POLITICS
Conventional Long Form Name of country: N/A
Capital City(ies): Bridgetown
Type of Government: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Date of Independence: 30 November 1966 (from the UK)
National Holiday(s): Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Chief of State:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Elliot Belgrave (since 1 June 2012)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (since 23 October 2010)
Description of Executive Branch/Powers:
Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at his discretion) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the High Court with 8 justices) and the Court of Appeal (consists of the chief Justice and president of the court and 4 justicesnote - Barbados, a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) as the final court of appeal.
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister and opposition leader of Parliament; other justices appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a 5-member independent body consisting of the Supreme Court chief justice, the commission head, and governor-general appointees recommended by the prime minister; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 65
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Name of their Ambassador to the U.S.:
Ambassador John E. BEALE (since 29 January 2009)
Location(s) of their consulate(s) in the U.S.:
Los Angeles, Miami, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to them:
Ambassador Larry L. PALMER (since 9 May 2012)
Location of U.S. embassy there:
U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael BB 14006
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) there: N/A
Name of their representative to UN: John E. BEALE
Description of the Symbolism of flag:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the band colors represent the blue of the sea and sky and the gold of the beaches; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
National Symbol(s): Neptune's trident
Descriptions of International Disputes:
Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Quantity of refugees inside country and country(ies) of origin of refugees: N/A
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: N/A
Quantity of Stateless Persons: N/A
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country:
Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; legal and illegal female migrants from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana seem most vulnerable to forced prostitution; Barbadian and immigrant children are prostituted in exchange for material goods; in the past, foreigners are reported to have been forced to work in the domestic service, agriculture, and construction industries
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use:
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center
Conventional Long Form Name of country: N/A
Capital City(ies): Bridgetown
Type of Government: parliamentary democracy and a Commonwealth realm
Date of Independence: 30 November 1966 (from the UK)
National Holiday(s): Independence Day, 30 November (1966)
Chief of State:
Queen ELIZABETH II (since 6 February 1952); represented by Governor General Elliot Belgrave (since 1 June 2012)
Head of Government:
Prime Minister Freundel Stuart (since 23 October 2010)
Description of Executive Branch/Powers:
Cabinet appointed by the governor general on the advice of the prime minister. The monarchy is hereditary; governor general appointed by the monarch; following legislative elections, the leader of the majority party or the leader of the majority coalition is usually appointed prime minister by the governor general; the prime minister recommends the deputy prime minister
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers:
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (21 seats; members appointed by the governor general - 12 on the advice of the Prime Minister, 2 on the advice of the opposition leader, and 7 at his discretion) and the House of Assembly (30 seats; members are elected by direct popular vote to serve five-year terms)
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers:
highest court(s): Supreme Court (consists of the High Court with 8 justices) and the Court of Appeal (consists of the chief Justice and president of the court and 4 justicesnote - Barbados, a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice, replaced the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London) as the final court of appeal.
Judge selection and term of office: Supreme Court chief justice appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the prime minister and opposition leader of Parliament; other justices appointed by the governor-general on the recommendation of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, a 5-member independent body consisting of the Supreme Court chief justice, the commission head, and governor-general appointees recommended by the prime minister; justices serve until mandatory retirement at age 65
Suffrage:
18 years of age; universal
Name of their Ambassador to the U.S.:
Ambassador John E. BEALE (since 29 January 2009)
Location(s) of their consulate(s) in the U.S.:
Los Angeles, Miami, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to them:
Ambassador Larry L. PALMER (since 9 May 2012)
Location of U.S. embassy there:
U.S. Embassy, Wildey Business Park, Wildey, St. Michael BB 14006
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) there: N/A
Name of their representative to UN: John E. BEALE
Description of the Symbolism of flag:
three equal vertical bands of blue (hoist side), gold, and blue with the head of a black trident centered on the gold band; the band colors represent the blue of the sea and sky and the gold of the beaches; the trident head represents independence and a break with the past (the colonial coat of arms contained a complete trident)
National Symbol(s): Neptune's trident
Descriptions of International Disputes:
Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's exclusive economic zone; joins other Caribbean states to counter Venezuela's claim that Aves Island sustains human habitation, a criterion under the UN Convention on the Law of the Sea, which permits Venezuela to extend its Economic Exclusion Zone/continental shelf over a large portion of the eastern Caribbean Sea
Quantity of refugees inside country and country(ies) of origin of refugees: N/A
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons: N/A
Quantity of Stateless Persons: N/A
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country:
Barbados is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; legal and illegal female migrants from Jamaica, the Dominican Republic, and Guyana seem most vulnerable to forced prostitution; Barbadian and immigrant children are prostituted in exchange for material goods; in the past, foreigners are reported to have been forced to work in the domestic service, agriculture, and construction industries
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use:
one of many Caribbean transshipment points for narcotics bound for Europe and the US; offshore financial center