Dear Editor,

Prime Minister Andrew Holness, at the post-Cabinet briefing on September 10, 2024, announced the proposed deployment of 24 security officers to Haiti in partial fulfilment of a pledge given under the United Nations-backed security support mission.

These 24 security officers have been described as comprising 20 members of the Jamaica Defence Force and four members of the Jamaica Constabulary Force.

This pledge and announcement raise some serious legal issues. While section 7 of the Defence Act authorises the employment of members of the Jamaica Defence Force outside of Jamaica or with the officers’ consent be placed at the disposal of the military authorities of a foreign country, there is no similar provision in the Constabulary Force Act, which specifies that the duties and powers of the police are limited to preserving the peace and apprehending criminal offenders in Jamaica.

It should be noted that the courts in Kenya have recently struck down an arrangement for the deployment of members of the Kenyan Police Force to Haiti where, just as in Jamaica, there are different provisions which apply to the defence force and the police force.

The decision to include policemen in the assignment should, therefore, be urgently reconsidered.

Lloyd Barnett

dr.lgbarnett@gmail.com