Last Update: October 2021
Institutional Framework Database for Social Policy
in Latin America and the Caribbean
Trinidad and Tobago

 

 

Legal and regulatory dimension
Adherence, signing, and ratification of covenants, conventions, and agreements related to economic, social, and cultural rights
Ratified/Adhered to     Signed     Without Signature / Ratification
International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights International Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Racism Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women Convention on the Rights of the Child International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families Constituent Agreement of the Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean
8 December 1978 4 October 1973 25 June 2015 12 January 1990 5 December 1991 28 March 2024 28 March 2024
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The International Covenant on Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights and its Optional Protocol are the international instruments for the Universal Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulate the protection of economic, social, and cultural rights. The Covenant was approved by the United Nations General Assembly with resolution 2200 A (XXI) on December 16th, 1966 and became effective in 1976.

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The International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racism is the international instrument of the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations, explicitly directed towards the elimination of any kind of racial discrimination. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly with resolution 2106 (XX) on December 21st, 1965 and became effective in 1969.

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The Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities is the international instrument of the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulates the protection of human rights for persons with disabilities, explicitly mentioning a social development perspective. In this Convention a broad classification of persons with disabilities are considered, and it reaffirms that all people with all kinds of disabilities should be able to enjoy all their fundamental human rights and liberties. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 13th, 2006.

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The Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women is the international instrument of the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulates the protection of rights of women. It defines acts that constitute discrimination against women and describes the nature of State obligations through laws, public policy, and programs that the State should develop to eliminate discrimination. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18th, 1979.

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The Convention on the Rights of the Child is the international instrument used by the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that recognizes the articulated rights of the child on the basis of four fundamental principles: no discrimination, best interests of the child, the right to life, livelihood and development, and the respect of the child’s opinion. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on November 20th, 1989.

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The International Convention on the Protection of the Rights of All Migrant Workers and Members of their Families is the international instrument used by the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that regulates the protection of rights of migrant persons and their families, regardless of their migration status. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on December 18th, 1990.

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The Constituent Agreement of the Development Fund for Indigenous Peoples in Latin America and the Caribbean is the international instrument used by the Universal System for the Protection of Human Rights of the United Nations that advises governments in assuming responsibility for developing, with the participation of indigenous populations, a coordinated and systematic action plan with the aim of protecting the rights of these populations and guaranteeing the respect of their integrity. It was approved by the United Nations General Assembly on June 27th, 1989.

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Constitutional Mention of Sectoral Topics
Explicit Mention      Indirect/Implicit Mention     Does not mention

Year of Latest Observed Constitution

Social Housing

Work and Social Security

Public Health

Public Education

Social Development

Children and Adolescents

Youth/Young Adults

Women

Older Persons

Persons with Disabilities

Afrodecendants and Indigenous Peoples

Migrants

1976
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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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(?) Pensions Protection of pension rights. 133. (1) Subject to section 134, the law applicable to any benefits to which this section applies shall, in relation to any person who has been granted or who is eligible for the grant of such benefits, be that in force on the relevant date or any later law that is not less favourable to that person. (2) In this section, "the relevant date" means-

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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The latest constitutional text revised for this country does not present any explicit on indirect mentions for this sectoral topic in particular.

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El último texto constitucional revisado para este país, no presenta menciones explícitas o indirectas de este tema sectorial en particular.

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Specific national laws
Law present      Official information not available
 

Children and Adolescents

Youth/Young Adults

Older Persons

Women

Peoples with Disabilites

Afrodescendants and Indigenous Peoples

Migrants

Public Education

Work and Social Security

Social Housing

Public Health

Social Development

 
Legal Instrument Ley de Protección del Niño n.d. Ley del Adulto Mayr n.d. n.d. n.d. Immigration Act and Regulations, Chapter 18:01 (1974) n.d. Ley de Seguridad Social Ley Nacional de Vivienda Ley General de Salud Regional n.d.
  Law Law Law Law Law Law

 

 

 

Organizational dimension
Main authority for intersectoral coordination

 

Country Trinidad and Tobago
Main authority
Year of creation
Coordinating authority
Members
 
Main authority devoted to social development

 

Country Trinidad and Tobago
Main authority Ministry of Social Development and Family Services
Year of creation 1989
Mission The MSDFS is the core social sector Ministry with responsibility for coordinating the implementation of Government’s social and human development objectives. The MSDFS is mandated with responsibility for addressing the social challenges of poverty, social inequality and social exclusion. Particular emphasis is placed on developing and executing programmes and services that protect and assist vulnerable and marginalized groups in society such as women, children, persons with disabilities, the elderly, the poor/indigent, the socially displaced, ex-prisoners, deportees and persons living with HIV/AIDS. The major roles and responsibilities of the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services are: serving as a central coordinating body for the social sector with respect to the conduct of research, policy and programme planning and development; and monitoring and evaluation; facilitating networking, information and data gathering and dissemination within the social sector and with external agencies; initiating and operationalizing programmes for subsequent hand over to relevant social sector Ministries; developing systems, strategies and programmes to realize positive attitudes and behaviour in the citizenry; identifying gaps and making recommendations for the drafting and amendment of legislation relevant to the sector; fostering peace, harmony and social justice through programmes such as community mediation; fostering good governance through the promotion of participatory development approaches; delivering social services and providing social support for vulnerable groups, towards sustainable enhancement of their well-being. The Ministry’s seven Strategic/Corporate Objectives according to its core stakeholder groups are as follows: to reduce the incidence of the poverty in society; to increase the level of participation of persons with disabilities in society toward the realisation of their full potential; to sustain and enhance the well-being of all elderly persons; to reduce the number of socially displaced persons; to reduce substance abuse in the population; to develop, monitor and evaluate the policy framework for the effective delivery of social services; to achieve a high performance, customer focused organization that meets its operational and strategic objectives in an efficient and effective way.
Incumbent Donna Cox (2020)

 

 

 

Institutions protecting certain population segments
Official information not available
Population segment

Children and Adolescents

Youth/Young Adults

Older Persons

Persons with Disabilities

Women

Migrants

Main protection mechanism Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development Ministerio de Género, Juventud y Desarrollo Infantil Gender Bureau Division - Ministry of Gender, Youth and Child Development Immigration Division
Legal Instrument Children Act (2012). Immigration Act and Regulations, Chapter 18:01 (1974)

 

 

 

Technical-operational dimension
Management, planning, evaluation, and transparency tools for social programmes
Tool present   Tool not present 



Main Social Protection Actor (Presence and Hierarchy)

Technical-operational dimension
Unique Registry of Participants Sistema Integrado de Administración Financiera /b Sectoral Plan for Social Development Transparence - system for accessing public information from the State

Integrated Social Information System

Evaluation mechanisms for social programs

General

Sectorial

General

Sectorial

Ministry of People and Social Development
                 

 

 

 

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