A group of Non Governmen-tal Organisations (NGOs) has called for timely access to justice for all women and girls who suffer sexual discrimination, abuse and exploitation and for women and girls in hinterland locations to have access to courts at least once per month complemented with indigenous language interpreters.
This call was among 26 recommendations made by the NGOs to the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the organisations included Partners for Peace and Development, Guyana Asso-ciation of Professional Social Workers, Women Across Differences and the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). The groups lobbied the committee members to include the 26 recommendations in their outcome document for Guyana.
On Friday, members of Team Guyana, which reported to the CEDAW in New York on the country’s progress, said they were unhappy at the manner in which questions were posed by committee members and their reliance on “alternative sources.” They also said the country will shortly lodge an official complaint. Although states are to submit their national periodic report, UN treaty bodies like CEDAW also invite submissions from NGOs, in what is known as “shadow reporting,” to evaluate the state’s efforts to meet the obligations of a human rights treaty.
Following Guyana’s report, CEDAW, which monitors the compliance of states with the United Nations’ Con-vention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women, acknowledged progress made on some issues, but expressed concern about women’s limited access to justice in Guyana, reported widespread discrimination against homosexuals and bisexuals, and whether the root causes of trafficking in women were being addressed.
In their recommendations, the NGOs called for decentralisation of the system of Legal Aid clinics to all regions and for clinics to be developed so as to meet the demands of citizens, including increased human resources and transfer of specific skills to deal with matters concerning women and girls. They would also like to see the courts adequately equipped to facilitate the full implementation of the Evidence (Amendment) Act. The amendment of the Criminal Procedure (Amendment) Act 17/2008 to permit paper committals for all serious crimes and increase the appointment of judges to hear such matters was also recommended.
The NGOs also urged that all human rights commissions be established and for the state to ensure that they are operational and adequately resourced to carry out their mandates. A call was made for the reinstating of an Ombudsperson, with requisite locus standi to take up women’s human rights issues to support women’s access to justice and enforcement for women’s human rights in the public sector. Further, they called for the state to also allocate adequate human and financial resources to ensure efficiency and effectiveness.
Other recommendations included: improving the quality of maternal health care and ensuring the availability of specialist medical staff in rural and hinterland communities with more frequency than currently obtains; providing medical termination of pregnancy services at all public hospitals and also ensuring access to this service by hinterland women via training and equipping midwives in rural health centres; ensuring adequate support services for women survivors of gender-based violence including women and girls who are trafficked in all geographical regions. Also it was noted that the state is obligated to provide sufficient shelters and safe houses in all geographical areas complemented by highly-trained social workers, medical professionals and counsellors to be able to deal with cases involving all forms of violence and discrimination.
The NGOs also recommended that all new building plans submitted to the municipal councils and other agencies for approval include adequate facilities for access to persons with disabilities and for appropriate public day transport to be provided to disabled persons to facilitate access to schools, hospitals, markets and places of religious worship. They further recommended that Gay, Lesbian, Bi-Sexual and Transgender discrimination issues in laws, employment and public services be addressed. They also urged that the state ensure that there is widespread training and dissemination of the CEDAW convention to the judiciary, law enforcement officials and to the general public.
