JFJ challenges Delroy Chuck over Jamaica human rights record

Jamaicans for Justice executive director Mickel Jackson has pushed back against Justice Minister Delroy Chuck after he said Jamaica “does not… have a human rights problem”, arguing that the statement overlooks serious and documented concerns facing vulnerable people.

In a Friday social media post, Jackson said Chuck’s position disregarded “well-documented, systemic issues” identified by JFJ, other rights groups and independent watchdog bodies. She said the minister’s words amounted to a denial of abuses that require urgent change instead of political avoidance.

“I respectfully urge Minister Delroy Chuck to withdraw the comment,” Jackson said.

Jackson listed several matters she said remain unresolved. They included children being detained because they are labelled “uncontrollable”, even as legislative steps have been taken to remove that provision; complaints about excessive deadly force by members of the security forces; and reports of people being held for long periods without being charged.

She also raised concerns about discrimination affecting people living with HIV and members of the LGBT community. Jackson further pointed to prison conditions, saying overcrowding, poor sanitation and inadequate healthcare continue to affect inmates.

On children held in custody, Jackson said vulnerable minors, frequently girls, are still being sent to juvenile institutions although they have not been convicted of crimes. She argued that those cases show the State has failed to provide care-based responses.

Jackson cited figures showing that 153 people have been killed by security forces so far in 2026. That total, she said, includes 11 deaths during a 24-hour span this week, while questions remain about the use of force and accountability in fatal police incidents.

“Families and witnesses frequently dispute official ‘shoot-out’ narratives,” Jackson said. She added that where body-worn cameras are absent from some incidents, public concerns about accountability increase.

Jackson called on the Government to work meaningfully with civil society and to be guided by international human rights standards, rather than making broad denials about rights concerns.

“Denying the existence of human rights challenges does not make them disappear,” she said.

Chuck made the statement on Wednesday during his sectoral presentation in the House of Representatives. He cited Jamaica’s showing under two international accountability processes, the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Periodic Review, as proof of the country’s position.

“When we reported to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and the Universal Periodic Review, we got very good commendation,” Chuck said.

The justice minister said persons with human rights complaints should take them to the Office of the Public Defender, which he said has the authority to prosecute any breach of human rights.

Opposition Spokesman on Justice Zuleika Jess has also demanded that Chuck take back the comment. “To declare on the floor of Gordon House that Jamaica is free of human rights issues is not just a profound error; it is entirely delusional,” she said. “A country cannot resolve its structural problems if the government refuses to acknowledge they exist.”