News Releases

Two senior UWI academics make history as the first Caribbean women elected to IACHR

For Release Upon Receipt - June 17, 2011

St. Augustine


Two senior academics in the Faculty of Law at The University of the West Indies (UWI) have been selected as Commissioners on the Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).

Professor Rose-Marie Belle Antoine, Professor of Labour Law & Offshore Financial Law and Ms. Tracy Robinson, Senior Lecturer in Gender, Family Law and Constitutional Law, were elected as members of IACHR at the 41st  Regular Session of the Organization of American States (OAS) General Assembly, held in San Salvador from June 5-7, 2011. Both will serve a four-year term commencing January 1, 2012.

Trinidadian Antoine and Jamaica-born Robinson make history as the first Caribbean women to have ever been elected to the Washington-based human rights body which serves the US, Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. It is also the first time that two CARICOM nationals will sit concurrently on the Commission. 

Professor Antoine is an Oxford Commonwealth Scholar and a Cambridge Pegasus Scholar. She holds a doctorate from Oxford University (Balliol College), an LL.M. from Cambridge, an LL.B. from The University of the West Indies and diplomas and certificates with distinction in international human rights from the International Institute of Human Rights in Strasbourg, France. She is the youngest person to obtain the highest rank of merit and distinction at The UWI, that of Professor, with a Chair in Labour Law and Offshore Financial Law. Her specialist subject areas are Anti-Discrimination Law, Public Law, Labour Law, Offshore Financial Law and Legal Systems. 

Professor Antoine’s contributions extend beyond the region and directly embrace almost every facet of human rights. Her work in other disciplines such as labour law, financial law, health law and trade further complements her human rights interests.

At the University, Professor Antoine has been a pioneer, introducing more socially centred learning to the curriculum, such as Discrimination Law, International Law/Rights as a Source of Law, the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the law on HIV and constitutional issues in public service law. She was also instrumental in developing the International Human Rights course and examining issues of rights in traditional commercial subjects.

Ms. Robinson graduated from The University of the West Indies in 1991 with a First Class Honours Degree in Law. In 1992 she was the recipient of the Rhodes Scholarship, and she studied Law at Oxford University. She also holds a Master’s of Law Degree from Yale University.   Ms. Robinson lectures in Gender, Family Law and Constitutional Law and has published widely and given presentations on Gender, Family Law and Human Rights issues. She has served as a consultant to numerous bodies, including the United Nations Development Fund for Women.

Ms. Robinson is a founding member of the Coalition against All Forms of Sexual Harassment (CASH), a women’s advocacy group established in 2003 that attempts to define and address the problem of sexual harassment in Barbados. The Coalition has been an influential player in the refinement of the Barbados Government’s Draft Sexual Harassment Policy and Draft Bills. Since 2005, Ms. Robinson has been one of the lead researchers and members of the UNIFEM/Faculty of Law Child Support, Poverty and Family Responsibilities Research Project.

In 2008, both Robinson and Antoine were named among the 60 outstanding academics under age 60 to be recognised by The UWI as part of its 60th Anniversary celebrations. For more on the 60 under 60 project see www.uwi.edu/60under60/

For the latest UWI News, click http://sta.uwi.edu/news.

ABOUT THE INTER AMERICAN COMMISSION ON HUMAN RIGHTS (IACHR).

IACHR is an autonomous organ of the OAS, whose primary function is promoting the observance and defence of human rights. The Commission has its headquarters in Washington, DC and represents all of the member States of the OAS. It has seven members who act independently, without representing any particular country. The members of the IACHR are elected by the General Assembly of the OAS.

About UWI

Over the last six decades, The University of the West Indies (UWI) has evolved from a fledgling college in Jamaica with 33 students to a full-fledged University with over 40,000 students. Today, UWI is the largest and most longstanding higher education provider in the English-speaking Caribbean, with main campuses in Barbados, Jamaica and Trinidad and Tobago, and Centres in Anguilla, Antigua & Barbuda, The Bahamas, Belize, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Montserrat, St Christopher (St Kitts) & Nevis, St Lucia, and St Vincent & the Grenadines. UWI recently launched its Open Campus, a virtual campus with over 50 physical site locations across the region, serving over 20 countries in the English-speaking Caribbean. UWI is an international university with faculty and students from over 40 countries and collaborative links with over 60 universities around the world. Through its seven Faculties, UWI offers undergraduate and postgraduate degree options in Engineering, Humanities & Education, Law, Medical Sciences, Pure & Applied Sciences, Science and Agriculture, and Social Sciences.

Contact