President Irfaan Ali on Friday held a consultative engagement on the safety of children and the Attorney General has been directed to co-ordinate an inter-agency task force on this matter.
A statement from the Office of the President said the meeting comprised representatives from Government, the Judiciary, the Speaker of the National Assembly, constitutional commissions, law enforcement agencies and civil society organisations. During the meeting, a number of “key and critical issues” concerning the mental health, welfare and safety of Guyana’s children were ventilated.
Based on recent events, the meeting agreed that several segments of society must take immediate, drastic, and coordinated action to address the wide range of factors that have led to the current situation. This approach, the release said, must include the parents, the Government, the school system, the social and religious organisations, law enforcement, the judiciary, and every other important stakeholder organisation in society.
Public awareness, education, parental support, activities at schools, psychosocial support, mentoring, the promotion of healthy, recreational activities, regulating exposure to music, social media and other such influences, revision of laws, reviewing law enforcement approach and adjustments in the administration of justice, among other measures, were all considered key to addressing this national problem, the statement said.
The inter-agency task force that Attorney General Anil Nandlall SC will co-ordinate will comprise representatives from government, the judiciary, law enforcement, the religious organisations, civil society and other relevant stakeholders to conceive and design a comprehensive plan of recommendations and actions for review and implementation.
No incidents involving children were listed in the statement. However, in recent days there has been public revulsion at the decapitation of Orlando Jaikarran allegedly by his father who has since been charged with murder.
Discussion