-Delegation to respond to 107 contributions
Head of the Presidential Secretariat (HPS), Dr. Roger Luncheon, at a post-Cabinet press briefing yesterday, disclosed that members of Guyana’s participating delegation in the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) being held in Geneva, Switzerland, will today be responding to a total of 107 questions, statements and recommendations made by other working groups, national and international Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) and accredited bodies.
Guyana’s delegation completed its presentation, which was well received, at the opening session last Tuesday. The team is led by Minister of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, and included Presidential Advisor, Gail Teixeira, and Guyana’s Ambassador to Brussels, Dr. Patrick Gomes.
“The opening statement emphasised Guyana’s process and progress in its compliance with obligations under the human rights conventions and treaties, and the applicable interventions,” the HPS stated.
The UPR created, through the United Nations General Assembly on March 15, 2006, is a unique, state-driven process which involves a review of the human rights records of all 192 UN Member States once every four years.
It operates under the auspices of the Human Rights Council, which provides the opportunity for each State to declare what actions they have taken to improve the human rights situations in their countries and to fulfill their human rights obligations.(GINA)