Public defender urges J’cans to familiarise themselves with rights
Published:Wednesday | December 11, 2024 | 12:10 AMChristopher Thomas/Gleaner Writer
WESTERN BUREAU:
Public Defender Carolyn Reid-Cameron is urging Jamaicans to familiarise themselves with the Constitution to have a full understanding of their basic human rights to guard against human trafficking.
She was speaking at Tuesday’s Office of the Public Defender’s Human Rights Day 2024 Expo in Montego Bay, St James.
“Human rights are universally recognised principles or norms that establish standards of behaviour, and we have international human rights. Here in Jamaica, we have codified some of those human rights in our Constitution, in particular, in Chapter Three of our Constitution. But how many of you have taken the time to read that document?” asked Reid-Cameron.
“Unfortunately, ladies and gentlemen, we talk about rights and we talk about having rights, but we do not know them, because we do not spend the time to read about them and to research them. Human rights are inalienable, and they belong to you just by virtue of you being human. They belong to you regardless of your colour, your race, your religion, your sex, your nationality, and your origin,” noted Reid-Cameron.
The third chapter of the Jamaican Constitution stipulates that every person has the right to life and personal liberty, freedom of movement, freedom from inhuman treatment, enjoyment of property, freedom of conscience, freedom of association, respect for private and family life, and freedom from discrimination. The document notes that the enjoyment of these rights and freedoms is subject to respect for the rights and freedoms of others and for the public interest.
In June this year, Jamaica was listed among seven CARICOM nations that are in Tier 2 of the United States [US] State Department’s 2024 Trafficking in Persons Report. This means that while those countries’ governments have not fully met the standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, they are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance.
‘Slavery is finished’
Speaking to The Gleaner following the function, Reid-Cameron said that without knowledge of one’s basic human rights, a person cannot recognise when he or she is being taken advantage of by traffickers.
“ ... You have right to freedom of the person, which means slavery is finished, and you are not supposed to be enslaved or be involved in forced labour. If you do not know of that right, and the fact that you are entitled to it, how would you know that you are being abused or being trafficked in such circumstances?” said Reid-Cameron. “You would not even be able to recognise the fact that that right is being breached if you do not know you have it.”
Audrey Budai, coordinator for the National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons, used the function to call for Jamaicans to be more proactive in fighting human trafficking.
“ ... keep your eyes and ears open for evidence of human trafficking. Report human trafficking when you see it, and call 811 or the nearest police stations. Be wise, open your eyes, stop them, report them, and stop them,” said Budai, referencing the mantra of the police force’s Counter-Terrorism and Organised Crime Investigation Branch.