NGOs push for reintroduction of National Service

Jul 17, 2015 News

A seven-woman delegation comprising members of the Guyana Responsible Parenthood Association (GRPA), Help and Shelter, Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), Red Thread, Child Link and the Guyana Association of Women Lawyers (GAWL) has met with Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Basil Williams.
Issues were raised on key concerns regarding access to justice and functioning of the courts in the interior, implementation of the Domestic Violence Act, juveniles and the court system (including enactment of the Juvenile Justice Bill), amendment of the Jury Act, activation of night courts, alternative sentencing, specialized courts for sexual offences, training for judiciary, magistracy and court officers, coroner’s inquest and the prevention of Discrimination Act 1997 on the grounds of sexual orientation.
The delegation included Omattie Madray of Child Link, Karen DeSouza and Nicola Marcus of Red Thread, Schemel Patrick of SASOD, Emily Dodson of GAWL, Danuta Radzik of Help and Shelter and Patricia Sheeratan-Bisnauth of the GRPA .
According to the Ministry, during a “lively” discussion at the Minister’s office on Monday, concerns were raised regarding the responses to juvenile crime by De Souza. She recommended that the administration reintroduce National Service. She was a “product” of the programme, and has seen firsthand the benefits.

Attorney General Basil Williams during the meeting with the NGO officials.

This recommendation was strongly backed by the other delegates.
“The AG agreed with the strong recommendation coming from the group and said they sold him on National Service as an option to be explored in relation to juvenile crime. On another note, the Attorney General explained that every magistrate has the power to conduct inquests. This was in response to a question posed about whose responsibility it is for conducting inquests in violent and unnatural deaths.”
The minister also pointed out that finance is needed for most of the recommendations made towards addressing challenges in the delivery of judicial services and the dispensation of justice.
Some of the issues and recommendations also explored were the raising the age of criminal responsibility, extensive training for magistrates prior to and on ascension to the bench.
There were also calls made for continuous training thereafter to curb the vexing issue of the culture of remand sentences for bailable offences, granting frequent adjournments for flimsy reasons (sometimes through intimidation), inconsistent sentencing and greater use of alternative sentencing for first-time offenders.
“In addition, it was also felt that probation officers should be placed in every court and all judicial officers in the justice system should be exposed to gender-sensitive training.
The exploration of more magistrates to speed up the delivery of justice, activation of night courts, a specialized court for sexual offences, the operation of the family court, and the removal of the Linden magistracy from under the Demerara Magisterial district, since persons have to travel from Linden all the way to Vreed-En- Hoop to conduct judicial business.”