Dear Editor,
I refer to my previous letter on the abovementioned subject which was published in your newspaper on Sunday August 5, 2012 (‘Guyana has ratified the UN Convention…’) in which I brought to the attention of your readers that, Guyana like other Caricom states, having ratified the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, without making any reservations to the Convention, is under a legal obligation under international law to give legal effect to the Convention at the national level. If necessary, the national law must be amended or altered appropriately in order to give legal effect to the commitment made by the state.
The purpose of this letter is prompted by observations attributed to the Minister of Education by your reporter, Ms Frances Abraham, and published in the Stabroek News of Friday August 10, 2012. The Minister is reported to have stated that it is her desire to ban corporal punishment from schools but that consultations with the public, in particular parents and teachers, reveal opposition to the abolition of corporal punishment from the school system. I should mention for the information of your readers that there were schools in Guyana then exclusively attended by females where discipline was maintained without the application or infliction of corporal punishment.
If the proposed consultations reveal significant support for the retention of corporal punishment in schools under the control and management of the state, and the Government of Guyana decides to give legal effect to that support, the purpose of this letter is to caution, as was done in an earlier letter of mine published in your newspaper, that Guyana may have to denounce or opt out of, the Convention putting in jeopardy the enjoyment of many other rights which the Convention confers on children. Alternatively there will be occasions in the affairs of a nation when the political leaders must pay heed to the sentiments of the people expressed by a significant number of them.
Even if it were possible in this case for a reservation to be made to the Convention at this late stage, it is my opinion that UNESCO, the depositary of the Convention (UNESCO) and other ratifying states may adopt the position that the retention of corporal punishment in schools under the control and management of the state is contrary to the purpose of the Convention and, therefore, should not be accepted and given legal effect.
I venture to express the opinion that there are occasions in conducting the affairs of a nation when political leaders must take the lead in influencing public opinion. In my opinion, this is such an occasion when our political representatives must lead, the Convention having already been signed and ratified without reservations on behalf of Guyana. This would be consistent with the approach recently taken by the National Assembly in repealing the provisions allowing whipping of juveniles in custodial institutions – I refer to the Juvenile Offenders (Amendment) Act, 2010, and the Training Schools (Amendment) Act, 2010, both passed on October 14, 2010.
Yours faithfully,
Brynmor Pollard, SC
