The Justice Institute of Guyana has secured key funding from the European Union (EU) to implement a project which is aimed at promoting self-sufficiency in Amerindian communities, and building a more equitable and democratic society.
The $51.2 million dollars EU grant will allow Amerindian Village Councils to function more efficiently and effectively by strengthening their capacity to be more productive and self-sufficient, a press release from the EU said yesterday.
The project also focuses on strengthening the participation of Amerindian communities in governmental consultation processes.
Ambassador Robert Kopecký, Head of Delegation of the EU to Guyana, and Melinda Janki, Executive Director of Justice Institute of Guyana signed a grant contract on Thursday to implement the project, titled “Step by Step to Self-Sufficiency.”
Ambassador Kopecký was quoted in an EU press release as saying: “The European Union recognises the integral role played by NGOs in the development of Guyana, and the Non State Actors and Local Authorities thematic programme provides funding opportunities to support civil society projects in Guyana. The proposal from the Justice Institute of Guyana convinced us in its approach of empowering Amerindian communities. We look forward to effective implementation of the project.”
The EU grant involves the support of a maximum of €179,731 ($51.2M) and will be funded from the 2013 Non State Actors (NSA) country allocation for Guyana.
As part of the project, the Justice Institute will provide technical legal advice and support, technical legal drafting expertise, and legal representation to Amerindian communities over the next 36 months. In addition, the grant is expected to fund the production of model village rules, a code of conduct for Amerindian Village Councils, model mining agreements and the production of policy papers and DVDs.
The Justice Institute’s work is expected to supplement the work already undertaken by other grant beneficiaries locally.
According to the EU, the thematic programme ‘Non-State Actors and Local Authorities in Development’ was introduced in 2007 as a development policy instrument of the European Consensus on Development, which recognises the key role of civil society in promoting development.
In light of this, the EU Delegation in Guyana has since 2008 launched regular calls for proposal under this thematic line, and has provided financial assistance to a total of 23 beneficiaries, totalling approximately €6.4M ($1.8B).
Meanwhile, the Justice Institute, in partnership with the Equal Rights Trust, a UK registered think tank, is hosting a judicial seminar in Georgetown on April 4th and 5th. The seminar is funded via European Union assistance to the Equal Rights Trust (ERT) and covers key developments and international best practice in the field of anti-discrimination law, with a particular focus on comparative jurisprudence from other jurisdictions.
The seminar is being supported by the Supreme Court of Guyana and is being attended by senior members of ERT’s global network of equality experts, including former Supreme Court judges from Canada and the UK, and a member of the Caribbean Court of Justice.
