-after Canadian Refugee Board nixes ex-coastguard’s appeal
The government is making strides in ensuring the capabilities of law enforcement, the Home Ministry said yesterday, after a recent decision by Canada’s Immigration and Refugee Board to uphold its denial of refugee status to a former member of the Guyana Defence Force (GDF) Coastguard, who said he feared for his life after making a drug bust.
“While the capabilities of law enforcement authorities are not ideal, the Government of Guyana continues to make strides in this arena in order to effectively combat crime and to protect its citizens from the scourge of crime,” the Ministry said in a statement yesterday, while adding that its effort supporting the conclusion of the Immigration and Refugee Board that Guyana is in “effective control of its territory” and has “a functioning security force to uphold the laws and constitution of the country” in place.
The statement was in response to the decision by the Board to deny the appeal by the former coastguard, who had sought refugee status in Canada in 2008, on the claim that his life was