– UNICEF country representative

GUYANA’S justice system, particularly in the area of Sexual Offences, is being viewed as a model by neighbouring countries. This is according to United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative, Sylvie Fouet, who said the country has much to be proud of.
During a recent press café hosted at UNICEF Guyana Head Office, Fouet said while the country continues to face challenges in several areas, the significant progress made in the justice system cannot be understated.
““Guyana should be very proud of its way of handling the sexual offences court and the Sexual Offences Act,” she told reporters.

Last November, the Supreme Court of Judicature launched the Sexual Offences Court, and according to Fouet, UNICEF offered its support to ensure that settings of the court are conducive for children to have their stories recorded without having to face the issue of ‘second victimisation’.

Between November 2017 and April 2018, the Sexual Offences Court heard a total of 14 cases with some nine persons being found guilty. The Sexual Offences Court is intended to enhance the efficiency in prosecution and adjudication of cases of sexual offences, and more importantly to respond to the needs of victims.

The court has a panel of eminent judges, including Justice Simone Morris-Ramlall, Justice Joanne Barlow, Justice Navindra Singh, Justice James Bovell-Drakes and Justice Brassington Reynolds, whose functions are rotated.

Witnesses also have a special room to give their testimony, while a panel of support staff is being overseen by the chief justice.

With the Sexual Offences Court successfully set up, the UNICEF country representative said she has been engaging Chancellor of the Judiciary (ag), Justice Yonette Cummings-Edwards and Chief Justice (ag) Roxane George-Wiltshire on the establishment of a Youth Court.

Stating that the Youth Court is likely to be established soon, Fouet said such a court is necessary to accelerate the rate at which cases involving minors are heard.
Such was the case of 19-year-old Eon Henry, who for almost seven years was in state detention on remand after being charged with murder back in 2011. Henry was freed by the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) earlier this year due to the lack of substantial evidence. During his incarceration, the young man who hails from Baramita, Region One, said he endured “horrible experiences” because he could not afford legal representation.
In April, 2018, the National Assembly passed the landmark Juvenile Justice Bill, which, when in force, will revolutionalise juvenile justice here, while decriminalising a number of offences such as wandering, truancy and vagrancy and setting a new age of criminal liability at 14.

The passage of the bill repealed the archaic 1931 Juvenile Offenders Act and will now allow Guyana to conform to the several international conventions to which it is a signatory. The act is aimed at providing a framework where professionals are in the forefront, supporting juveniles rather than the police and prison wardens.
The legislation makes provision for alternative sentencing, which is referred to as diversion. The aim is to divert juveniles away from formal court procedures to informal procedures that include restorative measures to deal with a juvenile alleged to have committed an offence.

Meanwhile, Fouet said UNICEF is supporting the Social Worker Network, noting that it is an area that is quite weak outside Georgetown.
Communication Specialist, Frank Robinson and Monitoring and Evaluation Specialist Michael Gillis had accompanied the UNICEF country representative during the Press Café held on Thursday.