A/HRC/23/34/Add.2 I. Introduction 1. At the invitation of the Government, the Special Rapporteur in the field of cultural rights, Farida Shaheed, visited Saint Vincent and the Grenadines from 5 to 9 November 2012. The Special Rapporteur visited Kingstown, Sandy Bay and Union Island. She met with Government officials and statutory bodies working in the areas of culture and tourism, education, legal affairs and central planning. She also met with artists, teachers, historians, people involved in organizing cultural events and festivals, as well as representatives from civil society. In addition, she visited Sandy Bay Secondary School, the Secondary School of Union Island, and Boys Grammar School in Kingstown, as well as community radio stations. 2. Thorough discussions were held with all interlocutors on the achievements as well as the challenges of implementing cultural rights in the country, particularly with regards to history, cultural heritage and tourism. The Special Rapporteur considered these issues with a view to assisting the Government and other relevant actors in their efforts to address the challenges and obstacles they meet in this regard. 3. The Special Rapporteur thanks the Government for the invitation to undertake this first-ever visit conducted by a Special Rapporteur to the country, and expresses her gratitude to all those who have given her the benefit of their time and expertise. II. General context 4. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines is an island country comprised of Saint Vincent, the main island, and the Grenadines, a chain of 32 islands and cays, of which only seven are inhabited. The country is relatively small, totalling 389 square kilometres, of which the main island comprises 344 square kilometres. It has a small population of about 100,000 inhabitants, a situation that has its advantages as it offers the Government and its institutions the possibility of maintaining close links with the population. However, the situation also poses difficulties. As stressed by several interlocutors, the lack of a critical mass for collecting sufficient revenue from taxes impacts every aspect of life, including those relating to the implementation of cultural rights. In addition, the concentration of the population on the island of Saint Vincent, as well as the lack of human resources and expertise, present serious challenges to the country. 5. According to data from the Saint Vincent Statistical Office, the country’s population is mainly composed of people of African descent (72.84 per cent); about 20 per cent of the population identify themselves as “mixed,” 3.59 per cent as indigenous (Amerindian/Carib people, totalling about 3,800 persons), 0.82 per cent as White or Caucasian (about 800 persons) and 0.57 per cent as Portuguese (about 600 persons). According to some estimates, approximately 6,500 people of Indian origin live in the country and are fully integrated in Saint Vincent society; however, only about 1.35 per cent of the population identified themselves as East Indian (about 1,400 persons) in the last population census. Minor portions of the population also identify themselves as Chinese (0.03 per cent) and Syrian/Lebanese (0.06 per cent).1 6. Religious communities in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are mainly Christian (Anglican: 17.75 per cent; Pentecostal: 17.61 per cent; Methodist: 10.86 per cent, Seventh Day Adventist: 10.22 per cent; Baptist: 9.96 per cent; Roman Catholic: 7.47 per cent). 1 See www.stats.gov.vc. 3