By Miranda La Rose
Yesterday’s deadline for agreement among the parliamentary political parties on the human rights commissions was not met but MPs are reporting major progress on some though differences remain on others.
The parliamentary parties have unanimously agreed to the composition of the Rights of the Child Commission, and have agreed in principle to the composition of the Women and Gender Commission but they are still to reach agreement on a few issues on the Indigenous People’s Commission (IPC).
Meanwhile, the representatives of the parties on the Committee of Appointments, which had reached a stalemate on the re-constitution of the Ethnic Relations Commission (ERC), have once again placed the issue of that commission back on its agenda.
Contacted on the state of affairs regarding the establishment of the rights commissions in keeping with a commitment to national stakeholders on crime and security in the wake of the massacres at Lusignan and Bartica earlier this year, PNCR-1G representative on the appointive committee, Deborah Backer said the PNCR was confident that agreement would be reached on the controversial issues that have been holding back consensus on the IPC and the ERC.
The six commissions comprise the five rights commissions, four of which fall under the purview of the Committee of Appointments, while the Procurement Commission is being dealt with by the Public Accounts Committee (PAC).
Stabroek News was unable to contact the Chairperson of the Committee of Appointments, Gail Teixeira over the past few days but in an earlier interview she had told this newspaper that even though the committee would not be able to meet the 90-day deadline given to the stakeholders on March 12, the committee would have made significant progress in laying the groundwork for their establishment. She felt that some of the bodies would be established shortly after the deadline.
This view was also held by Backer and AFC MP Sheila Holder who noted that the committee has been meeting weekly since the March session with the stakeholders.
The motion to have the Rights of the Child Commission has already been presented to the Parliament Office in the form of a motion and another report and motion are being prepared for presentation on the Women and Gender Commission.
Backer said that the committee was still to reach agreement on “one or two issues” in relation to the IPC but she would not disclose what the issues were. However, she said the PNCR-1G was confident that agreement would be reached.
Noting that the issue of the reconstitution of the ERC has been placed back on the agenda of the appointive committee in a bid to have the issues resolved so that there could be a properly constituted committee, Backer said that, “We, the PNCR-1G, are prepared to compromise but we would not compromise certain principles.”
Compromises
Asked whether the party was prepared to make compromises on having the Inter-Religious Organisation (IRO) which is headed by Bishop Juan Edghill on the list of organisations to be consulted, Backer said, “I can see some movement.”
Edghill, who served as Chairman of the ERC before his term expired in August 2007 and whose candidacy for the chairmanship was not fully supported by the PNCR, had his term and those of the other commissioners extended by President Bharrat Jagdeo on the urgings of parliament when the term of the commissioners came to an end last year. This move was deemed unconstitutional.
Backer said that “Once the matters of the three commissions are concluded that would leave us with more time to deal with the ERC. I am confident the issues on this matter would be resolved.”
A meeting of the appointive committee was scheduled for yesterday.
AFC MP Holder was confident about the Rights of the Child and the Women and Gender Commissions being established soon after parliament would have passed the motions bringing them into being.
Though the committee has agreed in principle to the list of women’s organizations that should be consulted on the Women and Gender Commission, Holder said that she disagreed with the proposal that the women’s arm of the PNCR and the PPP/C should be guaranteed places on the commission because of their years of existence.
Women’s organisations
Stating that there were other women’s organisations in existence before the two political parties such as the Young Women’s Christian Association, she said that their places should be based on merit and not related to any effort to maintain their influence.
On the IPC, she said that forward movement in this regard depends on the PNCR-1G agreeing to certain issues which Backer had referred to earlier but did not elaborate on. Stabroek News understands that the issues have to do with the number of indigenous organizations that should be consulted as well as limiting the number of members on the commission to the minimum and not appointing the maximum number.
