Dear Editor,
Congratulations to Melinda Janki, Guyanese attorney-at-law, for being conferred with the prestigious “Rule of Law” 2023 award from the Commonwealth Law Association (CLA). All Guyanese who believe in our Constitutional Rights and in upholding the Rule of Law should welcome this acknowledgement and recognition at the international level.
In its citation the CLA states: This prestigious award recognises the outstanding contribution of an individual or organisation to furthering the rule of law, and the CLA and LexisNexis honour Ms Melinda Janki for her sustained and resolute efforts to promote the rule of law within her home jurisdiction of Guyana and on the international stage.
Ms Janki has been a consistent advocate against the allegedly unlawful permitting by the EPA to Exxon, EEPGL, to the GtE pipeline and plant facilities et al. One of the cases won was the overturning by the court of the unlawful permit granted by the EPA to Esso for 20 years when the law specifically permits environmental permits for a maximum of 5 years only. Another case pending judgement is one brought by three Guyanese women against the onging flaring by EEPGL on the off shore oil rigs / floating platforms in Guyana’s territorial waters.
Ms Janki’s Award citation references six law suits filed in Guyana’s Courts by Guyanese citizens “… as public interest litigants, representing a cross section of Guyana’s society, including activists, retired professionals, a dean of the University of Guyana, a lecturer, a student, and an indigenous Wapichan youth.”
These cases categorically link local to global climate change concerns and the imminent threat of sea level rise with Georgetown being one of the 9 cities of the world that will be under water by 2030 if the global temperature target of 1.5 degrees Celsius is exceeded. These law-suits challenge ExxonMobil’s programme to exploit vast reserves of Guyana’s offshore oil and related gas reserves, all of which belong entirely to the people of Guyana. ExxonMobil’s intention is to produce over 11 billion barrels of oil which would definitively pollute the atmosphere and ocean with over 4 billion tonnes of greenhouse gas – the chief cause of the destruction of plant Earth.
Melinda Janki was one of 250 members of the legal profession who signed an open letter in the light of scientific evidence that breaching the 1.5˚C temperature goal established by the UN Paris Agreement on Climate Change threatens the conditions of a stable civilisatiin, including the rule of law. (Guyana is a signatory and implementing country to this UN Climate Agreement.) We salute Melinda’s achievement and stand in solidarity with all those upholding the Rule of Law and stepping to ensure we, Guyanese, do not breach it in and fashion or form.
Yours truly,
Troy Thomas
Quadad de Freitas
Elizabeth Deane-Hughes
Vanda Radzik
Janette Bulkan
Alissa Trotz
Andriska Thorington
Sherlina Nageer
Frederick Collins
Jocelyn Dow
Alfred Bhulai
Danuta Radzik
Abbyssinian Carto
Karen de Souza
Duane & Sandy de Freitas
