By: Alison Wickham
This week I will be covering information on human rights in Jamaica. These are basic fundamental rights that are bestowed upon every individual. As shown in my previous posts the treatment of people’s in Jamaica has been very brutal. The native-American Indian population essentially went extinct due to Spanish colonization and the ancestors of many modern day Jamaicans were enslaved by the British. Jamaica’s past was ruled by ethnocentrism which led to an insufficient establishment of human rights among certain groups. However, in the near past this country has taken action and now has many documents establishing the human rights of Jamaican’s.
The establishment of human rights began to take flight in the 1860’s, but agreements made then were reviewed during the Geneva convention in 1949. This convention was a series of international diplomatic assembly’s in which a number of agreements were constructed, most of which pertain to humanitarian law. Agreements within this convention addressed the treatment of prisoners of war, the protection of civilian persons in the time of war, and the amelioration of the condition of wounded, sick and shipwrecked members of arm forces at sea. This convention as you can tell was specific to the rights of people during war time. 
Jamaica has also been a member of the United Nations since 1962. This is an organization largely known for promoting world peace and maintaining security. Jamaica has been largely known for the promotion and recognition of human rights within the United Nations, taking action such as proposing the review of progress in the field of human rights. Jamaica has also participated in the 1968 convention on the prevention and punishment of the crime of genocide. This treaty which recognized genocide stated, “genocide is a crime under international law, contrary to the spirit and aims of the United Nations and condemned by the civilized world” (Schabas, 2008). Jamaica and any other member of the United Nations indefinitely recognize genocide as a serious crime and express that they will never be in support of such an act because of the vulgar and inhuman nature.
Sources
https://guide-humanitarian-law.org/content/conventions/by-country/89-jamaica/
https://www.history.com/topics/world-war-ii/geneva-convention
https://legal.un.org/avl/ha/cppcg/cppcg.html
https://www.un.int/jamaica/content/permanent-mission-jamaica-united-nations-0