Senators support inclusion of young people in Upper Chamber

In his maiden contribution in the Senate, Senator Andwele Boyce urged his colleagues that inclusion and representation of various groups will matter to ensure true democracy.

Boyce made the point on Friday as he joined the debate on the amendment to the Constitution to lower the age requirement for the Senate, which he said should be seen as a way to get more youth involved in the decision-making process.

“We wring our hands often in this country about how to get the nation’s young people to participate in democracy. The amendments before the House this afternoon represent one necessary way that we can do just that . . . We cannot achieve active citizenship if a swathe of the nation’s population is required by law to sit on the sidelines,” said Boyce.

“It is my hope that as youth become active players in the contact sport of democracy that ours and even their voices be heard more and that ours and perhaps their issues be grappled with throughout the political term,” he said.

In addition to lowering the age requirement, the Constitution Amendment Bill 2022 will make way for the appointment of opposition senators in the absence of a formal Opposition party in Parliament.

Boyce suggested that inclusion must mean “equitable and dignified” consideration of children and youth as “citizens with agency”, adding that it was about time some things considered unpopular be confronted by lawmakers.

“We need to confront what may be unpopular or controversial elements in our public discourse – the anomalies of our legal system that deprive 16 to 18-year-olds access to necessary advice, information and health services; the failings of an institution meant to protect our girls; and in this moment it is not lost on me that I, a Senator with a disability and locs for no particular religious purpose, get the opportunity to express myself freely and to engage in the expression of autonomy most fully in ways that children across this country do not.

“Those are the conversations we must have, and they will require that we order ourselves differently, that we aspire to more,” said the young senator.

Boyce, who has a mobile disability, said when the time comes for constitutional reform he hoped to see “an expansive bill of rights that includes explicit disability protections, that includes explicit gender protections and attention to positive duties of the state”.

He brushed aside the suggestion that the process of the current Constitution amendments should involve consultation, arguing that the proposed changes did not constitute a Constitutional reform.

His comments came in response to concerns expressed earlier by Senator Kevin Boyce, that some believe consultation was needed before the introduction of the Constitution (Amendment) Bill 2022.

He said while the amendment was “a great intent” and there was no denying the need for “opposition voices”, he questioned why national consultation was not embraced. He indicated that a previous report on a constitutional review called for the process of “consulting with the opposition parties”.

“Should we not have discourse, should we not have consultations and get persons who may not be comfortable to have a say, to say that in the circumstances it is a good idea and therefore we should go along?

“Yes, it is a good idea, but the purpose of a Senate is to review and this is not in any way seeking to obstruct the government’s business which is allowed to function and continue. This is simply saying, weigh the different views and come to a consensus where we can come in here and say the commission has ventilated the issues, this is the will, let us go forth,” said Boyce.
marlonmadden@barbadostoday.bb