Dr Carolyn Gomes, executive director of Jamaicans For Justice (JFJ), has joined the call by an internationally recognised child advocate, declaring that people should hold the Government accountable for upholding the laws regarding children.
"All of the commitment is there. It is the place of the people to hold Government responsible to live up to its own laws, and that's why your voice is important," said Wess Stafford, president of Compassion International, a United States-based charity organisation.
Stafford was addressing a group of people at the Children at Risk Conference at the Jamaica Pegasus when a member of the audience asked what the Government should be doing.
audience challenged
He said the laws were there to protect children and challenged members of the audience to search for them and find the leaders accountable, instead of sitting and waiting on legislation to change the world.
"If we wait for the Government to get it figured out, we will wait until this generation is gone," he added, noting that the job could be done one person at a time.
"If they will not be held accountable, replace them. That's the beauty of a democracy," declared Stafford, who was brought almost to tears at several points in his address on Tuesday. He said because children are so small, they are often forgotten and are often targets of abuse and suffer the most in natural disasters.
In a telephone interview with The Gleaner, Gomes declared her stance on the issue. "I absolutely agree that the Government should be held accountable and to hold their agencies and departments accountable as well to call for the resignation of Miss (Alison) Anderson," said Gomes.
She said if Anderson does not resign, the Government should insist on standards of accountability, and if it does not do that, the citizens have the ultimate choice.
Gomes also agreed that the problem in Jamaica was not legislation.
She said people were not doing their job and have not been held accountable through successive administrations.
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