A/HRC/18/15 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its eleventh session from 2 to 13 May 2011. The review of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was held at the 13th meeting on 10 May 2011. The delegation of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was headed by Camillo M. Gonsalves, Permanent Representative of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines to the United Nations. At its 17th meeting, held on 13 May 2011, the Working Group adopted the report on Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 2. On 21 June 2010, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: Argentina, Malaysia and Norway. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1, the following documents were issued for the review of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: (a) A national report submitted and a written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/11/VCT/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/11/VCT/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/11/VCT/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Latvia, Maldives, the Netherlands, Slovenia and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to Saint Vincent and the Grenadines through the troika. These questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review (UPR). I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines welcomed the opportunity to participate in the universal periodic review, and to engage in dialogue with members of the international community on the human rights record and accomplishments of the State. The delegation viewed the dialogue as an important opportunity to identify the areas for improvement and international priority, while simultaneously allowing the Human Rights Council to learn about the context, beliefs and perspectives of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines. 6. The delegation noted that development of human rights in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, and its national approaches in that regard, were informed by the State’s unique historical, physical, political and socio-economic characteristics. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines was an archipelago of over 32 islands, with roughly 110,000 citizens. Those citizens were highly migratory people, with a high proportion living and working in other States. 7. The human rights history of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines had been shaped in part by slavery, colonialism and the genocide of its indigenous peoples. Slavery had been introduced by colonial powers, which also had participated in the extermination and exile of the indigenous Garifuna people. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines noted that, in modern times, it had largely solved many of the ethnic and racial tensions that bedevilled other 3