Civil society representatives are organising a public meeting scheduled for next month to discuss the workings of the proposed Constitutional Commissions.
The Forum of Effectiveness and Solidarity (FES), which recently organised a familiarisation exercise on the proposed commissions for several civil society representatives from across the country, said in a press release yesterday that major areas of concern would be addressed at the forum planned for May 10.
Among the areas to be discussed at the public meeting are the manner in which the new commissions would relate to existing national mechanisms in each of the sectors; how each affected sector will make the best use of the new commissions within the sector and how to ensure equality of treatment in those sectors.
According to the FES, the meeting reviewed the manner in which the commissions are intended to function and a consensus was taken to write the major political parties in the stakeholder process to request an update on progress in implementation of the agreed agenda.
The group which met at the Guyana Human Rights Centre noted that 50 of the 90 days that were assigned for approving and activating the seven commissions have since elapsed, adding that at present the Appointive Committee of Parliament is considering practical issues which have to be resolved before its proposals go to the National Assembly for approval.
The FES release stated that the meetings held with civil society representatives have been beneficial in terms of information being provided to a broad range of organizations. It added that representatives were present from Regions One, Two, Three, Four, Seven, Nine and Ten.
Some of the FES sponsoring organisations include the Amerindian Peoples Association (APA); the African Cultural Development Association (ACDA); Guyana Council of Churches (GCC) and the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA).
