The Minister of the Presidency, Public Administrations, Justice and Security of the Government of the Canary Islands, Nieves Lady Barreto, met this Thursday at the Cabildo of Lanzarote with groups of people with intellectual disabilities, associations of the elderly, the island councilors of Social Welfare and the Elderly, Marci Acuña and Nori Machín, respectively, and those responsible for the social area of the municipalities of the island to outline the competences and professional profile of the judicial facilitator figure that the Ministry will put into operation in 2025.
As explained by Minister Barreto, who was accompanied by the Deputy Minister of Justice and Security, Cesáreo Rodríguez, the objective of creating this figure is to provide assistance to people who have more difficulties understanding and being understood in a judicial process. "For some people it is much more difficult to approach a court, carry out any procedure that has to do with a court and understand and be understood in the judicial field. And this is what this decree comes to regulate," he said.
For his part, the island councilor Marci Acuña, valued the will of the Government of the Canary Islands to "make justice more accessible, especially for people with intellectual disabilities and the elderly, aligning with the strategy of this Cabildo to promote a more inclusive island, so we appreciate the visit and commitment of the minister, who has announced the incorporation of the figure of the judicial facilitator in our courts and we also value the valuable contributions of local groups during this meeting."
Regarding the professional profile of future facilitators, Nieves Lady Barreto pointed out that it is one of the most important issues of the meetings she plans to hold on all the islands. "Our objective is to draw on the knowledge of the groups that work with people with intellectual disabilities and the elderly about which professional profiles they consider can best perform this work." The minister also announced that a Canarian registry of expert facilitator personnel will be created, which will also have specific regulated training.
"When the draft regulatory decree is drawn up, we will sit down again with the groups and associations to work with them on the allegations, since, ultimately, they are the ones who can ensure with their contributions that the figure of the facilitators really responds to what they need," informed Nieves Lady Barreto.