-gov’t says in detailed report to UN Human Rights Committee
-disappointed ‘serious’ allegations were not fact-based or from ‘credible’ sources

THE Government of Guyana has made a bold assertion to the United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC) that there are no existing ethnic divide and ethnic tensions within the country’s borders.

This declaration comes at a time when the country faced claims of ethnic tensions and social disparities during a review of its third periodic report under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) over the past few weeks.

In a detailed submission on corrections to factual errors, and comments to concluding remarks received from ICCPR on Thursday, the government, among other things, categorically rejected the notion of an existing ethnic ‘divide’ and ethnic tensions and emphasised its commitment to fostering unity and inclusivity among all citizens.

In response to the Committee’s concerns, the government provided detailed information on equitable access to government programmes, goods and services, housing, water, skills training such as the Board of Industrial Training (BIT) and the Guyana Online Academy of Learning (GOAL), social protection benefits and services, et cetera.

The government highlighted that the aforementioned information ensures that “no one is left behind”.

In its submission, the country pointed to the creation of the Ethnic Relations Commission, to address ethnic insecurities and to provide another layer of domestic remedy.

According to Guyana’s submissions, the country’s statutes prevent racial hostility and incitement especially by public officials and politicians. Under the Racial Hostility Act, the government reminded that it is an offence to willfully incite hate speech and incitement to racial hostility.
“A person convicted of an offence under the Racial Hostility Act is, among other, disqualified for election as a member of the National Assembly, for membership of any local government authority, and several other offices. Further, Section 139E of the Representation of the People Act, Cap 1:03, enjoins political parties from taking any action which results or can result in racial or ethnic violence or hatred”, said the government, as it reiterated its stance on this matter.

Furthermore, Guyana denied any racial profiling by police unlike in other countries and reports of violence and discrimination against the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex (LGBTQI+) community. With regards to amendments to Article 149 of the Constitution to include “sexual orientation/sexual identity”, the government assured the Committee that this would be subject to review during the 2024 constitutional review process.

According to the government, the Committee’s advice to “bring in” domestic anti-discrimination legislation is “redundant and unnecessary” because the Constitution forbids discrimination.

“The State party repeatedly stated that the Constitution of Guyana is the supreme law and every person is entitled to the human rights enshrined. Any individual who alleges that their human rights have been violated can go to the Constitutional court to seek redress.

It also made specific reference to article 149 anti- discrimination clause which was applicable to all areas of society and that discrimination was prohibited on the grounds stated in the constitution.”

The government also refuted allegations of “failure by the police to investigate…murders etc,” stating that all murders in Guyana, regardless of the victim’s gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression, have been or are currently being investigated.

PROPAGANDA

While addressing questions pitched to Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira at the PPP’s press conference last week, particularly by UN Human Rights Committee Member, Laurence Helfer, Guyana’s Vice President Dr Bharrat Jagdeo said that his utterances mirror the APNU Opposition’s “propaganda.”

“This is all APNU propaganda. Every bit of it is APNU propaganda.” Additionally, Jagdeo, who also serves as the PPP’s General Secretary, said that the report submitted by the government to the UN Human Rights Committee was up to 2021.

Additionally, while pointing out how transparent the government is, Dr Jagdeo said that Guyana is among the few countries that permit individual complaints to the Committee, unlike the United Kingdom (UK) and United States of America (USA).

“So, the members can raise anything and we have to respond to what they raise, every issue that has been raised by particularly Laurence Helfer every one of those issues…These issues were addressed publicly,” he explained.

Minister Teixeira, while appearing before the Committee, had responded to questions around the fabricated allegations of corruption against the Vice President by Vice News.

Similar allegations were also leveled against the Police Force and the Judiciary.

The minister dismantled claims of corruption in her response to questions posed by Helfer. Regarding the Vice News allegations, Teixeira immediately clarified that the matter did not even merit a police report, as the claims did not meet the basic threshold for pursuing such recourse.

“There was no follow up because there were no police, there was no report made by Vice News or anybody else. And so, the police cannot investigate without some form of report or complaint. However, the Vice President has answered this issue several times publicly in the same media that carried the report,” she said.

As it relates to anti-corruption measures, the minister stated that a Public Procurement Commission (PPC) has been appointed and is functioning. She pointed out that robust systems for accountability and transparency are working perfectly in Guyana.
However, in an effort to set the record straight, the PPP General Secretary disclosed that the government will be submitting its response in writing. He said: “Every one of these issues we will address in writing and we will ask them to publish our responses.”

DISAPPOINTED

Moreover, the government in its report, said it was disappointed that serious allegations have been leveled by some Committee members against the country, in particular, the naming of officials of the government that “were not based on fact nor from credible sources…”

Furthermore, it noted that broad statements were made which “were not based on fact, or from credible sources… However, when concerns about the credibility of these allegations were raised by the State party, members of the committee stated that their sources were credible…”

“Therefore, the State party wishes to reiterate, as was said during the process of review, that merely assuming a source to be credible does not guarantee that the information being provided is verifiable and factual. There are numerous sources of credible and verifiable information which the State party believes appear to have been ignored by the Committee, including Guyana’s many submissions over the last three years in response to UN…” the government added.

With the formal submission of additional information to the Committee, the government expressed: “The State party trusts that this information will be thoroughly analysed and will inform the Committee’s concluding observations to reflect a fair representation of Guyana’s consistent efforts to ensure that the rights enshrined in the International Covenant of Civil and Political Rights are promoted and protected to ensure that no one is left behind.”