By Dr Bertrand Ramcharan
Seventh Chancellor of the University of Guyana Former United Nations Under-Secretary-General
On 22 and 23 September, Guyana’s senior leadership, which one expects will be headed by His Excellency President Irfaan Ali, will participate at the United Nations in a Summit for the Future and will, in all likelihood, join in adopting a Pact for the Future, which has been under negotiation over the past months. The second revised text of the Pact, has been publicly available since 17 July, 2024. Guyana’s Permanent Mission to the UN and its Ministry of Foreign Affairs will have participated in the negotiating process.
Given the complex history and population structure of Guyana, it has long been the view of this author that two sets of ideas could help knit and take the country forward: the universal human rights norms recognized by the United Nations, and policy recommendations adopted by the UN after broad-based consultation with its membership. It is in this spirit that we have sought to contribute to structural aspects of the public policy debate in Guyana.
There are some valuable ideas in the forthcoming Pact for the Future that could serve Guyana well, if taken and followed up in good faith. Three of these are of particular relevance: (i) Striving for peaceful, just, and inclusive societies on the basis of respect for human rights; (ii) Building peace at the national level; and (iii) Striving for equitable development and the reduction of poverty. Before setting out the Pact’s provisions on this set of issues, we provide next a snapshot of its broad strategies.