-House briefed on UPR working group session
(GINA):  MINISTER of Foreign Affairs, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, on Thursday last, laid the Compendium of Documents on Guyana before the First Universal Periodic Review of the United Nations Human Rights Council, 8th session on May 11, and the UNHRC 15th session, September 23, in the National Assembly.
During a statement on the report to the House, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett noted that it contains the national report, the statement which she presented during the 8th session of the Working Group on the UPR, the report of the Working Group, the opening remarks to the Human Rights Council which were presented by Advisor to the President, Gail Teixeira on September 23, and the Report of the Human Rights Council on its 15th session.
The Universal Periodic Report (UPR) is conducted every four years and this year’s was Guyana’s turn.
She noted that, “ever since Guyana submitted its report to the United Nations Commissioner on Human Rights, there has been widespread media coverage albeit on selected aspects of the process and the recommendations that emanated from the process.
However, it is necessary that for a process as important as this one that a formal statement be made to this august body.”

“I wish to indicate that from the onset that the Government of Guyana is guided by its unequivocal national commitment to promoting and protecting the inalienable principles of human rights and as such has taken the Universal Periodic Review Process very seriously,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett stated.

“This was demonstrated not only by the level of attendance during the 8th session of the UPR working group and the 15th session of the Human Rights Council but moreso by our immediate acceptance of 57 of the 112 recommendations which were made by member states during the working group session.
Indeed many of these recommendations were already being implemented at the time they were made,” she said.

She posited that by September 23, when the report of the Working Group was adopted and where Ms. Teixeira represented Guyana, an additional 15 recommendations were accepted and a commitment was made to consider several others. These would be subjected to consultations. Hence, Guyana accepted 75 of the 112 recommendations.
Government was able to report to Human Rights Council in September on the actions taken in response to several recommendations that were made during the May session, amongst which are: Guyana’s accession to the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child on the sale of children, child prostitution and child pornography (this was done on July 30, 2010); and accession to the optional protocol to the Convention on the Rights of the Child for children in armed conflict (this was done in August 2010).

Guyana also reported on the ratification of the United Nations Convention on the protection of the rights of all migrant workers and members of their families that was done in July 2010.
Amendments were tabled by Government to the Training School Act and the Juvenile offenders Act to remove the use of corporal punishment in Juvenile detention centres. This house has now considered those two amendments, Minister Rodrigues-Birkett stated.  

She stated that the public assent in May 2010 of the Sexual Offences Bill, which was passed in the Assembly in April 2009, represents a general condemnation by the Government and people of Guyana of sexual violence in all its forms.

“The Government of Guyana is cognizant of the fact that these measures which were all included in recommendations from member states, speak volumes for what our country stands for. However, they can only be totally successful if they are enforced and observed. This, we must all as a nation commit to do,” she said.

Contained in the list of recommendations are 26 issues that are the subject for consideration once consultations are done.
According to Minister Rodrigues, these  are: abolishing or establishing a moratorium on the death penalty; decriminalizing sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex by protecting lesbians, gays, bisexuals and transsexual persons (commonly known as LGBT) from discrimination; and abolishing corporal punishment.

“These are issues that go to the core of the Guyanese people’s traditions, beliefs and realities…,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett stated.
She further noted that, “this House is not bereft of such experiences at least on one of these issues. The Government of Guyana has nevertheless made a commitment to have consultations on these matters and report to the council within another two years.”

Minister Rodrigues-Birkett stated that, “the UPR process is not flawless. In fact, I will consider it ‘a work in progress’. However, it provides a useful opportunity for countries to not only report on their successes and challenges but to share experiences with each other and, to some extent, recognise the peculiarity and context of our various societies.”

It was noted that Guyana was commended for several steps made in several areas critical to socioeconomic and political development, including indigenous people’s rights, poverty reduction, agriculture and food security, the establishment of the rights commissions and the Low Carbon Development Strategy, among others.

“We live in a turmoil filled world as it is evident in those suffering from the effects of the global financial and economic crisis, the impacts of climate change, food shortages and less on good governance to name a few areas,” she stated.

Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said while participating in the UPR process with several other countries and actually going through one by one, both the challenges and achievements of Guyana, and hearing other member states outlining some of the initiatives Guyana has taken and commending the country for it, she could not help but feel a sense of national pride.