Guyana’s human rights record will today be reviewed before the United Nations in Geneva and questions on a number of issues including the death penalty, abolition of corporal punishment in schools, decriminalisation of consensual same-sex relations and inviting the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture to visit, will be raised.
“What progress has the Government of Guyana made with the extension of an invitation to the UN Special Rapporteur on Torture, as well as an open invitation to UN Special Procedures Mandate holders to visit Guyana,” is one of the questions submitted by the United Kingdom. The UK will also ask Guyana to provide an update on the status of national consultations on the abolition of the death penalty, abolition of corporal punishment in schools, decriminalisation of consensual same-sex relations and discrimination against Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender (LGBT) persons, all of which the Government of Guyana announced it would pursue following the last Universal Periodic Review (UPR).
Guyana is one of the 14 States to be reviewed by the UPR Working Group during this session. This is Guyana’s second review. Guyana’s first UPR review took place on 11 May 2010. Under the UPR, the human rights record of each state is extensively reviewed every four years.
Guyana’s delegation will be headed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. The three country representatives serving as rapporteurs for the review of Guyana are Ethiopia, Portugal and Venezuela.
The documents on which the reviews are based are a national report which contains information provided by the State under review; information contained in the reports of independent human rights experts and groups, known as the Special Procedures, human rights treaty bodies, and other UN entities; and information provided by other stakeholders including national human rights institutions, regional organizations and civil society groups.
According to a statement from the UN office, among the issues raised in the documents are addressing negative stereotypes against women; addressing discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity; decriminalising same-sex consensual relations; tackling violence against LGBT persons; addressing alleged police abuses, including unlawful killings, torture and ill-treatment; combatting all acts of violence against women and girls and supporting victims; abolishing the death penalty; prohibiting corporal punishment; access to clean water and sanitation; reducing maternal and infant mortality rates; access by women and girls to reproductive and HIV health services; reducing school dropout rates among girls; improving literacy rates; and Amerindian land rights and mining activities in indigenous traditional territories.
Unique
The UPR is a unique process which involves a periodic review of the human rights records of all 193 UN Member States. Since its first meeting was held in April 2008, all 193 UN member States have been reviewed during the first UPR cycle and 112 thus far during the second cycle.
The second review of States aims to highlight human rights developments in the country since its first review and provides an opportunity for States under review to spell out steps taken to implement recommendations posed during their first reviews.
The UK will also ask what steps the Government of Guyana has taken to increase the capacity of the Police Complaints Authority to investigate allegations of extrajudicial killings and the excessive use of force by police in prompt and impartial proceedings.
The UK has also submitted questions on what progress the Government of Guyana has made in order to ratify the Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women and what steps government has taken to ensure the full implementation of the Sexual Offences Act and the National Domestic Violence Policy, including the establishment of a Sexual Offences Unit and ensuring reasonable access to temporary refuges for survivors.
National human rights institution
Germany has observed that despite having accepted the recommendation made during its UPR in 2010, Guyana has not established an independent national human rights institution yet and will question what steps and measures Guyana is taking to establish an independent national human rights institution in accordance with the principles relating to the status of national institutions for the promotion and protection of human rights (Paris Principles). Germany has also submitted a question on whether the Government of Guyana would consider acceding to the Optional Protocol to the Convention against Torture and other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and how is independent monitoring currently assured in detention and prison facilities.
The Netherlands has also submitted several questions including which steps will the Government take to abolish capital punishment, when will the government of Guyana complete the abolishment of corporal punishment at schools, the progress made by the government of Guyana regarding its plans to simplify the legal process concerning gender and domestic violence and to facilitate a “one-stop shop” for victims of abuse and what measures will be taken to improve prison conditions.
On LGBT, the Netherlands will ask which steps the Government will take to improve the rights of members of the LGBT community and would the government of Guyana consider removing section 352-354 of Chapter 8.01 of the Criminal Law (Offences) Act which criminalises same sex relationships. It will also ask if the government of Guyana would consider amending Article 149 of the Guyana Constitution to include sexual orientation and gender identity as grounds for non-discrimination in order to provide legal protection for LGBT people’s right to equality and non-discrimination and would the government of Guyana consider repealing section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02 which sanctions cross-dressing thereby facilitating arbitrary arrests, police harassment and abuse, targeted violence and other forms of discrimination against transgender people.
In its report, government said that Guyana has made significant efforts to meet most of the commitments it made to the UNHRC in 2010. “Although Guyana has a strong constitutional, legal and policy framework for the promotion and protection of human rights, supported by an independent judiciary, it faces many challenges internally and at the regional and international levels.
These continue to relate to available human, financial and technical resources in order to more effectively and efficiently implement the many initiatives, policies, statutes and programmes,” government said.
“In the face of serious threats at the time of reporting to Guyana’s parliamentary democracy, Guyana will continue to make efforts to support the role of the UN human rights system, including the UPR, within available means and prevailing conditions,” it added.
