The parliamentary committee that will spearhead consultations on abolishing the death penalty and corporal punishment, as well as decriminalising consensual same sex relations and ending discrimination against Lesbians, Gays, Bi-Sexual and Trans-gender (LGBT) persons is yet to meet but will do so soon.
Chairperson of the Special Select Committee on Guyana’s Commitment to the United Nation’s Human Rights Council, Minister of Human Services and Social Security Jennifer Webster told Stabroek News that the committee was scheduled to meet on January 25, but there was a sitting of the National Assembly on that day and some members were out of the country as well so the meeting was postponed. She said a meeting of the committee will take place by mid-February.
The minister said that there is no timeline yet as to when the committee will wrap up its work, since the committee still has to meet to decide its modus operandi. “We have to meet first, agree on a format, then take it back to parliament to get concurrence,” she explained. She noted that there are established protocols in doing the work of a special select committee such as inviting public input.
Last November, Webster was elected chairperson of the committee which will spearhead national consultations on proposals by the United Nations Human Rights Council for the country to abolish the death penalty, corporal punishment and decriminalise consensual same sex relations and end discrimination against LGBT persons.
