Every country needs a national vision. Every country needs to have an on-going dialogue among its citizens on how it is evolving. Sometimes this dialogue can take place inside the country. This can be more difficult in multi-ethnic countries – especially where parties draw their support from ethnic bases. In such countries, international or regional dialogue partners can be helpful.
Every country needs leadership that is wise, broad-minded and future-oriented, even in the midst of political campaigning. In Guyana, Forbes Burnham had the opportunity of providing broad-minded leadership when he first came to power. Alas, despite his brilliance, he did not bring the country together. The national outpouring of grief for Dr Cheddi Jagan when he died, across the races, showed that he had won the affection of the Guyanese people.
When Bharrat Jagdeo first came to power as a youthful President, the country looked to him to help it heal and go forward in harmony. He has proved to be a formidable politician for the PPP, but it is clear that he is not perceived by the Guyanese public as a healer. And he is shrouded in controversies.
Irfaan Ali came to the Presidency also shrouded in controversy over pending charges that had to be dropped because he was elected President, and over issues of self-presentation and academic credentials. Further, he came to power in a bitterly divided country, in which the previous Government had lost the election but sought energetically to stay in power nevertheless.
He was, is, young, and could help heal the country. But though possessing good advocacy skills, he is shrill, and that does not help heal a still divided nation. He would do well to remember Article 17 of the ‘Constitution of Medina’ (622) considered the first constitutional document in the world, written by another Mohammed, the Prophet (PBUH): “The peace of the believer is indivisible. …Conditions must be fair and equitable to all”.
This is where the UN Human Rights Committee comes in. If President Ali [and his Government] were to consider carefully what the Committee has recommended, especially its nation-building recommendations, he could turn this into an opportunity to help the country go forward more harmoniously.
The UN Human Rights Committee will soon be fifty years old. It came into existence when the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights entered into force in 1976. It operated wisely during the Cold War, and has helped numerous countries that cooperated with it in good faith – countries that wanted to be helped.
Uruguay was one such country. It went through a civil war during which numerous atrocities were committed. In a series of cases, the Committee held against Uruguay. But Uruguay stayed the course of cooperation, and when democracy returned, Uruguay used its dialogue with the Human Rights Committee to heal itself and to build a stronger society.
Countries cooperating with international human rights treaty bodies usually have a section dedicated to such cooperation that operate out of the Ministry of Justice, interacting with the international committees on an on-going basis. International human rights treaties can help Guyana knit a harmonious society. Guyana would do well to have such a section on international human rights treaties in the Ministry of Justice – or to enhance it if there is already one.
The Human Rights Committee has asked Guyana to provide, by 29 March,2027, information on the implementation of its recommendations, and has further asked Guyana to submit its Fourth Report to the Committee for consideration in 2032. Whichever Government is in power, it would be important to have a dedicated group of officials from the Ministry of Justice preparing the information for 2027, as well as the Fourth Report for 2032. This could take the political sting out of the process of preparing and presenting reports.
The Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee, dated 28 March, 2024, are thirteen pages long. There are statements of policy accompanied by amplification of details on which there can be legitimate room for discussion.
The Committee began by welcoming the recent adoption by Guyana of sixteen pieces of new legislation. So, the recommendations are preceded by appreciation for some positive steps.
Then there are several nation-building recommendations that are worthy of consideration and support. Among these are the following:
Guyana should widely disseminate the Covenant and the Committee’s Concluding Observations with a view to raising awareness of the rights enshrined in the Covenant among the judicial, legislative and administrative authorities, civil society, and non-governmental organizations operating in the country and the general public. (Para. 48.).
Guyana should fully incorporate the provisions of the Covenant in its domestic legislation. Guyana should raise awareness of the Covenant among all actors responsible for its implementation, as well as for the general public. (Para. 5).
Guyana should establish a national mechanism to monitor the implementation of Views [decisions] of the Committee handed down after considering petitions from Guyanese. (Para.7).
Guyana should implement a thorough, accessible, and regularly updated programme of specialized training on the Covenant for judges, prosecutors, and lawyers to ensure that they apply and interpret domestic law in light of the Covenant. (Para. 5). Guyana should take all measures necessary to reform the justice system, including measures to safeguard the independence and impartiality of the judiciary. (Para. 41).
Guyana should expand its efforts to adopt and implement efficient and prompt measures to promote good governance. (Para 11). Guyana should review and revise the electoral system to guarantee full compliance with the Covenant. (Para. 45).
Guyana should enhance the ability of the public to participate meaningfully in environmental decision-making, and also enhance access to information, particularly by Amerindians and fishery-dependent communities, including on air and water-quality, laws, regulations, policies, permit applications and decisions, pollution data, and enforcement actions taken. (Para. 27).
Guyana should expedite revisions of the Amerindian Act 2006 to ensure that the rights of indigenous peoples to occupy, own, use and develop their traditional lands, territories and resources are fully respected. (Para. 47).
Guyana should take the necessary measures to operationalize the Human Rights Commission as an independent national human rights institution and consider reviewing the constitutional provision impeding the process of designating a Chairperson of the Commission as a matter of priority. (Para.9)
Guyana should adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that explicitly addresses all spheres of life and prohibits direct, indirect, and intersectional discrimination on all grounds including race, ethnicity, age, nationality, religion, migration status, disability, sexual orientation, and gender identity, and ensure access to effective and appropriate remedies for victims of discrimination. (Para. 15)
Guyana should take immediate measures to ensure that everyone can freely exercise the right to freedom of expression and effectively prevent and combat acts of harassment and intimidation against journalists, media workers, human rights defenders, including environmental defenders, to ensure that they are free to carry out their work effectively and without fear of reprisals. (Para.43).
Guyana should accelerate substantive equality of women and men in all areas where women are under-represented or disadvantaged. It should also intensify its efforts to close the wage gap between men and women. (Para. 17). Guyana should take the necessary measures to prevent, combat, and eradicate all forms of violence against women, including sexual and domestic violence and femicide. (Para. 19).
Guyana should redouble its efforts to prevent and combat maternal mortality and ensure women’s access to safe and legal abortion in practice, especially for Indigenous women, women in rural areas and women living in poverty. It should also strengthen the efforts to address the high rates of breast cancer. (Para. 21).
Guyana should take all necessary measures to abolish the death penalty in its laws and remove it from the Constitution. (Para. 23). Guyana should ensure that all allegations of extrajudicial killings are promptly, impartially, transparently, and thoroughly investigated; that perpetrators are prosecuted, and, if convicted, penalties commensurate with the gravity of the crimes are imposed on them. (Para.25).
Guyana should ensure that all detainees enjoy full legal and procedural safeguards in accordance with the Covenant. (Para.33). Guyana should ensure that the conditions of detention are in compliance with relevant international human rights standards. (Para. 31.).
Guyana should ensure that its juvenile criminal justice system upholds the rights set forth in the Covenant, including the rights of children in conflict with the law to be treated in a way that will promote their integration into society. (Para. 35).
Guyana should take all necessary measures to end the practice of torture and ill-treatment in line with the Covenant and international standards. (Para. 29).
Guyana should strengthen its efforts to combat, prevent, eradicate, and punish trafficking in persons. (Para. 37).
Guyana should adopt, without delay, a national legislation to protect the rights of refugees and asylum-seekers and adopt relevant procedures in compliance with the Covenant and other international norms and standards. (Para. 39).
Guyana should expand its efforts to adopt and implement efficient and prompt measures to combat corruption and impunity at all levels of government. (Para. 11). Guyana should take all appropriate measures to ensure that the management of its natural resources is not subject to corruption. (Para. 13).
In the foregoing presentation, I have taken the main heads of the key nation-building recommendations. There are many details in those recommendations that are open to discussion within the country, involving Government as well as the Opposition.
But, the principal submission of this essay stands: that the recommendations of the Human Rights Committee can be helpful in future nation-building in Guyana if its leadership, on all sides, are prepared to engage in a constructive discussion of them – soberly and dispassionately, and without shrillness.
To end with Article 12 of the Constitution of Medina, “Believers shall not leave anyone destitute among them”.
Al Hamdullillah !!!
