‘We may, one day, look back at this day and say that, indeed, this was the turning point with respect to how to handle sexual offences in Guyana’ – Dr. Suleiman Braimoh
UNITED Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Country Representative in Guyana, Dr. Suleiman Braimoh, welcoming and committing support to the Sexual Offences Act, declared Monday that “the journey has only just begun.” He was speaking at the ceremony where President Bharrat Jagdeo publicly assented to the historic legislation and the public awareness campaign surrounding it was announced, at the Police Officers’ Mess, Eve Leary, Georgetown.
Noting that it was a unique occasion, the diplomat remarked: “We may, one day, look back at this day and say that, indeed, this was the turning point with respect to how to handle sexual offences in Guyana.”
He said: “I need to recognise the work of the Government, particularly the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the long road that has involved every person here present and many of those who are not present here today, in getting us to where we are today.”
Braimoh observed that the law not only tackles issues of definition of sexual offences but also the very many things or aspects of that situation that are not normally tackled, including issues of prevention, survival from such predatory acts, awareness, education, data collection and analysis.
He said UNICEF is committed and mandated, by the UN General Assembly, to advocate for the rights of women and children.
“As part of that, we intend to live up to our mandate and provide as much support as we can to the efforts of Government, especially with respect to the planned multi-media campaign that is going to be going on from now,” Braimoh assured.
Acknowledging key lessons learnt from the past, he said: “The first thing is that no matter how well intentioned a bill is, no matter how well intentioned an initiative is, the point remains that, unless there is a very robust collaboration between Government, civil society and international development partners for that matter, working in a situation and context of highly nurtured leadership, we will not be here and will not be where we are today.”
He said: “A few weeks ago, just after the passage of the bill, I had the opportunity to make a few comments about how proud I was to be in Guyana at this historic time.”
The envoy reiterated that anything, done or planned by Government, civil society individuals and groups, that, in one way or the other, prevents, tackles and handles sexual offences, is something that UNICEF is bound, by its mandate, to throw its solid weight around.
Congratulating those visionaries in and out of Government, who have made this possible, he cautioned: “It is one thing to pass a law, it is another thing to implement it and it is also a very important thing to implement it very, very fearlessly and without regard to position, race, creed or faith.”

FOCUS

Braimoh pointed out that, more often than not, persons focus on trying to punish the people who perpetrate the acts.
However, he noted: “One of the things this bill gives us the opportunity to do is to move beyond that. It is not only the actors who commit these crimes that need to be dealt with in Courts. The victims need a special type of treatment.”
Braimoh said, as those concerned move forward with the bill, they have to also come together and talk about care systems that address all the issues.
“What that tells us is that this is not something that can be handled from one perspective. This is not an issue just for the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security,” he posited.
Braimoh said he is pleased to see that, over the past few weeks, there has been a more and more robust collaboration between the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security and the Home Affairs Ministry and its various agencies, including the Guyana Police Force (GPF), in trying to chart the way forward, realising that each ministry, working on its own “will not get us to where we plan to go.”
He mentioned the role of the Judiciary and said: “We need to have a robust system to be able to deal with that situation.
“In that regard, I salute the leadership of the Honourable Chancellor in initiatives being put on the ground to ensure that the Magistracy and, indeed, the whole of the Judiciary is in the position to adjudicate matters of this nature in line with Guyana’s laws that are in consonance with the international treaties that the country ratified,” Braimoh said.
He concluded: “We, in UNICEF, welcome this development and we look forward to the opportunity to stand by your side, behind you and with you, as a country, as a society to propel this process forward.
“You can count on us and we, definitely, will ensure that we meet our responsibilities and our mandate.”