. The Land Disposal Policy was not put
out for public consultation, The Commission is concerned about
important policies for changes that are being driven by a Government
Administration disproportionately weighted with FCO/DFID appointees.
One such body is the Corporate Management Group (CMG). This group
is comprised of the Governor, an FCO appointee; the staff officer,
another FCO appointee; a DFID representative and appointee; the
Chief Secretary; the Financial Secretary; and the Attorney General.
The public has not seen any terms of reference for the CMG and
yet, as far as can be ascertained, this body prepares most of
the papers for Executive Council. Four of the members, ie Governor,
Chief Secretary, Financial Secretary and Attorney General, of
the CMG are then present when these papers are presented to the
five elected members of Executive Council. The way the CMG functions
in government policies and decisions affecting the lives of ordinary
people on St Helena calls into question the whole democratic process
and transparency of government.
10. The public is questioning for example
why the post of Chief Secretary has not been substantively filled
for most of the three year term of office of the present governor
which expires this month. They want to know why in an interview
with the Independent and the DFID representative on the matter,
that although other posts can be advertised and filled, that of
the Chief Secretary was delayed. (ref 6 and 14) The filling of
this key post substantively is essential at a time when there
are critical developments taking place in connection with air
access and the need for the government administration to effectively
manage that change. As the Chief Secretary is the head of the
civil service, the public is questioning whether the lack of such
an appointment in part has contributed to the crisis with staffing
and conditions of service in major services particularly the health
service. There is currently a crisis in the health service especially
for caring for the elderly (ref 7). It is recommended that an
enquiry should be made into the whole question of staffing and
conditions of service for essential services on St Helena.
11. The fact that the public has not seen
any terms of reference for the Corporate Management Group, nor
how this body is constitutionally represented in matters of—government,
leads to public distrust and questions as to whether the central
government administration is safeguarding the interests of the
people on the Island. Nothing has been done for example about
foreign vessels poaching fish in St Helena's territorial waters
even though it has been reported to the local authorities for
several years. (Ref 8) The fishing industry is a vital part of
the Island economy, so too is the marine environment generally
for tourism. The public also questions why the local authorities
have accepted that the Dutch Government can lay claim to an early
17 century wreck in James Bay, the main harbour of the Island
and port of Jamestown (ref 9) and whether there was any involvement
by the CMG with the Attorney General both on the CMG and Executive
Council. The public also questions why the accounts of the running
and management of the RMS St Helena are not made available to
elected members of council or the public. Lack of transparency
in this core sector of government administration raises public
concerns and speculation.
12. The influence of important government
matters being presented from the top down, is shown in the ongoing
debate on constitutional reform, the details of which appeared
in the St Helena Independent in July 2007 (Ref 10) Paragraph 6
on Fundamental Rights and Freedoms shows:
Councillors have already begun work on reviewing
this chapter, which HMG has indicated that it would welcome being
put into an Order in Council. This would mean that the freedoms
could not be overturned by any local Ordinance passed by Leg Co
What concerns the Commission is that the list
of Human Rights that was put forward by the Government Administration
for discussion did not include the right to nationality. (Appendix
B)[7]
It only included the right to have St Helena Status. This contravenes
a basic human right in the 1948 UN Declaration of Human Rights,
article 15 what states:
(i) Everyone has the right to a nationality;
and
(ii) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived
of his nationality nor denied the right to change his nationality.
If Councillors were persuaded to agree to the
inclusion of what the Government Administration proposed to put
in our constitution it would deprive Islanders of a basic human
right. This is another matter, which adds to public suspicion
about where the interests of certain sectors of central administration
lie.
13. In a supplementary memorandum by the
Foreign and Commonwealth Office given in the Foreign Affairs Committee
report of January 1998 on the then Dependent Territories, governors
were asked to seek the views of Government and onposition parties
renresented in local legislature on future constitutional arrangements
and links with HMG. Governors were given discretion to consult
more widely than members of legislatures. (Ref 11)
14. On the question of constitution status
of the four options put forward by the British Government for
people of the overseas territories to consider was
(iii) Crown Dependency status along the lines
of the Channel Islands.
The Citizenship Commission was invited to give
its view, which it did so on 27 October 1997. It favoured St Helena
becoming a British Island under terms similar to those of the
Crown Dependencies. It recommended that specific constitutional
change would need to account for St Helena's unique situation
and that some aspects of the French Republic's arrangement with
its territorial collectives could be a model. The Commission felt
a different title would naturally follow change in its constitutional
status. Though the Commission had made its views known, it stated
that the views of the people of St Helena should also be sought.
(Ref 12) The Response to the White Paper was sent under cover
of a letter reference SHLC/CC/1/99 of the 30 June 1999 from the
Speaker of the St Helena Legislature (Appendix C).[8]
15. It should be noted that elected members
of the Island's Legislature who are not members of the Executive
Council were not consulted and not asked to give their views.
They constitute the majority of elected members in the Island's
Legislature. It means that the supplementary memorandum by the
Foreign and Commononwealth Office supplied to the Foreign Affairs
Committee on 27 October 1997 and contained in the report did not
fully reflect the wishes of the democratically elected members
of the Legislature. The report states, "apart from some limited
interest in Crown Dependency status there is no interest in a
change in the status quo". It is submitted that from the
outset the wishes of the people of St Helena through their elected
councillors had not been properly represented. (Ref ii) The Commission
requests that the option to change the status of St Helena to
a Crown Dependency should be put forward for consultation with
the people of St Helena.
16. On the 21 July 1995. an elected member
of Legislative Council put forward the following motion:
"that this Government initiate legislation
for the establishment of the office of an Ombudsman". (Ref
13)
Though the motion was carried in a formal session
of the. Island Legislature, after 12 years it has never been implemented.
Had this office been established, it would be a means by which
there would locally have been a channel to examine matters of
public concern.
17. The public feels disillusioned with
the present governance of the Island reflected in poor attendance
at constituency meetings. (Ref 15)
RECOMMENDATION
18. It is recommended that an enquiry should
be set up to look at the governance of St Helena taking account
of the critical period of transition though which the Island is
presently going with a view to improve the political, social and
economic situation for Islanders taking account of the matters
raised in this submission. The matters raised relate in the focus
of the enquiry to (a) the role of Governors and other office holders
appointed by or on the recommendation of the United Kingdom Government
(b) transparency arid accountability (c) human rights, and also
other matters of importance concerning the lives of people on
St Helena.
12 October 2007
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