If you've never heard of the Visiting Justices program, it's probably because it hasn't been active in the last 14 years. Prior to 2008, it was a program that saw Magistrates and Justices of the Peace visiting the Belize Central Prison to check on the welfare of the prisoners and the conditions they were living in. It also gave the prisoners an opportunity for their complaints to be heard.
And today saw the first step in reviving this program. At the inauguration today, partners such as the CEO in the Ministry of Home Affairs, the CEO of Kolbe Foundation, the Chief Magistrate, and the President of the JP Association were present. We spoke to them about the importance of this program and the role their organizations will play.
Kevin Arthurs, CEO, Ministry of Home Affairs
"Today's a proud day for the ministry, the minister, and I, as you know I, in my current, configuration as the CEO, gives me the opportunity to deal with some serious human rights issues and we see this as an extension of our responsibility to the public. It's sad that the Visiting Justice Program, which we find to be an important one, hasn't been done since 2008, that's about 14 years and some months. We kind of, as a country, ran a risk that we have the benefit of a private/public partnership in Kolbe Foundation and Rotary in running the prisons and so some of the prevailing issues that would have occurred that would have had to be addressed were dealt with because of the good administration of the prison."
"But we do have a responsibility to the most vulnerable and the forgotten to make sure that we treat them in a human way."
Virgilio Murillo, CEO, Kolbe Foundation
"What I can say the importance about it is that it should be value added to what we're already doing here. I've always maintained with respect to the prison being managed by the Kolbe Foundation, we do have oversight mechanisms in place for arguments sake, we have the office of the controller of prisons who is government paid employees who can listen to the concerns and complaints of inmates."
"This Visiting Justices program being reintroduced because it was already here some years ago, would just come back to be a value added to those mechanisms that already exist as far as I'm concerned so I don't know that you can have too much oversight or too much accountability at the end of the day I think every organization should be held accountable for their actions."
Sharon Fraser, Chief Magistrate
"Since we are responsible for sending persons here I believe that it's also our responsibility as well to see the conditions under which persons come to the prison. I have long believed that we should be coming here on a regular basis. Unfortunately because of the level of work we have, it's kind of little difficult but now with the Visiting Justice and the program being put in place, at very least there is a magistrate which will be on every visit, every session that the Visiting Justice will be here so it's an important initiative, it's an important program because it gives the prisoners an opportunity, persons who are remanded an opportunity to speak to the conditions under which they are."
Danny Madrid, President, JP Association
"The Justice of the Peace Association, we're not only justices of the peace but we're also commissioners of the Supreme Court so we work both. We're there ready to assist Kolbe Foundation with this program and I believe and I'm sure that we have a lot of JP's that are committed and want to do this."
"Today it's the beginning and we'll take a tour at the prison at the moment after we finish here and we will sit and decide how the program will work, how much JPs will be appointed to visit the prison. As we speak, myself and the Vice President have already put our names down, as you know the GG has to appoint us to be able to ensure the prison so that's in the making right now, after that we'll be appointing responsible JPs."
According to a press release, the main purpose of the program is to, quote, "hear and investigate any complaint which a prisoner may make to them and… report the same, with their opinion, to the Superintendent, or if necessary to the Minister…and inspect the diet of the prisoners, and may report…to the Superintendent …or they may report the matter with their recommendations to the Minister." End quote.
