The high level of criminality in Jamaica, particularly in the area of murder, has caused the Andrew Holness-led Administration to utilise the state of public emergency (SOE) as its major tool to tackle this deleterious scourge on the society.

However, while empirically it has been revealed that the number of homicides tends to decline during a state of public emergency, there have been numerous cases, anecdotally as well as documented, of citizens’ rights being violated, especially by the security forces, namely the police and the army (more so in the case of the latter).

In the case of the police, again, there have been many incidents of extra-judicial killings, whereby law enforcement officers seemed to have acted as judge, jury, and executioner. Needless to say, the majority of instances in which citizens’ rights have been abused have occurred in poverty-stricken communities where crime is usually rampant and seemingly uncontrollable by legal means.

Against this background, many citizens have, increasingly, been positing the view that they are prepared to give up some of their rights in order to allow the Government of the day to effectively fight crime, but is this, in the very final analysis, setting a dangerous precedence? Prime Minister Andrew Holness, in an apparent state of desperation, has been seeking to give the executive arm of Government vast and expansive powers that may well bypass those of the judiciary, which is there to protect the constitutional rights of every living Jamaican.

Already we have seen where the Supreme Court has ruled that certain regulations within the SOE framework have breached the constitutional rights of citizens so detained, in some cases, for an inordinate period of time without charges while being kept in sometimes very inhumane conditions. In this context, human rights groups who seek to champion the cause of citizens wronged by the State are oftentimes chastised for “taking up for criminals” and even the Opposition People’s National Party (PNP), which is bound by the Jamaican Constitution to stand up for the rights of citizens, has been blasted by some overzealous Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) supporters, some in the top echelons of that governing party, as being on the side of criminals. It is into this conundrum that Jamaica, on the eve of International Human Rights Day, which is to be observed tomorrow, December 10, 2022, finds itself.

And it is in this context that the following potent question must be asked: To what extent is the average Jamaican aware of his or her constitutional rights? The Constitution of Jamaica (Simplified Version) lists these rights to which every citizen is entitled:

• The right to life, liberty, and security of person, except in the execution of the sentence of a court in respect of a criminal offence of which the person has been convicted

• The right to freedom of thought, conscience, belief, and observance of political doctrines

• The right to freedom of expression

• The right to seek, receive, distribute, or disseminate information, opinions, and ideas through any media

• The right to peaceful assembly and association

• The right to freedom of movement, that is to say, the right (i) of every citizen of Jamaica to enter Jamaica, and (ii) of every person lawfully in Jamaica to move around freely throughout Jamaica, to reside in any part of Jamaica, and to leave Jamaica

• The right to equality before the law

• The right to equitable and humane treatment by any public authority in the exercise of any function

• The right to freedom from discrimination on the ground of (i) being male or female (ii) race, place of origin, class, colour, religion, political opinions

• The right of everyone to (i) protection from search of the person and property (ii) respect for protection of private and family life and privacy of the home; and (iii) protection of other property and communication

• The right of every child to be protected by virtue of being a minor, part of a family, society, and the State

• The right of every child who is a citizen of Jamaica to public educational institutions at the pre-primary and primary levels

• The right to enjoy a healthy and productive environment free from the threat of injury or damage from environmental abuse and degradation of the ecological heritage

• The right of every citizen of Jamaica to be registered to vote

• The right of every citizen of Jamaica who is so registered to vote in free and fair elections

• The right of every citizen of Jamaica to be guaranteed a passport and not to be detained or deprived except by due process of the law

• The right to protection from torture or inhuman or degrading punishment or other treatment

• The right to freedom of the person

• The protection of property rights

• The right to due process

• The right to freedom of religion

Any in-depth examination of these guaranteed rights will reveal that almost daily somewhere in Jamaica citizens’ rights are being subject to abuse. Unfortunately, because of ignorance of the law and constitution, hardly any appropriate action is taken. Let us not forget that the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, now in its 75th year, states that, “All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights.” Regrettably, as was stated in George Orwell’s book Animal Farm, “All animals are born equal but some are more equal than others” so a “youthman” in Trench Town is more likely to be treated differently by the security forces in questionable circumstances than a “young gentleman” in Cherry Gardens.

Incidentally, this year’s theme for Human Rights Day is ‘Men’s Rights are Human Rights’. And the slogan is ‘Dignity, Freedom, and Justice for All’.

In the immortal words of reggae pioneers Bob Marley and the Wailers, this writer urges all Jamaicans to “Get up, stand up, stand up for your right!”

Lloyd B Smith has been involved full-time in Jamaican media for the past 46 years. He has also served as a Member of Parliament and Deputy Speaker of the House of Representatives. He hails from western Jamaica where he is popularly known as the Governor. Send comments to the Jamaica Observer or lbsmith4@gmail.com.