THE Ministry of Home of Affairs has noted a recent decision by the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada to uphold the refusal on appeal, by a former member of the Guyana Defence Force, to be recognised as a refugee under the 1951 United Nations Convention Relating to the Status of Refugees, or as a person in need of protection.

A press statement Thursday said that the basis of the former coastguardsman’s application that the Government of Guyana had failed to provide adequate protection to him was not accepted by the Immigration and Refugee Board, as the Board found that the applicant had not taken adequate steps to employ the resources of the Coastguard of Guyana or the Guyana Police Force.
The document added that the applicant alleged that while working as a repair technician on a Coastguard vessel on 19th September, 2008, that vessel intercepted another vessel which was found with large amounts of cocaine. As a result of this bust, the applicant averred that he was harassed and threatened by persons who were responsible for the shipping of the cocaine.
It stated that it was because of the diligent efforts of the Coastguard that such a large haul of cocaine was confiscated and the persons responsible arrested by the Guyana Police Force.
This correctly implies, as the Refugee Board of Canada did, that the law enforcement authorities of Guyana are an efficient arm of the Government and are not impaired from carrying out their assigned tasks. Therefore, they would have been capable of offering any necessary protection in this matter, should such a need have arisen.
The statement added that it was clearly noted that the former coastguardsman did not provide any substantial evidence to show that the Government of Guyana had failed in its duties, since his actions were premature and he did not allow the established institutions and mechanisms any chance to prove themselves.
It stated that the failure to actively engage the Coastguard and the Guyana Police Force is patently obvious, since the former coastguardsman was remiss in following up with the relevant law enforcement authorities in order to seek a resolution in this matter, thus preventing a thorough investigation as desired. While the capabilities of law enforcement authorities are not ideal, the Government of Guyana continues to make strides in this arena in order to effectively combat crime and to protect its citizens from the scourge of crime, thus supporting the conclusion of the Immigration and Refugee Board that “Guyana is in effective control of its territory and has in place a functioning security force to uphold the laws and constitution of the country.”