French Committee Member of the UN Human Rights Committee Hélène Tigroudja last week accused Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira of focusing more on blaming the previous government and discrediting allegations rather than answering questions posed to her.
During day two of the 140th Session of the Human Rights Committee, a back-and-forth discussion took place between the two regarding allegations of torture and other cruel treatment in Guyana. “We have several areas of concern. All of the following has been reported to us as occurring in the state party. There are allegations of false confessions extracted by the police, excessive use of force,… rapes committed against persons held in custody, [and] excessive use of force against children, and minors, when they’re arrested, they’re not separated from adults when they’re arrested. [Also] excessive use of violence, insults, and a brutal approach to LGBTQ+ persons…,” the French delegate said.
Tigroudja further noted that, in its report, Guyana’s delegation partially recognised that acts of torture have been committed by the police but claimed that all of these occurred under the previous government.
“And they [the state party] seem to stick to simply pointing fingers at the previous government. We would like to know more information about… these allegations or cases of torture involving the police,” she said.
In her response Teixeira failed to directly address the questions of excessive use of violence by police towards LGBTQ+ individuals and minors and instead denied the allegations of children being held with adults in detention. According to her, the laws in Guyana require the separation of children from adults in such situations.
“There was a point made that children were not separated from adults… this is absolutely untrue, absolutely untrue. Children are not kept in the same location as adults in prison or in the police stations. They are separated all the time from the adults… We have a compendium of laws, which are in compliance with the Rights of the Child Convention, with the Protection of Child’s Act… They are under the custody of the Child Care and Protection Authority. And so, they manage the care and monitor the care of children that are in conflict with the law, as well as those who would’ve been victims of violence,” she stated.
Further, Teixeira insisted that the information presented by Tigroudja was unfamiliar to the Guyanese delegation and had not been reported to the police or human rights commissions in the country.
“It is difficult to answer some of these issues which we’ve never heard or seen of before. The point I made was that a number of the references made to allegations by different committee members have not surfaced in Guyana, nor have they been taken to the police or to the Rights Commissions… would be more than willing to investigate, to follow up on any of those. And if the committee could provide us with that we’ll be more than happy to follow up after the review of Guyana. But… we cannot be expected to answer something we’ve never heard of before,” she said.
Tigroudja stressed the credibility of the information received by the Committee, which was verified from various sources, including civil society reports that are publicly available on the Committee’s website. She urged the Guyanese delegation to investigate the allegations and provide more detailed responses to the concerns raised during the session.
“We have cross-checked our information. It’s credible. It comes from various different sources. When we choose to ask a question off the back of information that we have received from different sources, we do verify that information. We cross-check it. As I say, we check against various different sources. So we’re convinced that the credibility of the background to the questions we’re asking you… you insisted on the fact that the information shared with you by my colleagues are unfamiliar to you… all of the reports from civil society are public and are available on the Committee’s website. So, you have access to those documents, just as we do and that will help you to become apprised of the information that we received as well… We’re not working with secret documents, this material is open to all,” Tigroudja stated.
When given a chance to speak again, Teixeira said that her delegation went through the shadow reports that were made available and posted on the website.
“And there is no report, as far as we’re aware, that talks about children in adult detention. And there was also no reference to base… the allegations about the Vice President in the submissions by the shadow reports. So that is what we mean about being unfamiliar because we use the shutter reports as a guidance of what to expect by some of the questions,” she explained.
The French Committee Member also pointed out that Teixeira had failed to go in-depth with her responses and asked for more details with regard to her question.
“I’d like to come back… to this question of the detention of children and the fact that they’re held with adults. We had a very specific and categorical response to that concern. And I hope that the delegation will provide additional information to the response provided orally beyond simply saying that the information that we have received is false,” Tigroudja said.
Teixeira reiterated her willingness to address the issues once more information is provided.
“The detention of children with adults let me explain to you… The Juvenile Offenders Act makes it very clear that children where they are to be held and there is a special holding centre for children who are awaiting trial and who are waiting to come out from a sentence that they may have had. The law says very clearly that if they reach the age of 17, and they have not completed their sentence, then they’re moved to an adult prison and also, they’re kept separately from the adults… We are willing to address these issues once we have the information,” she said.
The dialogue highlighted the importance of transparency and accountability in addressing human rights violations. Both parties emphasized the need for further investigation and communication to ensure the protection of rights in Guyana.
