Following is an edited version of an address by Justice Roxanne George at the 44th Convocation of the University of Guyana delivered on November 20, 2010
As graduands of the University of Guyana, you have had the opportunity of studying your chosen fields in the context of Guyana in a globalized world. You have been equipped with a substantial amount of knowledge, though you should see your graduation as a key to opening many other doors to learning and further education. You most likely have been equipped with insights into the issues that need to be addressed to solve the peculiar challenges that face developing countries such as Guyana. But while you have been so equipped, as stated in the Preamble to our Constitution, you must function in a society that upholds democratic values, social justice, fundamental human rights and the rule of law. And it is in this context that I would like to focus on the theme of leadership and legacy.
As citizens of this nation, who have had the privilege and opportunity to obtain tertiary education, it is important that you utilize your powers of analysis and critical thinking, and the skills and learning you have acquired here at UG to promote not only your respective fields of expertise and training, but to ensure that in our society there is respect for human rights.
What do I mean when I refer to human rights? Without getting into a philosophical exposition on human rights, human rights are essentially the bundle of civil and political, social, economic and cultural, and collective or group rights which we as human beings enjoy. Human rights norms were more clearly articulated and formulated from the mid-20th century and in this 21st century, it’s now time to ensure that there is greater implementation and application of human rights norms.
Apart from general human rights and freedoms such as freedom from discrimination, freedom of beliefs, expression and association, freedom from cruel and inhuman punishment, and the right to liberty and protection of the law, our Constitution also speaks specifically to the rights of women, children and indigenous people. Our Constitution includes provisions that speak to the right to education, health, a healthy environment and secure livelihoods which are all essential to our development individually and as a nation.
There is also an equality provision as a fundamental right which requires vigilance to ensure that it is upheld – This equality provision provides that “the State shall not deny to any person equality before the law or equal protection and benefit of the law. The State shall, for the purpose of promoting equality, take legislative and other measures designed to protect disadvantaged persons and persons with disabilities. Equality includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms guaranteed by or under this Constitution or any other law.”
The Constitution is the foundation or bedrock of our society and defines how it is to function. It is a document in relation to which I feel we only pay lip service, when as the supreme law of the land it provides the foundation for the governance of our country. It’s not just a legal document, but a living document that we should all appreciate and understand.
But what does all this have to do with our daily lives? While Guyana as a State has international due diligence obligations to uphold the human rights conventions and to respect, protect and fulfill our human rights, or face possible sanction, we, as individuals, have a responsibility to respect and uphold each other’s human rights and by extension uphold the values embodied in the fundamental rights provisions and the seven international human rights conventions. Human rights issues are people issues which should shape and mould our values, who we are as a people, where we want to go and how we will get there.
Human rights issues can no longer be viewed as referring to purely legal matters, the business of the law graduands or the supposed figments of overzealous lawyers who want to protect the rights of accused, though I should mention that human rights apply equally to the rights of victims of criminal offences. Human rights issues are developmental issues that underpin our very existence. So graduands of education, the humanities, and social sciences you should appreciate that your interventions and planning must necessarily involve the application of human rights norms so as to ensure that our human rights concerns are researched, recorded, taught and told.
And in the case of the occupational health and safety, health sciences, natural sciences, technology, agriculture and forestry, and earth and environmental studies graduands, you cannot say that human rights issues are not applicable to your areas of expertise especially as developments in your fields of study assist us to lead more decent and healthier lives, have resulted in the application of technologies to increase our access to resources, and ensure the very survival of our increasingly fragile planet. There are a number of international and regional projects which, through the innovative use of science and technology and entrepreneurship, have a positive effect on the livelihoods of large numbers of people. These projects highlight human rights at work. In Guyana, there are a number of similar projects but I feel that there needs to be a greater understanding of how these projects are linked to the human rights of persons and their lives.
Importantly, we must each respect ourselves and our right to have our individual human rights upheld by the State and by each other so that we each take greater responsibility for fostering a more conscious, just and responsible society where more persons increasingly think of the consequences that their words, actions and omissions have on our right to life and on our livelihoods. We must remember that the violation of the rights of one can result in the violation of the rights of all.
Apart from understanding human rights norms and the fact that we live through them everyday of our lives, what we need in Guyana is leadership in the promotion of human rights in all spheres of human endeavour and activity. By leadership I mean the responsibility to respect, protect and ensure the protection of human rights and for ensuring that Guyana upholds her human rights obligations. Guyana can be held responsible for breaches of human rights by both State and non-State actors.
In this context, there can be little room for the public/private dichotomy whereby governmental action is scrutinized for evidence of breaches while breaches in private life are not subject to the same scrutiny or are treated as invasions of privacy. Thus, we cannot only scrutinize and criticize violence in the public sphere e.g. where there are violations by some members of our law enforcement agencies, but we must also abhor, speak out and act against violence in the private sphere such as societal, domestic and sexual violence for which Guyana can also be held accountable. Human rights norms can be used as a guide in shaping our responses on important issues such as women’s rights, children’s rights, the right to life, the right to freedom of expression and association, the right to be free from all forms of violence, the right to education and a healthy lifestyle, the right to live in a sustainable environment – in sum our rights to be productive, law abiding citizens who can strive for the best for ourselves, our families, our country and our world.
We need leadership and responsibility to get us through our many challenges in developing Guyana. And in providing such leadership, it is important that you be humble and respect others as you would have them respect you. Listen to the voices of those around you; listen to the concerns of your communities. Leadership also requires the values of honesty, integrity, openness, objectivity and transparency. Leadership requires that you not be timid or disinterested. Paraphrasing what J.K. Rowling of Harry Potter fame said in the commencement speech she gave at Harvard University in 2008, I exhort you not to be one of “many [who] prefer not to exercise their imaginations at all; [who] choose to remain comfortably within the bounds of their own experience, never troubling to wonder how it would feel to have been born other than they are; [who] can refuse to hear screams or to peer inside cages; [who] can close their minds and hearts to any suffering that does not touch them personally; [who] can refuse to know.”
It cannot be that you would be satisfied with being on the fringe, looking on, hoping that either the government will step up to the plate or that next person will do so; nor can you be afraid to speak out, for such fear can only breed a society that is apathetic and mediocre. In whatever you do, participate meaningfully. Our Constitution enshrines this, providing for a right to participate in decision-making and for the need for meaningful consultation in decision-making.
Leadership requires you to think creatively and pragmatically in an environment which can often be challenging, where you must craft appropriate and innovative responses to meet those challenges. Some are born leaders, but most are not. But at the end of the day, more of us have to take up the mantle of learning to lead, being proactive rather than reactive.
Let this your graduation be a beginning of your commitment to fashioning a society that fosters greater respect for each other as human beings. In this sense we are all social workers who must seek to ensure, as the Preamble states, that we are a nation based on democratic values, social justice, fundamental human rights and the rule of law. Therefore, empower yourselves to be proactive in securing and safeguarding our human rights.
And in the execution of your mandate as leaders, your leadership and stewardship must be such that you are ever conscious of your legacy as you progress – not necessarily for great books to be written about you in the annals of history but that your contribution would have been truly meaningful to those whose lives you would have touched whether directly or indirectly.
When you would have completed your years of service to humanity in your respective fields and communities, and here I use communities in a wide sense, would others be able to say of you: ‘Yes, this is a person who provided leadership, who led by example, who made a valuable contribution to society and who has left a lasting legacy for others to follow.’ These are the ideals that must be ever present in your conscious and subconscious as you establish yourselves in your careers.
Graduating class of 2010, you have the opportunity to open many doors to success and excellence; you have the opportunity to provide the leadership that is so vital to the growth of Guyana as a nation; you have the wherewithal to respect and ensure that there is respect for our human rights in all spheres of our lives. You have the tools, the foundation to leave a rich legacy for others to emulate. Be leaders, be change agents, leave a rich legacy.
Congratulations again and best wishes for success in your future endeavours.
Thank you.
