Paolo Carozza, chairman of the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR), on Tuesday warned that countries which impose the death penalty might be subjected to international scrutiny.

Carozza is leading a delegation of IACHR members who are on a four-day visit to Jamaica that ends today.

"We advise that those countries that have abolished the death penalty, 'do not reinstitute it'," he said.

The chairman was speaking at a public forum hosted by human rights lobby Jamaicans For Justice, in collaboration with the Ministry of Justice, at Knutsford Court Hotel in St Andrew.

The death penalty is not a mandate of the commission, but Carozza said it was inconsistent with the conventions of the organisation.

The commission's mandate is to promote the observance of human rights in the region in accordance with the parameters established in the American Convention on Human Rights, which Jamaica ratified in 1978.

Last Tuesday, Jamaica's House of Representatives voted to retain the death penalty.

Committed to reform

Dorothy Lightbourne, attorney general and justice minister, defended the Government's commitment to reform, promising to increase the number of judges in the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal and implement real-time transcription of cases.

IACHR is conducting its first on-site visit to an English-speaking Caribbean country since 1994. During its visit, the delegation assessed Jamaica's human rights landscape, paying special attention to citizen security and the conduct of the security forces.