A/HRC/10/73 Page 4 7. The report benefited from a substantial degree of participation from civil society, which was actively consulted at every step in the preparation of the report. The Barbados association of non-governmental organizations and the National Organization for Women were members of the national committee established to prepare the report. Civil society provided oral and written submissions to the report; after the completion of the first draft, there were further consultations with civil society to ensure that its views were taken into account. 8. Following the submission of the report to OHCHR, civil society was again consulted to determine whether there were any additional contributions that they wished to see reflected in the report. It was also consulted during the preparation of responses to advance questions. Hence, the national report is an honest and accurate reflection of the views and concerns of a wide cross section of Barbadian society. 9. The Minister stated that one of the major conclusions arising from the preparatory process of the report was the need for assistance from the international community to support the State’s domestic institutional architecture for human rights. He further stressed the great burden on small countries of the number of reporting obligations. He recalled that, in the past, Barbados expressed a need for assistance in the area of legal drafting, human rights reporting and human rights education and it also indicated the need for OHCHR to enhance its presence in the Caribbean subregion. The Minister expressed the hope that one of the positive outcomes from this engagement in the review would be the recognition that there is a need to channel greater resources to the region for human rights activities. 10. The Minister stated that Barbados has signed and ratified all the major human rights treaties and is party to a number of the major human rights instruments in the inter-American system as well as other important instruments and conventions through the International Labour Organization (ILO). Its commitment to the obligations and spirit of these instruments is absolute. He stated that Barbados acknowledged the periodicity of the treaty-based reporting requirement and took note of the OHCHR compilation, which presented a number of instances where Barbados has overdue reports. He also stressed that it was crucial that the international community recognize that this tardiness in reporting is due to the State’s lack of human and financial resources to do so and not out of disrespect for its obligations. 11. Despite the challenges, Barbados was pleased to announce that some of its overdue reports are in various stages of completion. 12. With regard to international instruments, and in particular the Convention against Torture, Barbados has not signed it, primarily because of capacity constraints which will become due on acceding to a new treaty and the reporting obligations. However, it should be noted that torture is outlawed in section 15 of the Constitution, which states that “no person shall be subjected to torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment”. 13. With regard to capital punishment, the Head of Delegation wished to report that the Government of Barbados currently has no plans and had received no mandate from the people of Barbados to abolish the death penalty. Indeed, while Barbados has not executed any prisoners since 1984, there is no moratorium on execution. With regard to removing the prescription of mandatory death sentences for murder and treason, the Government is currently considering this matter and has been having consultations within the system, and will also consult outside it. The Head of Delegation reported that Barbados will update at a later stage.