Making the New Opportunity Corps (NOC) a last resort for children in contact with the law is one of the areas that found consensus yesterday during a meeting between United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Regional Director for Latin America and the Caribbean Bernt Aasen and three government ministers.
According to a press release from UNICEF, Aasen engaged Education Minister Dr Rupert Roopnaraine, Public Security Minister Khemraj Ramjattan and Indigenous People’s Affairs Minister Sydney Allicock on issues affecting children in Guyana, with special emphasis on violence. Also present at the meeting were UNICEF Representative for Guyana and Suriname Marianne Flach and technical officers from UNICEF and the respective ministries.
Welcoming the partnership with UNICEF, particularly on strengthening the institutional and individual capacity of the police to operationalise the Sexual Offences Act, Ramjattan pointed to the manifestations and deep interdependent nature of child rights and
