A J Nicholson, the attorney-general and minister of justice, has argued that the human rights record of the government should not be judged solely on a “blinkered concentration” on the rights of those who run afoul of the law and the abuses carried out by members of the security forces.

He told the Senate recently that this approach by local and international human rights group “cannot serve the cause of protecting the rights of our citizens in a comprehensive and wholesome manner”.

According to the attorney-general, justice and human rights touch on every facet of the quality of life of citizens including the economy, health, education, adequate legal representation and fair trial. Other indicators of human rights, he said, were the right to vote, the right to bail and the right of access to information, among others.

The Patterson administration has come increasingly under fire from local and international human rights advocacy groups, including Amnesty International, over several incidents where the security forces have killed or maimed persons under questionable circumstances.

Among the incidents that readily come to mind are the shooting death of seven young men in Braeton, St Catherine early last year and the death of Michael Gayle in West Central St Andrew following beatings he received from members of the security forces. Police killings run at about 140 per year in Jamaica and, in addition, there have been several instances of killing and maiming of prisoners in the island’s correctional institutions.

But Nicholson said that as important as the interaction between citizens and the police as well as conditions in prisons are in measuring human rights, these are not the only indicators.

Since his assumption of the justice portfolio last November, Nicholson has taken a “participatory and inclusionary approach” to addressing the concerns of local organisations involved in promoting human rights issues.

Last Friday he announced the establishment of a justice education and information unit to, among other things, “evaluate particular negative perceptions held in relation to the justice system and the administration of justice.”

He said where the perception is found to be based on misinformation corrective steps will be taken and where the negative view is based on reality the unit will highlight specific instances for public scrutiny.

Said Nicholson: “The objective is to lay the foundation for the creation of a society in which citizens are empowered to access justice through a thorough understanding of the processes and procedures involved.”

Through the work of the justice education unit, he expects the public to gain knowledge about the rights to a fair trial, adequate legal representation and the required balance of rights and responsibilities.

In this regard the justice minister noted problems being experienced by the state-sponsored legal aid system that was reformed by government last year. He observed that persons who could afford to pay their own legal expenses were resorting to the system where government picked up the tab for legal representation.

The attorney-general also highlighted the freedom of expression enjoyed by the local media which, he claimed, “has stemmed from the policy framework created and nurtured by this administration”.

“It is our duty to protect and to guard this right, this freedom, even with our lives,” Nicholson declared.

“At the same time,” he adds, “we must acknowledge and appreciate the great responsibility that rests upon us in seeking to protect those freedoms, to protect our national self-interest and to protect our image as a people.”