Ten Guyanese recently completed training in Geneva, Switzerland on strengthening the implementation of recommendations made to Guyana by UN human rights bodies and a plan of action has been drawn up.
The 10 who participated in the November 12-16 workshop are all members of the recently formed Guyana Partnership for Human Rights (GPHR) which has as its main focus ensuring that Guyana enhances compliance with the recommendations by the UN committees and reporting to the bodies.
The GPHR had been set up in September following a workshop in July in George-town entitled `Strengthening the Implementation of Human Rights Treaty Recommenda-tions through the Enhance-ment of the National Protec-tion Mechanisms’ which had been convened under the auspices of the United Nations Resident Co-ordinator and the Guyana Government. This workshop was attended by the media, non-governmental organizations and the one national human rights institution which has so far been set up: the Ethnic Relations Commission. The Geneva meeting was organized by the office of the UNITED NATIONS HIGH COMMISSIONER FOR HUMAN RIGHTS and was the second of three workshops. The third one is to be held in Georgetown next year.
The plan of action includes registering the partnership and exploring funding options for the establishment of a secretariat. The plan will also see the partnership enquiring from the government about progress being made on its implementation of recommendations and reporting in relation to the Convention on the Elimination of Discrimi-nation against Women, the Convention Against Torture and the Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discri-mination among others.
The partnership will also publicize the recommendations of the UN conventions and general information about the UN treaty system and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights whose 60th anniversary is being celebrated across the world today and for the next year.
Parliamentary parties will also be written to by the Partnership to apprise them of its work and in relation to human rights legislation. An end of year report will also be produced by the Partnership on its activities.
At the Geneva workshop the 10 members presented a country report which identified the main human rights challenges facing Guyana. The report pointed to de jure and de facto discrimination against indigenous people, largely uncontrolled logging and mining on traditional lands, high levels of poverty and mercury and other pollution of water sources.
Law enforcement abuses were also cited. It was noted that the police have been accused of excessive violence against suspects with several dying in police custody under unclear circumstances and that police have been accused of unnecessary lethal force against suspects.
The presentation also noted that the police and army have been accused of torturing suspects. It referred to the recent case where two detainees alleged that they were tortured along the highway while they were in police custody.
The operation of death squads was also listed as a major concern along with an ineffective response by the police to domestic violence complaints. The high incidence of sexual abuse of minors was also cited.
The withdrawal of advertisements by the state from Stabroek News was also advanced as an abuse of press freedom along with the refusal to liberalize the radio spectrum and the absence of freedom of information legislation.
On the labour front, the government was accused of interfering with the collective bargaining process by arbitrarily awarding end of year increases among other transgressions.
The ten who participated in the Geneva training programme were Stanley Cooke of the African Cultural and Development Association, Rodney Davis of the North Rupununi District Development Board, David James of the Amerindian Peoples Association, Andrew Garnett of the Guyana Trades Union Congress, Martin Goolsarran of the National Communication Network, Margaret Kertzious of Help and Shelter, Christine King of the Ethnic Relations Commission, Ronald McGarrell of the Inter-Religious Organization, Anand Persaud of Stabroek News and Gem Sanford-Johnson of the Guyana Bar Association.
