The Belize judiciary, in partnership with the Judicial Reform and Institutional Strengthening (JURIST) Project, UNWomen and the Caribbean Association of Judicial Officers (CAJO) will officially launch Justice Through a Gender Lens: Gender Equality Protocol for Judicial Officers.
The Hon. Mr. Justice Kenneth Benjamin, Chief Justice of Belize will launch the Protocol on Tuesday December 11, 2018 at 8:45 am at the Radisson Fort George Hotel and Marina, Belize City, Belize. Other speakers at the launch will include the Hon. Mme. Justice Shona Griffith, High Court Judge; Mrs. Judith Alpuche, Chief Executive Officer, Ministry of Human Development, Social Transformation and Poverty Alleviation; His Excellency Lynn Young, Honorary Consul of Canada to Belize; Mrs. Gloria Richards-Johnson, Project Director, JURIST Project, and Her Worship Mrs. Patricia Arana, Magistrate and Member of the Gender Protocol Review Committee, among others.
The Gender Protocol is intended to promote awareness of the ways in which gender intersects with other social statuses to affect the justice system and its users, and to provide tools to help judicial officers achieve gender-sensitive adjudication.
An effective system of administration of justice is one of the fundamental pillars of a democratic society. A justice system can be lauded as effective only if all members of society enjoy full access and can avail themselves of the resources and services that exist to give effect to, or safeguard, their legal rights. These resources and services include all courts, court offices and other gateway services, such as the police and social services.
Following, the launch, Part II of the Gender Sensitive Adjudication Training for Judicial Officers will be held for Magistrates from December 11-12, 2018 and for Judges from December 13-14, 2018.
