PRESS RELEASE

For Immediate Release

JFJ Appalled at the Lack Of Urgency Displayed By the Government

Tuesday, March 9, 2010, Kingston, Jamaica - Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ) is making available to the press, (enclosed) an open letter written and sent yesterday, to Prime Minister Bruce Golding, outlining our concern and outrage at the lack of urgency displayed by the Government of Jamaica in response to the continued abuse of children in its care, as documented by the Armadale Report of Justice Harrison and the preliminary report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Torture, as well as the Prime Minister’s own statement in Parliament. The letter outlines the steps JFJ is calling on the Prime Minister to make.

March 8, 2010

The Hon. Bruce Golding

Prime Minister

Office of the Prime Minister

2 Devon Road

Kingston

Dear Mr. Prime Minister,

Jamaicans For Justice is deeply concerned and indeed, appalled at the LACK of URGENCY which attends the Government’s response to the horrific, and continuing ABUSE of Jamaica ’s children documented in the Report of Justice Harrison on the Armadale Fire and, more recently, the preliminary report of the UN Rapporteur on Torture.  

Mr. Prime Minister, you reported to Parliament on Tuesday March 2^nd 2010 that 68 children were in lockups across the island, contrary to the provisions of the Child Care and Protection Act, yet you reported no policy directives or action to correct this breach of the law.

Mr. Prime Minister, on that day you outlined to Parliament the steps being taken to provide adequate facilities for the housing of Juvenile remandees and children on Correctional orders, yet you gave no timelines or deadlines for these actions.

Mr. Prime Minister, on that day you accepted responsibility for the abuse documented in the Armadale report, yet you gave no indication to the nation as to what accountability you have demanded for the actions of those who had statutory and moral responsibility for the protection of the children. While you have said that such action is the purview of the Public Services Commission, we are of the view that at minimum, you could have indicated your intention to inform the Services Commission of the government’s loss of confidence in key persons as you did to the Police Services Commission in relation to former Commissioner of Police Lewin.

Mr. Prime Minister, you said that the tragedy must never occur again, yet in your presentation to Parliament you ignored completely the CONTINUING abuse of our children at the hands of the Correctional Services documented during the visit of the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture.  These findings were shared with your government on Friday the 19^th of February 2010.

On behalf of the nation’s children who continue to be abused and to have their rights abrogated, we call on you to urgently:

1. Issue a Policy Directive for the Child Development Agency to IMMEDIATELY remove ALL children in Lockups to appropriate Places of Safety and Juvenile Facilities.
2. Issue a Policy Directive to the Department of Correctional Services to cease IMMEDIATELY the practice of lockdown in the Juvenile Remand and Correctional Facilities.
3. Tell the Nation whether you continue to repose Confidence in the Commissioner of Corrections given the findings of the Armadale report and the abuse of Children which is continuing under her leadership. 
4. Tell the Nation what accountability you are demanding for the Breaches of law and decency documented in the Armadale Report.
5. Provide the nation IMMEDIATELY with a TIMELINE for the construction of the new facilities for Juveniles and their removal to these facilities. 
6. Instruct the Minister of Health to outline to the nation the IMMEDIATE steps he has taken, and what MEDIUM and LONG TERM steps he will be taking, to ensure that the Child Development Agency is structured, resourced, led and managed in a manner which will allow it to adequately protect the children presently in its care and ensure the efficient management of the services to be transferred to it.

We feel these matters are so urgent we will be sending this letter to the media tomorrow.

Mr. Prime Minister, history will judge us, not only by the events that occur on our watch, but more importantly, by our RESPONSE to those events.  The interests of children of Jamaica demand that your response to the Armadale tragedy and the CONTINUING abuse being meted out to them be an urgent and serious one.  

Sincerely,

Jamaicans For Justice

__________________________

Dr. the Hon. Carolyn Gomes

-30-  

For further information contact:
Carolyn Gomes, Executive Director – (876) 382-8583
Susan Goffe, Spokesperson – (876) 815-3648