KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesperson on Justice, Senator Donna Scott Mottley, is calling on the Government to urgently and immediately address the inhumane conditions in the detention centres under the states of emergency (SOEs), particularly in St James.

Scott Mottley , in a release yesterday, said the damning report to members of the Internal and External Affairs Committee of Parliament from Public Defender Arlene Harrison Henry paints a crisis that no human being should be asked to endure.

In addition, such treatment breaches the Charter of Rights, which demands that all citizens be treated with dignity, she said, adding that when innocent young men are treated in such a way to degrade and dehumanise them, the nation is setting itself up for serious problems.

“The United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights states that all prisoners shall be treated with the respect due to their inherent dignity, what is happening to our young men, who are not even prisoners, is a breach of this basic principle. They are treated worse than dogs in their own country. This is beyond disgraceful,” Scott Mottley continued.

She said that young men have been held and no information about their whereabouts was passed on their families, some of them had signs of diseases such as scabies.

Scott Mottley said under the SOEs and zones of special operations (ZOSOs), the government must recognise that detainees are entitled to even the very basic dignities of every human being. 

She also noted the detention of over 100 children, stating that the matter is of serious concern to the PNP and should not take place again during the current SOE.

She said the ministers with responsibility for children’s affairs should immediately ensure that the various laws and protocols are observed and a specific report done for Parliament.

“The Government should immediately conduct an inspection of the conditions in St James and other detention centers in St Catherine and St Andrew Southern and issue the necessary instructions for the provision of basic human services, including cots. The government, through the Ministry of National Security, should also address the funding for detainee rations, as $300 a day was manifestly inadequate,” the spkesperson said.