JSCE CIVICS LEVEL 4

Citizenship

Who is a citizen? O The word 'citizen' is derived from the Latin 'civis' meaning 'a citizen'.

O A citizen is a person who is a native or a naturalized member of a country and who is entitled to protection from the government of the country. Every person in the world is a citizen of some country. An individual can become a citizen of a country - by birth, Marriage, decent and naturalization. O A naturalized citizen is one who previously was a citizen of another country but whose application for citizenship to a next country was successful. O A citizens has certain rights in his or her country a naturalized citizen enjoys the same rights. These rights however, vary from Country to Country.

Being a good citizen O You show good citizenship when you resist the impulse to throw used paper on the ground, when you stand up for the singing of the National Anthem and show respect for our national symbols.

By every action which you perform that affects others you show citizenship. We speak therefore of good citizenship and poor citizenship, as well as bad and good citizens. Whatever you do to improve your community is an act of good citizenship.

Qualification for Jamaican citizenship

An ordinary citizen of the country is guaranteed certain rights under the Constitution. The Constitution is a set of written rules or regulations of a society which outlines the citizens rights and responsibilities as well as the powers and duties of the government.

The Jamaican Constitution has clauses on how people may become citizens by birth or naturalization.  If a person was born in Jamaica or persons born outside Jamaica of Jamaican parents, he/she have an automatic right to Jamaican citizenship from the day of birth  A person above the age of 21 who marries a Jamaican citizen is entitled to be a Jamaican citizen.

 If a person was a citizen of the United Kingdom and is naturalized or registered in Jamaica he/she is a citizen of Jamaica. A person may be granted naturalization if He/she has lived in Jamaica for a minimum of five (5) years immediately preceding submission of the application.  A person born aboard a registered ship or aircraft or aboard an unregistered ship or aircraft of the government of any country, shall been seen to have been born the place in which the ship or aircraft was registered.

O The Jamaican Parliament confers Jamaican citizenship, or it may deprive a person of his citizenship gained other than by registration. Therefore, parliament has supreme power over granting of citizenship, where citizenship is not automatic by birth.

Persons who are not citizens are considered aliens. An alien is a person who lives in a country but is a citizen of another country. Such persons who are neither Jamaican citizens nor Commonwealth citizens they may find it necessary to move from one country to another E.g. O The Diplomatic corps (USAID, Peace Corps, etc) O Diplomats O Consular Representatives O Armed Force personnel O MissionariesTourists O Students

Rights and responsibilities of a citizen

The citizens rights O One of the greatest rights of a citizen is to share in the government of the country. He can do this directly by becoming a member of the legislature or indirectly by voting in an election thus electing a suitable representative. This is referred as his or her. Democratic right.

What is Democracy? O Democracy is a system in which all the people, or their representatives, make decisions for the good of everyone and work together to achieve these goals.

All citizens are equal before the law, but are liable to punishment in the ordinary courts for breaches of the law. Unless a citizen have been suspected of committing a felony, he may not be arrested without warrant, nor be legally punished except by the decisions of the ordinary Court.

O These rights are not only common to Jamaica, they can be found in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights laid down by the United Nations (UN) in (The United Nations is an international organization joined by several nations in an effort to promote World Peace which come the effect on August 24th 1945)

O These rights and freedoms are protected by the Constitution this is to ensure that Parliament never pass a law which could deny a citizen or any individual his right and freedom as outlined in the Declaration.

O There is, however, a notable exception. Parliament May, in a period of national crisis, Declare a State of Emergency. O The State of Emergency must be clearly stated and parliament should ensure that there is no other alternative in dealing with the crisis but to institute this measure.

There are some occasions when an individual's human rights are violated even though there isn't a state of emergency e.g. O A person killed by the police under questionable circumstances; O Persons are physically abused by the police O Persons are prevented from attending schools or other institutions of their choice Because they belong to a particular religion or sect.

What are some of the human rights violations outlined in the article List 4 problems the writer says are created by these abuses

Protection of Rights

O Sometimes these individuals need help to protect his rights. There are several organizations which do this.

O Amnesty International - this is an international body which is working to ensure observation of the fundamental rights laid down by the UN.

O The Independent Jamaica Council for Human Rights (1998) Limited (formerly known as the Jamaica Council for Human Rights) is the oldest human rights non- governmental organization in the Caribbean. It this was established in 1968 during the interntional year of Human Rights. O One of the main objectives is to provide information about and to promote the observance of human rights in Jamaica. O The council also offers legal assistance in a number of areas, particularly in Criminal Appeals in the Supreme Court.

Duties and responsibilities of citizens

O It is the right of a citizen to claim the privileges and benefits conferred by government. In return, the citizen should perform such duties as his community demands.

Citizens also have other duties. These include: O Protecting the country safeguarding its wealth and its resources and to promote its development O To work according to the capacity in useful employment, or creating for himself opportunities where none seem immediately available. O Respect the rights and freedoms of other persons without regard to race, sex, are Creed and cooperate fully with them in order to achieve l O Nation progress.