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The Most Honorable Bruce Golding
Dear Prime Minister Golding: In a spirit of solidarity with Jamaican people, I would like to voice my concern about public security in Jamaica and to affirm the urgent need to increase the peace. Amnesty International, along with non-governmental organizations in Jamaica and worldwide, have called for a package of human rights-based initiatives which would more effectively address the perennial vexations of crime and violence in Jamaica. The Jamaican government needs to lead the way in reducing homicides and police killings in inner cities, adopting strong measures that ensure both peace and justice. Persistent, credible reports have existed for many years of discrimination and killings by the security forces. In certain cases, of course, these killings resulted from the legitimate use of force. However, in an undetermined but meaningful number of instances, strong evidence points to citizens being shot fatally without adequate cause, and some cases have the earmarks of extrajudicial executions. Flawed investigations, corruption and a failing justice system have led to a culture of impunity for the officers involved. Furthermore, many of those responsible for violent crime are not brought to justice. The number of murders investigated and solved by the police is extremely low; at the same time, prosecution and conviction rates are also poor. Amnesty International calls on the Jamaican government to create a comprehensive public security plan for the protection of human rights, which prioritizes: the immediate reduction of homicides and police killings in inner cities; reforms to the JCF to create a police force that is representative, responsive and accountable to all the community and respects and protects human rights; implementation without further delay of the recommendations of the Task Force on The Reform of the Justice System; and the introduction of a fully independent oversight body to monitor police misconduct and reports of human rights violations. By precept, Jamaica upholds the rights to life, liberty, security of the person and the protection of the law, which are protected in the Jamaican Constitution. Jamaica is also party to international conventions including the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR). This formally creates obligations for the Jamaican state to respect, protect and fulfill the right to life, integrity, security and dignity of the person. Among the rights in the ICESCR is the one of everyone to an adequate standard of living for themselves and their families, including adequate food, clothing and housing (Article 11); the right to the enjoyment of the highest attainable standard of physical and mental health (Article 12); and the right to education (Article 13). These are among the most fundamental human rights and, not coincidentally, the ones most affected in the complex relationship between poverty, violence and access. Effective measures such as those urged in the Amnesty study would go a long way in addressing the underlying causes of this public security and human rights crisis. I thank you for doing whatever you can do in your capacity in the Jamaican government to quell the violence and improve the human rights environment for all Jamaicans. Sincerely,
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