Government To Dissolve CURE, Transfer to HRC

The Government has announced their decision to transfer the functions of the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality [CURE] to the Human Rights Commission [HRC], as a consequence, the CURE commission will be dissolved.

The legislated mandate of CURE was to promote equal opportunity and good relations between persons of different racial groups and to work towards the elimination of racial discrimination and institutionalized racial discrimination.

Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation Neletha Butterfield said:

For some time now this government has noted with concern that there has been and continues to be a lack of progress in eliminating racial discrimination in Bermuda. Accordingly, a pledge was made in the 2009 speech from the throne to undertake a thorough review of CURE, with a view to finding a new mechanism to address an issue that continues to plague this community.

At the press conference this morning, Minister Butterfield gave examples of initiatives that CURE has undertaken over the past 16 years including:

• Annual workforce monitoring
• Development of a voluntary code of a practice
• Leadership diversity training
• Production of a race relations glossary
• Annual commemoration of the International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination
• Hosting the 2007 workforce empowerment conference;
• Hosting a youth forum in conjunction with the Amistad visit to Bermuda
• Hosting the excellence and equality of opportunity awards for the business community.
• Assistance to authors with the publication of race relations books, such as ‘Storm in a Teacup – The 1959 Boycott and its Aftermath’

During the current session of Parliament government will seek to amend the Human Rights Act 1981 to ensure that all of CURE’s functions and obligations are transferred to HRC. At the same time, government will repeal the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality Act 1994 and the Commission for Unity and Racial Equality Amendment Act 2005.

Minister of Culture and Social Rehabilitation Neletha Butterfield said:

These changes are seen as a first step towards providing Bermuda with a “modern solution to address our historical inequities” as pledged by this government in the November 2009 speech from the throne. Further steps towards this end will involve thorough review and restructuring of the HRC and reform of human rights legislation.

The goal is to create a 21st century Human Rights Commission that has responsibility for both education and enforcement components, and which will move Bermuda closer towards the elimination of racial discrimination and institutionalized racial discrimination as part of its overall mandate.

No jobs will be lost when the CURE functions are transferred to the HRC. All CURE posts with the exception of the vacant executive officer post and an administrative assistant post will be transferred to the HRC, these two posts will remain within the Department of Human Affairs.

Minister Butterfield thanked the former executive officer of CURE, Dr. Sydney Gibbons, who resigned at the end of March 2010 to take up a leadership position in his church, saying “his dedication and hard work over the past three years did not go unnoticed and I wish him well in his new post.” She also thanked the CURE staff and the members of the commission for their commitment and efforts over the years.

#BermudaGovernment #NelethaButterfield #RacismAndRaceRelations

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