PPP Parliamentarian Indranie Chandarpal has been elected as chairperson of the Woman and Gender Equality Commission with PNCR Parliamentarian Cheryl Sampson to serve as her deputy.
And Aleema Nasir has been elected to chair the Rights of the Child Commission with Rosemary Benjamin-Noble as her deputy. This was revealed by Speaker of the National Assembly Ralph Ramkarran yesterday. He noted that the commissions have been long in coming and wished them well on their endeavours.
The Rights of the Child Commission is one of four rights commissions recommended during the constitutional reform process to strengthen social justice and the rule of law. The other commissions are the Woman and Gender Equality Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the Indigenous Peoples Commission.
Among the functions of the commission are to: ensure the rights and interests of children are taken into account at all levels of government, other public bodies and private organisations; ensure that children have effective means of redress if their rights are being breached; monitor and make recommendations on policies, procedures and practices of organisations, bodies and institutions to promote the rights of the child. The members of this Commission are Kaloutie Nauth, Yvonne Fox, Sarojanie Rambarran, Nasir, Colleen Anthony, Marissa Massiah, Michelle Kalamadeen, Suelle Findlay-Williams, Sandra Hooper, Benjamin-Noble, Hyacinth Massay, Banmattie Ram, Kwame McCoy and Shirley Ferguson. Vidyaratha Kissoon resigned from the commission yesterday. (See other story on this page)
Meantime, the members of the Woman and Gender Equality Commission are Vanda Radzik, Shalimar Ali-Hack, Magda Pollard, Debra Ann Henry, Nandranie Coonjah, Ernestine Barker Logan, Bebbi Haliema Khan, Karen Van Sluytman-Corbin, Renata Chuck-A-Sang, Gaietra Baron, Gillian Burton, Nicole Cole, Peter Persaud, Chandarpal and Sampson.
