The Regional Security Adviser of the United Nations (UN), Paulo Rodrigues, issued a strong warning about Trinidad and Tobago’s crime situation as he addressed the 6th Caribbean Judges' Forum on HIV, Human Rights and the Law at the Hyatt Regency, Port-of-Spain, on Tuesday.
“Please, everything you need to do during the day, you would realise at the end of the day you do not see many people walking,” he said.
The Chief Justice of Guyana Justice Roxane George, Caribbean Court of Justice Judge Peter Jamadar, Chairman of the Judicial Education Institute of the OECS Justice Eddy Ventose, and representatives of UN agencies were all expected to attend the two-day forum. Chief Justice of Barbados Justice Leslie Francis Haynes, the president of the Constitutional Court of Colombia José Fernando Reyes Cuartas, and Justice of Appeal Charmaine Pemberton were also present on day one of the forum.
Rodrigues warned the visitors about venturing into the capital city of Port-of-Spain and advised them to use extreme caution.
“Then we have also here downtown Port-of-Spain, Queen’s Park Savannah. Sometimes people like to wake up early and go there for jogging, or at the end of the day if you want to do it, please do it during working hours, in the sunlight, try not to go alone, and please avoid moving inside Queen’s Park Savannah for safety reasons,” he explained.
He said that during the last few years in Trinidad, UN staff and their families have had very few security incidents, which he said was due to them adhering to the safety and security briefings and recommendations.
This year’s forum aimed at promoting discussions around topics related to HIV, the response to HIV, and the enjoyment of rights by key populations in the region, including, among others, people living with HIV, LGBTIA+ populations, sex workers, and drug users.
Executive Director of the International Coalition of Women with HIV (Caribbean) Diana Weekes told members of the judiciary that they have a unique responsibility and opportunity with the interpretation of the current laws.
“The gap between commitment and reality remains substantial; across our region, we continue to witness the persistence of laws that sometimes criminalise HIV transmission, exposure, and nondisclosure. These laws often crafted during earlier decades when HIV was poorly understood fail to reflect the current scientific evidence about HIV, transmission, treatment, and prevention,” she said.
Weekes proposed legal reform for HIV-specific criminal laws.
She described the policies that exist as “a toothless bulldog” because there is nothing to enforce them.
“We have to ensure that the laws align with current scientific evidence, we need to remove HIV-specific provisions from existing legislation and implement clear guidelines for applying the Gillick competencies and develop youth-specific privacy protections,” she shared.
The International Coalition of Women with HIV Executive Director also proposed that a rights-based approach be developed so that human rights could be centred in HIV-related legal matters.
These, she said, include consideration for the public health impact in a judicial decision, to protect confidentiality and privacy rights, and create a framework specifically geared to protecting youth confidentiality.
The Technical Advisor for HIV/STI, TB and Viral Hepatitis in the Caribbean of the Pan-American Health Organization, Sandra Jones revealed that in the Caribbean approximately 340,000 people were living with HIV.
Globally, that number is 39.9 million.
High Court Judge Nirala Bansee-Sookhai told her colleagues that it’s up to them to address the layered inequalities and legal barriers that continue to disenfranchise vulnerable populations across the region.
“The judiciary must be proactive in tearing down these barriers to ensure that every individual is treated with fairness, compassion, and respect,” she said.
