Guyana to get Juvenile Drug Treatment Court

Chancellor of the Judiciary, Yonette Cummings-Edwards along with the support of Chief Justice Roxane George and other senior members of the Judiciary are currently working along with the United Nations Children Education Fund (UNICEF) to develop the country’s first Juvenile Drug Treatment Court.
According to a joint statement from the Supreme Court of Judicature and UNICEF, this court will extend the range of specialised areas already offered by the court, that is for family matters, children and sexual offences, and will be essential in complementing the framework on juvenile justice and previous work initiated on drugs in schools. “It is expected that support for the specialised services, which will be needed, will be maintained by the Judiciary and UNICEF, which will continue to prioritise all efforts for Guyana’s children and youth,” the joint statement noted.
Meanwhile, with the staunch support of UNICEF and its partners, the Judiciary has continued to support the access to specialised services for children and youth – especially during COVID-19. To this end, through a partnership with the Regional Democratic Council, Region Four, and the Regional Health Officer, Region Four, Community Health Workers continue to be placed at key access points within the compounds of the courts to help with prevention of infection of the virus.
The Judiciary, with support from UNICEF, continues to build the capacity of the Sexual Offences Courts (in Georgetown, New Amsterdam and Suddie) and the Family Courts through support to pieces of training and essential supplies to ensure that there is continued access to justice.
Support for virtual training for domestic violence awareness and the law in the county of Essequibo is also proposed. Similar training was done in New Amsterdam, Berbice, in January of this year.