Zuleika Jess Rebukes Delroy Chuck Over Jamaica Human Rights Claim

KINGSTON, Jamaica — Opposition Spokesperson on Justice Zuleika Jess has sharply criticised Justice Minister Delroy Chuck after he told Parliament that Jamaica is not facing a human rights crisis.

Chuck made the statement last Wednesday during his Sectoral Debate presentation in the House of Representatives. “Jamaica does not, and I hope will never have, a human rights problem,” he said.

The minister also referred to the Office of the Public Defender as a place where Jamaicans can seek action on alleged breaches. “We have the Office of the Public Defender. If you have difficulty you can go to the Office of the Public Defender and prosecute any human rights breach. They’re empowered to prosecute any human rights breach,” Chuck said.

Jess responded on Thursday while speaking at a National Water Commission groundbreaking ceremony in St Elizabeth for the $148-million Santa Cruz By-pass Mains Replacement Project, part of the wider Santa Cruz Water Supply Improvement Programme.

She said Chuck’s position was hard to accept in light of recent killings involving the police. “For a country that is experiencing 11 brutal police fatalities in 24 hours and to have a Minister of Justice state that there is no human rights issue, we find that to be almost delusional on the part of the Minister of Justice,” Jess said.

Jess added that the comment showed disregard for families still seeking answers. “We believe that it represents an alarming display of delusion, we believe that it represents an insult to the countless number of Jamaicans who are begging and crying out for justice for loved ones that they have lost under questionable circumstances and it is a dismissal of the lived realities that so many people here in Jamaica continue to face,” she said.

The St Elizabeth North Eastern member of parliament urged Chuck to revisit and withdraw his remarks, saying his view should reflect conditions Jamaicans face. “And the reality is that the people of Jamaica need justice and we need a government that doesn’t turn a blind eye to the realities on the ground,” she said.