Latest update March 29th, 2025 5:38 AM
Guyanese Students feature at Regional Youth Conference
Dozens of students from secondary schools in ten Caribbean countries met in Barbados to participate in a two-day conference to promote witness participation in the judicial system. The No Witness, No Justice/CBSI Youth Network Conference was hosted over two days from December 3, last, by the United States Embassy to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean.
The U.S. Embassy in Guyana nominated two students and one teacher from Marian Academy to take part in the conference. A statement from the embassy said that it will continue to work with the school to spread awareness on this issue throughout secondary schools in Guyana.
Ambassador Brent Hardt meets with the Guyanese students.
At the No Witness, No Justice/CBSI Youth Network Conference, students participated in training which emphasized the importance of participation in the justice system and how to use social media to build support for broader participation.
Equipped with embassy-donated iPads, students practised taking effective photos, making compelling videos and using social media to promote the cause of justice and witness participation.
In the “No Witness, No Justice” module, Embassy Criminal Justice Advisor, Daniel Suter; St. Vincent and the Grenadine’s Assistant Director of Public Prosecution, Colin John; and Crown Counsel Giovanni James of St. Lucia, and Clement Joseph of Dominica gave students hands-on, practical advice about the justice system and the critical role of witnesses.
The students donned their black robes as the legal luminaries took them through two mock trials so they could put what they had learned into practice.
Speaking to the group of students, U.S. Ambassador to Barbados Larry L. Palmer urged them to stand firm in the face of pressure to do wrong.
“Young people like you can face a lot of pressure to do the wrong thing or to cover up for those who are committing crimes. This pressure comes from all around you – it comes from your peers and even older people who should know better.”
Barbados Attorney General, Adriel Braithwaite, whose office has partnered with the Embassy and the National Task Force on Crime Prevention on the conference, reinforced this message, noting that sometimes young people are reluctant to cooperate with the police.
Braithwaite told participants: “If your justice system does not work, then your way of life as you know it goes to naught. Ordinary men and women, boys and girls have to be willing to put their hands up and do the right thing if they are witnesses to a crime.”
On Thursday, U.S. Ambassador to Guyana D. Brent Hardt met with the Marian Academy students and teacher to hear about their experience at the No Witness, No Justice/CBSI Youth Network Conference and to discuss their plans to share their knowledge with other students in Guyana.
A representative from the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions and a Community Police Officer joined the meeting to offer guidance on real life scenarios in Guyana’s justice system.
The No Witness, No Justice program forms part of a larger initiative – the Caribbean Basin Security Initiative, or CBSI. CBSI forms an essential part of Hemispheric U.S. security strategy focused on citizen safety.
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