United Nations Independent Expert on Minority Issues, Gay McDougall is currently in Guyana and will meet with members of government, the opposition and civil society to discuss a number of issues relating to minority groups.

President Bharrat Jagdeo greeting Gay McDougall yesterday at the Office of the President. (Office of the President photo)

McDougall paid a courtesy call on President Bharrat Jagdeo at his New Garden Street office yesterday. Thereafter she met with several government ministers.

In brief comments yesterday as she introduced herself to the government ministers, McDougall said that as part of her mandate, she examines relationships between the different groups in countries around the world.  She stated too that she also looked into questions of physical integrity, violence against a specific group because of incited feelings and the issue of discrimination against one or more groups. Institutional racism is also another area to which her mandate extends.

During her visit here, McDougall also envisages examining cultural assimilation and political participation  across  all groups and the involvement of minority groups in decision making particularly in those issues which directly affected them.

According to the Govern-ment Information Agency, following McDougall’s visit a report will be compiled and submitted to the United Nations Human Rights Council in March 2009 in Geneva.

McDougall is an internationally known expert on human rights, having spent decades fighting for various causes in the U.S. and around the world. She supervises the Global Rights staff of the UN  in the development and implementation of country and thematic programmes and initiatives in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and the Americas. She also served as an independent expert on the UN treaty body that oversees the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (CERD).