The Advocates Network (AN) say they are concerned about the Government’s continued push for the extension of states of emergencies (SOE), even though the containment measures were identified as a breach of the constitution.

Since its inception in 2018, the SOEs have been labeled as a breach of human rights, especially by the Opposition, because it restricts the movements of citizens in the areas targeted.

According to the AN, the normalization of the “SOEs are posing a clear and present danger to the human rights of the Jamaican people, guaranteed and protected under the Constitution and reinforced under the amended Charter of Rights and Freedom.”

They added that it is also alarming that the Government continues to ignore this fact.

“Regardless of the state of crime in the nation, the normalization of the abrogation of rights is not an acceptable response,” stated the network.

They also made not of the five men who were detained without charge for between 177 and 431 days under the 2018-2020 SOEs.

At the time, the Supreme Court had ruled that their detention was unlawful and an overreach of executive powers, but the measures continued.

Another incident that the AN noted was the recent shooting death of a man by military personnel at a SOE checkpoint in Central Kingston. In a video circulating on social media, the man was seen walking away from soldiers at the checkpoint, when he was shot and killed.

“The casual unfolding of the killing shown in videos on traditional and social media signal part of the problem of desensitization to violence and the loss of human rights facing our nation,” stated the AN.

They are calling on the Government to act swiftly and issue a long term crime fighting strategy. But the measures must be lawful.

“We reiterate and encourage our government to go to the extreme to ensure that any solution to the problem of crime unreservedly be done within the domain of constitutionality,” they stated.

SOEs to end today

SOEs were issued on November 15 in seven parishes across the island. These included St Catherine, St James, Clarendon, Hanover, Westmoreland and sections of Kingston and St Andrew.

The measures were expected to last for 14 days, ending today (November 29).

During a parliament meeting, security minister Dr Horace Chang had made a request for the measures to be extended to January 14, 2023, but the Opposition disagreed, calling the measures unconstitutional.

The matter was put to a vote that later saw all Opposition senators voting against the extensions.

Though the SOEs cannot be extended, they can be reimplemented by the Government for another 14 days. The declaration of new SOEs is currently being considered by the Government said Prime Minister Holness.