-GHRA tells Linden inquiry
The constitution’s guarantee of the right to life of the individual must be unequivocal, according to the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA), which says the number of exceptions that allow for the use of deadly force have contributed to the “unacceptable levels of extra-judicial killings” committed by the police force.
This is according to the Paper Submission made by the GHRA’s Executive Committee to the Commis-sion of Inquiry into the July 18 protestor shootings at Linden, where Ron Somerset, Allan Lewis, and Shemroy Bouyea were killed and other persons were injured.
In addition to inquiring into the circumstances surrounding the July 18 shootings, the commission has also been mandated to make recommendations to assist the Guyana Police Force in “effectively and professionally discharging their responsibilities for the maintenance of law and order” in Linden and other communities without endangering their own safety and that of innocent persons.
In a statement on Thursday, the GHRA said its Executive Committee made the submission on October 15, focusing on “a fundamental constitutional weakness” that has contributed directly to the “unacceptable levels” of unlawful killings at the hands of the Guyana Police Force.
“This weakness referred to the number of exceptions in the form of permissible circumstances when deadly force may be used to justify the taking of life,” it said, while noting that its submission included materials that indicated its sustained but unsuccessful efforts over the past decade to have Article 138 of the constitution suitably amended.
Article 138 of the Constitution provides for the protection of the right to life, as part of the protection of fundamental rights and freedoms of the individual. It, however, sets out exceptions for the use of deadly force reasonably justifiable in the defence of any person from violence or for the defence of property; in order to effect lawful arrest or to prevent the escape of a person lawfully detained; for the purpose of suppressing a riot, insurrection or mutiny; or in order to prevent the commission by that person of a criminal offence. It also allows for the use of such force as a result of a lawful act of war.
As a result, the GHRA said it urged the commissioners, in its submission, to give serious consideration to recommending Article 138 “be re-written in clear and forthright language supporting an unequivocal right to life.
The GHRA noted that it also recommended the entire Minority Report written by Commissioner Maggie Bierne while she was a member of the Disciplined Forces Commission of Inquiry, due to its many insightful recommendations.
Prior to the set up of the Commission of Inquiry, the GHRA had urged that the reformulation of the right to life in Article 138 be among the priority issues in its terms of reference. “Like all of the rights listed in this Section of the Constitution, the right to life falls well-short of the standards embodied in the international human rights Conventions which Guyana has signed and ratified,” the GHRA said in a statement, adding “this formula of giving with one hand and taking away with the other has a direct link with the behaviour of the [Guyana Police Force] in Linden.”
