REMARKS

UNDP RESIDENT REPRESENTATIVE, DENISE E ANTONIO

HANDOVER OF MOBILE BUSES (JUSTICE UNITS)

29 January 2020 @10am

Salutations:

·       Honourable Delroy Chuck, Minister of Justice

·       Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Justice, Sancia Bennett Templer

·       High Commissioner of Canada to Jamaica, Her Excellency Laurie Peters

·       Executive Director of the Legal Aid Council and Master of Ceremonies, Hugh Faulkner

·       Distinguished representatives of the public sector and civil society

·       Other specially invited guests

·       Representatives of the media

·       Distinguished ladies and gentlemen,

Jamaica’s vision is for a secure, cohesive and just society aligned to Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) 16- Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. SDG 16 calls on us to “promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels.”  Of course, this hinges on a strong, fair and accessible justice system where everyone can reach their fullest potential.  An efficient justice system empowers a society to be its best and to achieve its development goals and aspirations. An efficient justice system ensures that all have access to high quality justice services which includes urban and rural communities and vulnerable populations.

As such, today marks an important milestone aimed at increasing access to and knowledge of justice systems as part of focused efforts by the Government of Jamaica to reform and transform the justice sector. In partnership with the Ministry of Justice (MOJ), a major plank of this reform has been supported under the Justice Undertaking for Social Transformation (JUST) Project being implemented by UNDP with funding from Global Affairs Canada.

Specifically, the Social Order Component of the JUST Project seeks to strengthen the participation of communities and civil society organizations (CSOs) in justice reform with the view to expand access to justice service. With human development at the core of the project, interventions are directed at improving the capacity of women and men, boys and girls to equitably access gender sensitive information, advice and service, as well as enhance the capacities of citizens, civil society representatives and legal professionals to participate in the justice reform process. The approach of strengthening the capacity of public-policy and rule-of-law institutions and civil society organizations to enable justice reform at all levels is a major step in ensuring that no one is left behind aligned to the goals of Vision 2030.

Hence, UNDP is honoured and delighted to participate in this momentous handing over ceremony of these two (2) retrofitted mobile buses, aptly called Justice Units, geared at expanding legal services and information directly to communities.  As afore-stated, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development mandates us “to leave no one behind” and this commitment includes all persons regardless of their gender, ethnicity, colour, nationality, way of life or geographic location.

I do believe that the provision of these Justice Units will be very instrumental in facilitating access to a range of legal information, legal advice, support  and services provided by or through the Ministry of Justice, including specific services offered by Legal Aid, Restorative Justice, Alternate Dispute Resolution, Child Diversion and other departments of the MOJ. Importantly, the buses will facilitate the targeting of underserved rural and urban communities, and will consequently result in improved access to men, women and youth who would have been potentially excluded from access to justice services. Notably, the Justice Units will incorporate wheelchair accessibility in order to encourage and facilitate access for persons living with disabilities or the elderly.

Advancing human rights for all is a core principle of UNDP and the United Nations. UNDP wishes to reiterate its continued commitment to helping Jamaica achieve its global and national obligations as we work together to achieve sustainable development and transform the lives of every Jamaican.  It is envisioned that the use of these buses will contribute to the achievement of Strategic Objective # 2 “Improving Access to Justice Services” of the 2015-2020 Justice Reform and Implementation Plan and will also provide the impetus for continued investments in rural development and the vulnerable. We look forward to further partnerships as we seek to contribute to “Building a First-Class Justice System”.

Ladies and Gentlemen. I thank you.