By RASHAD ROLLE

Tribune Staff Reporter

rrolle@tribunemedia.net

YOUTH activist Tavarrie Smith yesterday criticised the government for its failure to act in the best interests of this country’s children.

Culpability over the failure rests on successive governments, according to Mr Smith, who leads the country’s only non-government organisation offering free legal aid services to juveniles.

He was responding to comments made by Social Services Minister Melanie Griffin in the House of Assembly last week when she said the government is “focused on and committed to the protection of children’s rights”.

Highlighting one of the ways he believes youth are placed at a disadvantage, Mr Smith said: “In this country, children go to court without attorneys and we have no legal aid system set up to assist children and protect their rights.

“An adult, charged in the Supreme Court, can have an attorney appointed at the taxpayers’ expense, but a child, charged in the Magistrate’s Court or the Juvenile Court has no attorney appointed to assist him with his or her rights.”  

Courtesy of the US State Department and Embassy in The Bahamas, Mr Smith recently participated in an International Visitor Exchange Programme and studied children in the US Justice System.

The experience was an eye-opener, he said, giving him a new sense of what will be required to improve the condition of youth in this country.

“Misleading statements like those made last week by Mrs Griffin don’t help the cause,” he said. “Children have to rely on social workers who are not legally trained to assist them with their matters, and oftentimes parents and guardians do not appear in court with children. That is the system of justice we have for children in The Bahamas — and because of this, the Minister cannot say that she is committed or focused on protecting the rights of children.

“Article 3 of The United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child, to which The Bahamas is a party – and we have ratified that law within our Child Protection Act – provides that ‘the best interests of children must be the primary concern in making decisions that may affect them’. In particular, Article 40 of the UNCRC says ‘children who are accused of breaking the law have the right to legal help and fair treatment in a justice system that respects their rights’. Governments are required to set a minimum age below which children cannot be held criminally responsible and to provide minimum guarantees for the fairness and quick resolution of judicial or alternative proceedings. I ask the minister to tell us what she is doing to ensure that these rights of children are being protected.”

Asked what he would like to see the Ministry of Social Services do, he said implementing the provisions of the Child Protection Act, particularly those mandating for the existence of a children’s register and a minors advocate office, would be a good start.

“I would like to see more treatment programmes and services for children who suffer abuses, violence and those who come in conflict with the law. I would like to see the age of criminal responsibility raised to reflect the psychological development of children. In The Bahamas, a ten-year-old can be found guilty of an offence, We have one of the lowest ages of criminal responsibility worldwide and more progressive countries have increased the age of criminal responsibility to 12 and in some countries like Serbia, it’s as high as 14 years old.

“I would like to see us end this practice of arresting children and taking them to adult jails and holding them for 72 hours before charging them or releasing them on bail. When a child is taken into custody by an officer, they should immediately be taken to a juvenile detention centre, not a jail, and be placed before the courts as soon as is possible or released on bail. Children sleeping in cells for three days before a decision is made is inhumane, unjust and does not represent a government’s focus or commitment towards the protection of children’s rights.”

“When one talks about protecting the rights of children, that is a conversation we cannot have until we have first determined what our children need. What they need in The Bahamas is a fair justice system designed to divert them away from punitive punishment but responsibility rehabilitation; they need protection from all forms of harms, violence and conflicts; they need enabling environments to grow and flourish; they need strong connections with parents and caregivers. “But most of all, what they need is reassurance that when their basic human rights, child rights, are being violated, that those in authority will provide the necessary resources, information and resources to end their nightmares.”