–more than a dozen training opportunities scheduled for this year, says US Embassy

OFFICERS of the Guyana Police Force and the Guyana Prison Service are now equipped with more knowledge on human rights issues, following a recent training session organised by the US State Department’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights and Labour.

The session focused on the Department of State’s Leahy Law, which prohibits state assistance to foreign security forces if there is credible information that a security force unit has committed a gross violation of human rights (GVHR), to include extrajudicial killings, torture, forced disappearance, or rape under the color of law.

The training reviewed definitions of GVHR types, the consequences of committing GVHRs, and the pathways to remediating units whose members have committed these actions, so they may once again receive assistance.

Through the United States’ Caribbean Basin Security Initiative (CBSI), the US Embassy has facilitated the training of 889 police officers in various law enforcement areas, including major case management, forensic video analysis, narcotics investigations, and intelligence gathering, and is poised to facilitate more than a dozen training opportunities in 2022.

This most recent training is an example of the US government’s commitment to working with Guyanese security forces in promoting respect and protection of human rights in policing.