| GUYANA Cooperative Republic of Guyana Cooperative Republic of Guyana Joined United Nations: 20 September 1966 Human Rights as assured by their constitution Click here Updated 06/28/10 |
| CAPITAL |
| POPULATION |
| CHIEF OF STATE |
| SELECTION PROCESS |
Georgetown
748,486
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of
excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher
infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and
changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise
be expected (July 2010 est.)
note: estimates for this country explicitly take into account the effects of
excess mortality due to AIDS; this can result in lower life expectancy, higher
infant mortality and death rates, lower population and growth rates, and
changes in the distribution of population by age and sex than would otherwise
be expected (July 2010 est.)
Bharrat Jagdeo
President since 11 August 1999
President since 11 August 1999
President elected by popular vote as leader of a party list in
parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five
years (no term limits); elections last held 28 August 2006
Next scheduled election: August 2011
parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five
years (no term limits); elections last held 28 August 2006
Next scheduled election: August 2011
HEAD OF GOVERNMENT
SELECTION PROCESS
Samuel Hinds
Prime Minister since 01 October 1992
except for a period as chief of state after the
death of President Cheddi Jagan on 6 March
1997
Prime Minister since 01 October 1992
except for a period as chief of state after the
death of President Cheddi Jagan on 6 March
1997
Prime minister appointed by the president
| DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS |
| ETHNIC GROUPS |
East Indian 50%, black 36%, Amerindian 7%, white, Chinese, and mixed 7%
| RELIGIONS |
Christian 50%, Hindu 35%, Muslim 10%, other 5%
| GOVERNMENT STRUCTURE |
Republic with 10 regions. Legal system is based on English common law with certain admixtures of Roman-Dutch law; has not
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive: President elected by popular vote as leader of a party list in parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five years
(no term limits); elections last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011); prime minister appointed by the president
Legislative: Unicameral National Assembly (65 members elected by popular vote, also not more than four non-elected non-voting
ministers and two non-elected non-voting parliamentary secretaries appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011)
Judicial: Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court and the Judicial Court of Appeal, with right of final appeal to
the Caribbean Court of Justice
accepted compulsory ICJ jurisdiction
Executive: President elected by popular vote as leader of a party list in parliamentary elections, which must be held at least every five years
(no term limits); elections last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011); prime minister appointed by the president
Legislative: Unicameral National Assembly (65 members elected by popular vote, also not more than four non-elected non-voting
ministers and two non-elected non-voting parliamentary secretaries appointed by the president; members serve five-year terms)
elections: last held 28 August 2006 (next to be held by August 2011)
Judicial: Supreme Court of Judicature, consisting of the High Court and the Judicial Court of Appeal, with right of final appeal to
the Caribbean Court of Justice
| LANGUAGES |
English, Amerindian dialects, Creole, Hindi, Urdu
| BRIEF HISTORY |
The history of Guyana begins before the arrival of Europeans, when the region of present-day Guyana was inhabited by Carib,
Arawak, and Warao peoples. The word Guiana probably comes from the Arawak words "wai ana" which means (land of) many
waters. Some 70,000 amerindians still live in Guyana, primarily in the country's interior. Guyana's first sighting by Europeans was by
Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499. Christopher Columbus did not sight Guyana on his third voyage of discovery
which started in 1498. The coastline of the country was first traced by Spanish sailors in 1499 and 1500; and during the 16th and
early 17th centuries, the search for the fabulous city of El Dorado - forever linked in British minds, with exploits of Sir Walter
Raleigh - stimulated exploration of this region. In 1595 the area was explored by English explorers under Sir Walter Raleigh. Little is
known of the first settlements, though they were almost certainly Spanish or Portuguese. The Dutch began exploring and settling in
Guyana in the late 16th century, followed by the English. Both began trading with the Amerindian peoples upriver. The first known
Dutch expedition to coast of Guyana, led by Capt. A Cabeliau, came in 1598. The first Dutch settlement was established on the
Pomeroon River in 1581. The settlers were evicted by Spaniards and Indians, probably in 1596. The evicted settlers retired to
Kyk-over-al (Look-over-everything) on the Essequibo River, where the Dutch West India Company established a fort in
1616-1621 in what they called the County of Essequibo. In 1627 a settlement was founded in the Berbice River by Abraham van
Pere, a Flushing merchant, and held by him under a licence (issued 12 July 1627) from the Company. Some historians believe that
van Pere was a member of a Portuguese Jewish refugee family. He sent 40 men and 20 boys to settle at Nassau, about 50 miles
upriver. Van Pere had a good knowledge of the territory since he had apparently been trading with the Amerindians of the area for
a few years before 1627. He later applied his trading skills when he was contracted by the Zeeland Chamber to supply goods from
Europe to the Dutch settlements in Essequibo. At Nassau, where Fort Nassau was built, the settlers planted crops and traded with
Amerindians. African slaves were introduced shortly after the settlement was established to cultivate sugar and cotton. The situation
was very peaceful until 1665 when the settlement was attacked by an English privateer. However, the colonists put up a strong
defence and it left after causing some damage to the settlement. Between 1675 and 1716 all the cultivation on lands in British
Guiana took place upstream. Finding the soil on the coastlands more fertile, the settlers gradually moved down river. In 1741
English Settlers from Barbados and Antigua began to build river dams and drainage sluices in the Essequibo River islands, and later
tried to reclaim the fertile tidal marshes in Demerara. Until 1804 there were estates, now forgotten, Sandy Point and Kierfield, on
the seaward side of the present seawall of Georgetown. As attempts at settling inland failed, the Europeans were forced to settle on
the coast in the mid-1700s, where they created plantations worked by African slaves. The main crops were coffee, cotton, and
sugar, the last of which soon become the main crop. The soil quality was poor, however. The slaves, led by Cuffy, (Guyana's
national hero), revolted in 1763 in what became known as the Berbice slave revolt. In 1746 colonists from Essequibo and
Caribbean islands settled along the Demerara River. In 1773 Demerara was granted a certain degree of autonomy, and in 1784 the
capital was transferred there, while Berbice continued under a separate government. This arrangement survived under the British
administration until 1831. The first English attempt at settlement in this area was made in 1604 by Captain Charles Leigh on the
Oyapock River (in what is now French Guyana). The effort failed. A fresh attempt was made by Robert Harcourt in 1609. Lord
Willoughby, famous in the early history of Barbados, also turned his attention to Guiana, and founded a settlement in Suriname in
1651. This was captured by the Dutch in 1667, and though later recaptured by the British, it was ceded to the Dutch at the Peace
of Breda. Britain took the region from the Dutch in 1796. The Dutch took it back in 1802, before being ousted again by the British
in 1803. Immediately after the British took possession of Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice they began to implement changes in the
administration of the colonies with the aim of removing the strong Dutch influence. In 1806 the slave trade was abolished in the two
colonies, as well as in Trinidad; final abolition occurred in other British territories during the following year. Regulations were put in
place to prevent transfer of slaves from one colony to another, but this did not prevent trafficking in slaves from the Caribbean
islands to Berbice and Demerara-Essequibo. The colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were officially ceded to the United
Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 and at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In 1831 they were consolidated as British
Guiana. A further rebellion by ten to twelve thousand slaves in Demerara in 1823 resulted in the trial and execution of thirty-three
slaves and the trial and conviction of missionary John Smith. When slavery was abolished in 1834, the Afro-Guyanese refused to
work for wages, and many scattered into the bush. This forced many plantations to close or consolidate. Thousands of indentured
laborers were brought to Guyana to replace the slaves on the sugarcane plantations, primarily from India, but also from Portugal and
China. This provided the basis for the racial tension that was encouraged and manipulated later, at the point where Guyana made its
bid for independence, and to the present day. However, Guyanese culture is in many ways homogeneous, due to shared history,
intermarriage, and other factors. Despite the recruitment of West Indian, African and Portuguese and other European labourers, this
did not help very much to ease the labour shortage of the 1830s. After the West Indian islands placed restrictions on emigration, the
sugar planters in Guyana began to look further afield to obtain a large labour force. One of them, John Gladstone, the father of the
British statesman, applied for permission from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to recruit Indians to serve in Guyana for a
five-year period of indenture. Guyanese politics occasionally have been turbulent. The first modern political party in Guyana was the
People's Progressive Party (PPP), established on January 1, 1950, with Forbes Burnham, a British-educated Afro-Guyanese, as
chairman; Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a U.S.-educated Indo-Guyanese, as second vice chairman; his American-born wife, Janet Jagan, as
secretary general and Lionel Jeffries (no relation to the British actor of the same name) as Treasurer. The PPP won 18 out of 24
seats in the first popular elections permitted by the colonial government in 1953. Dr. Jagan became leader of the house and minister
of agriculture in the colonial government. However, Jagan's Marxist views caused concern in Washington. On October 9, 1953, five
months after his election, the British suspended the constitution and landed troops because, they said, the Jagans and the PPP were
planning to make Guyana a communist state. Among the troops sent were the 2nd Battalion of the Scottish regiment, The Black
Watch (Royal Highlanders), who arrived in 1954. Their unusual regalia and their bagpipe music made them quite conspicuous. Self
rule was achieved on 26 August 1961. The Premier and a Cabinet of Ministers had authority over internal matters only. The British
Governor had veto powers over the elected legislature. The bi-cameral House of Assembly consisted of a lower house, the
Legislative Council and an upper house, the Senate. From the latter part of 1963, through the early part of 1964, came the period
euphemistically called "The Disturbances" by the British. The governments of The UK and the USA joined forces to destabilize the
Guyanese political landscape, with the U.S. providing intelligence and infiltration (through the American Institute for Free Labor
Development (AIFLD)), while the British brought in brute force. Guyana achieved independence on May 26, 1966, and became
the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on February 23, 1970 - the anniversary of the Cuffy slave rebellion - with a new constitution.
From December 1964 until his death in August 1985, Forbes Burnham ruled Guyana in an increasingly autocratic manner, first as
Prime Minister and later, after the adoption of a new constitution in 1980 (declaring Guyana to be in transition from capitalism to
socialism and allowing an elected President and Prime Minister appointed by the president), as Executive President. In 1974 the
Guyanese government allowed the religious group the Peoples Temple, led by the American Jim Jones, to build a 300-acre
settlement (called Jonestown) in the north-west of the country. Following increasing concern about abuses at Jonestown, US
Congressman Leo Ryan agreed to conduct a fact-finding mission to the settlement, accompanied by concerned relatives and media
persons, on 14 November 1978. Whilst boarding a plane, the company was fired upon; several people, including Ryan, were killed.
This was then followed by the mass-suicide, at Jones's instigation, of all 900 people at Jonestown. When President Jagan died of a
heart attack in March 1997, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds replaced him in accordance with constitutional provisions, with his widow
Janet Jagan as Prime Minister. She was then elected President on 15th December 1997 for the PPP. Desmond Hoyte's PNC
contested the results however, resulting in strikes, riots and 1 death before a Caricom mediating committee was brought in. Janet
Jagan's PPP government was sworn in on 24th December having agreed to a constitutional review and to hold elections within three
years, though Hoyte refused to recognise her government. Severe flooding following torrential rainfall wreaked havoc in Guyana
beginning in January 2005. The downpour, which lasted about six weeks, inundated the coastal belt, caused the deaths of 34
people, and destroyed large parts of the rice and sugarcane crops.
Source: Wikipedia: History of Guyana
Arawak, and Warao peoples. The word Guiana probably comes from the Arawak words "wai ana" which means (land of) many
waters. Some 70,000 amerindians still live in Guyana, primarily in the country's interior. Guyana's first sighting by Europeans was by
Alonzo de Ojeda and Amerigo Vespucci in 1499. Christopher Columbus did not sight Guyana on his third voyage of discovery
which started in 1498. The coastline of the country was first traced by Spanish sailors in 1499 and 1500; and during the 16th and
early 17th centuries, the search for the fabulous city of El Dorado - forever linked in British minds, with exploits of Sir Walter
Raleigh - stimulated exploration of this region. In 1595 the area was explored by English explorers under Sir Walter Raleigh. Little is
known of the first settlements, though they were almost certainly Spanish or Portuguese. The Dutch began exploring and settling in
Guyana in the late 16th century, followed by the English. Both began trading with the Amerindian peoples upriver. The first known
Dutch expedition to coast of Guyana, led by Capt. A Cabeliau, came in 1598. The first Dutch settlement was established on the
Pomeroon River in 1581. The settlers were evicted by Spaniards and Indians, probably in 1596. The evicted settlers retired to
Kyk-over-al (Look-over-everything) on the Essequibo River, where the Dutch West India Company established a fort in
1616-1621 in what they called the County of Essequibo. In 1627 a settlement was founded in the Berbice River by Abraham van
Pere, a Flushing merchant, and held by him under a licence (issued 12 July 1627) from the Company. Some historians believe that
van Pere was a member of a Portuguese Jewish refugee family. He sent 40 men and 20 boys to settle at Nassau, about 50 miles
upriver. Van Pere had a good knowledge of the territory since he had apparently been trading with the Amerindians of the area for
a few years before 1627. He later applied his trading skills when he was contracted by the Zeeland Chamber to supply goods from
Europe to the Dutch settlements in Essequibo. At Nassau, where Fort Nassau was built, the settlers planted crops and traded with
Amerindians. African slaves were introduced shortly after the settlement was established to cultivate sugar and cotton. The situation
was very peaceful until 1665 when the settlement was attacked by an English privateer. However, the colonists put up a strong
defence and it left after causing some damage to the settlement. Between 1675 and 1716 all the cultivation on lands in British
Guiana took place upstream. Finding the soil on the coastlands more fertile, the settlers gradually moved down river. In 1741
English Settlers from Barbados and Antigua began to build river dams and drainage sluices in the Essequibo River islands, and later
tried to reclaim the fertile tidal marshes in Demerara. Until 1804 there were estates, now forgotten, Sandy Point and Kierfield, on
the seaward side of the present seawall of Georgetown. As attempts at settling inland failed, the Europeans were forced to settle on
the coast in the mid-1700s, where they created plantations worked by African slaves. The main crops were coffee, cotton, and
sugar, the last of which soon become the main crop. The soil quality was poor, however. The slaves, led by Cuffy, (Guyana's
national hero), revolted in 1763 in what became known as the Berbice slave revolt. In 1746 colonists from Essequibo and
Caribbean islands settled along the Demerara River. In 1773 Demerara was granted a certain degree of autonomy, and in 1784 the
capital was transferred there, while Berbice continued under a separate government. This arrangement survived under the British
administration until 1831. The first English attempt at settlement in this area was made in 1604 by Captain Charles Leigh on the
Oyapock River (in what is now French Guyana). The effort failed. A fresh attempt was made by Robert Harcourt in 1609. Lord
Willoughby, famous in the early history of Barbados, also turned his attention to Guiana, and founded a settlement in Suriname in
1651. This was captured by the Dutch in 1667, and though later recaptured by the British, it was ceded to the Dutch at the Peace
of Breda. Britain took the region from the Dutch in 1796. The Dutch took it back in 1802, before being ousted again by the British
in 1803. Immediately after the British took possession of Essequibo-Demerara and Berbice they began to implement changes in the
administration of the colonies with the aim of removing the strong Dutch influence. In 1806 the slave trade was abolished in the two
colonies, as well as in Trinidad; final abolition occurred in other British territories during the following year. Regulations were put in
place to prevent transfer of slaves from one colony to another, but this did not prevent trafficking in slaves from the Caribbean
islands to Berbice and Demerara-Essequibo. The colonies of Essequibo, Demerara, and Berbice were officially ceded to the United
Kingdom in the Anglo-Dutch Treaty of 1814 and at the Congress of Vienna in 1815. In 1831 they were consolidated as British
Guiana. A further rebellion by ten to twelve thousand slaves in Demerara in 1823 resulted in the trial and execution of thirty-three
slaves and the trial and conviction of missionary John Smith. When slavery was abolished in 1834, the Afro-Guyanese refused to
work for wages, and many scattered into the bush. This forced many plantations to close or consolidate. Thousands of indentured
laborers were brought to Guyana to replace the slaves on the sugarcane plantations, primarily from India, but also from Portugal and
China. This provided the basis for the racial tension that was encouraged and manipulated later, at the point where Guyana made its
bid for independence, and to the present day. However, Guyanese culture is in many ways homogeneous, due to shared history,
intermarriage, and other factors. Despite the recruitment of West Indian, African and Portuguese and other European labourers, this
did not help very much to ease the labour shortage of the 1830s. After the West Indian islands placed restrictions on emigration, the
sugar planters in Guyana began to look further afield to obtain a large labour force. One of them, John Gladstone, the father of the
British statesman, applied for permission from the Secretary of State for the Colonies to recruit Indians to serve in Guyana for a
five-year period of indenture. Guyanese politics occasionally have been turbulent. The first modern political party in Guyana was the
People's Progressive Party (PPP), established on January 1, 1950, with Forbes Burnham, a British-educated Afro-Guyanese, as
chairman; Dr. Cheddi Jagan, a U.S.-educated Indo-Guyanese, as second vice chairman; his American-born wife, Janet Jagan, as
secretary general and Lionel Jeffries (no relation to the British actor of the same name) as Treasurer. The PPP won 18 out of 24
seats in the first popular elections permitted by the colonial government in 1953. Dr. Jagan became leader of the house and minister
of agriculture in the colonial government. However, Jagan's Marxist views caused concern in Washington. On October 9, 1953, five
months after his election, the British suspended the constitution and landed troops because, they said, the Jagans and the PPP were
planning to make Guyana a communist state. Among the troops sent were the 2nd Battalion of the Scottish regiment, The Black
Watch (Royal Highlanders), who arrived in 1954. Their unusual regalia and their bagpipe music made them quite conspicuous. Self
rule was achieved on 26 August 1961. The Premier and a Cabinet of Ministers had authority over internal matters only. The British
Governor had veto powers over the elected legislature. The bi-cameral House of Assembly consisted of a lower house, the
Legislative Council and an upper house, the Senate. From the latter part of 1963, through the early part of 1964, came the period
euphemistically called "The Disturbances" by the British. The governments of The UK and the USA joined forces to destabilize the
Guyanese political landscape, with the U.S. providing intelligence and infiltration (through the American Institute for Free Labor
Development (AIFLD)), while the British brought in brute force. Guyana achieved independence on May 26, 1966, and became
the Co-operative Republic of Guyana on February 23, 1970 - the anniversary of the Cuffy slave rebellion - with a new constitution.
From December 1964 until his death in August 1985, Forbes Burnham ruled Guyana in an increasingly autocratic manner, first as
Prime Minister and later, after the adoption of a new constitution in 1980 (declaring Guyana to be in transition from capitalism to
socialism and allowing an elected President and Prime Minister appointed by the president), as Executive President. In 1974 the
Guyanese government allowed the religious group the Peoples Temple, led by the American Jim Jones, to build a 300-acre
settlement (called Jonestown) in the north-west of the country. Following increasing concern about abuses at Jonestown, US
Congressman Leo Ryan agreed to conduct a fact-finding mission to the settlement, accompanied by concerned relatives and media
persons, on 14 November 1978. Whilst boarding a plane, the company was fired upon; several people, including Ryan, were killed.
This was then followed by the mass-suicide, at Jones's instigation, of all 900 people at Jonestown. When President Jagan died of a
heart attack in March 1997, Prime Minister Samuel Hinds replaced him in accordance with constitutional provisions, with his widow
Janet Jagan as Prime Minister. She was then elected President on 15th December 1997 for the PPP. Desmond Hoyte's PNC
contested the results however, resulting in strikes, riots and 1 death before a Caricom mediating committee was brought in. Janet
Jagan's PPP government was sworn in on 24th December having agreed to a constitutional review and to hold elections within three
years, though Hoyte refused to recognise her government. Severe flooding following torrential rainfall wreaked havoc in Guyana
beginning in January 2005. The downpour, which lasted about six weeks, inundated the coastal belt, caused the deaths of 34
people, and destroyed large parts of the rice and sugarcane crops.
Source: Wikipedia: History of Guyana
| ECONOMIC OVERVIEW |
The Guyanese economy exhibited moderate economic growth in recent years and is based largely on agriculture and extractive
industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice -
which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in
commodity prices. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the
country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector. Economic recovery since a 2005 flood-related contraction was
buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment in the sugar and rice industries as well as the mining sector.
Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt
against the urgent need for expanded public investment. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal
donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor
Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007. Guyana became
heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth turned
negative in 2009 as a result of the world recession. The slowdown in the domestic economy and lower import costs helped to
narrow the country's current account deficit in 2009, despite lower earnings from exports, but growth is expected to rebound in
2010 as exports benefit from higher commodity prices.
Source: CIA World Factbook (select Guyana)
industries. The economy is heavily dependent upon the export of six commodities - sugar, gold, bauxite, shrimp, timber, and rice -
which represent nearly 60% of the country's GDP and are highly susceptible to adverse weather conditions and fluctuations in
commodity prices. Guyana's entrance into the Caricom Single Market and Economy (CSME) in January 2006 has broadened the
country's export market, primarily in the raw materials sector. Economic recovery since a 2005 flood-related contraction was
buoyed by increases in remittances and foreign direct investment in the sugar and rice industries as well as the mining sector.
Chronic problems include a shortage of skilled labor and a deficient infrastructure. The government is juggling a sizable external debt
against the urgent need for expanded public investment. In March 2007, the Inter-American Development Bank, Guyana's principal
donor, canceled Guyana's nearly $470 million debt, equivalent to nearly 48% of GDP, which along with other Highly Indebted Poor
Country (HIPC) debt forgiveness brought the debt-to-GDP ratio down from 183% in 2006 to 120% in 2007. Guyana became
heavily indebted as a result of the inward-looking, state-led development model pursued in the 1970s and 1980s. Growth turned
negative in 2009 as a result of the world recession. The slowdown in the domestic economy and lower import costs helped to
narrow the country's current account deficit in 2009, despite lower earnings from exports, but growth is expected to rebound in
2010 as exports benefit from higher commodity prices.
Source: CIA World Factbook (select Guyana)
| POLITICAL CLIMATE |
Race and ideology have been the dominant political influences in Guyana. Since the split of the multiracial PPP in 1955, politics has
been based more on ethnicity than on ideology. From 1964 to 1992, the PNC dominated Guyana's politics. The PNC draws its
support primarily from urban Blacks, and for many years declared itself a socialist party whose purpose was to make Guyana a
nonaligned socialist state, in which the party, as in communist countries, was above all other institutions.
The overwhelming majority of Guyanese of East Indian extraction traditionally have backed the People's Progressive Party, headed
by the Jagans. Rice farmers and sugar workers in the rural areas form the bulk of PPP's support, but Indo-Guyanese who dominate
the country's urban business community also have provided important support. The PNC, which won just under 40% of the vote,
disputed the results of the 1997 elections, alleging electoral fraud. Public demonstrations and some violence followed, until a
CARICOM team came to Georgetown to broker an accord between the two parties, calling for an international audit of the
election results, a redrafting of the constitution, and elections under the constitution within 3 years. Elections took place on 19
March 2001. Over 150 international observers representing six international missions witnessed the polling. The observers
pronounced the elections fair and open although marred by some administrative problems.
Source: Wikipedia: Politics of Guyana
been based more on ethnicity than on ideology. From 1964 to 1992, the PNC dominated Guyana's politics. The PNC draws its
support primarily from urban Blacks, and for many years declared itself a socialist party whose purpose was to make Guyana a
nonaligned socialist state, in which the party, as in communist countries, was above all other institutions.
The overwhelming majority of Guyanese of East Indian extraction traditionally have backed the People's Progressive Party, headed
by the Jagans. Rice farmers and sugar workers in the rural areas form the bulk of PPP's support, but Indo-Guyanese who dominate
the country's urban business community also have provided important support. The PNC, which won just under 40% of the vote,
disputed the results of the 1997 elections, alleging electoral fraud. Public demonstrations and some violence followed, until a
CARICOM team came to Georgetown to broker an accord between the two parties, calling for an international audit of the
election results, a redrafting of the constitution, and elections under the constitution within 3 years. Elections took place on 19
March 2001. Over 150 international observers representing six international missions witnessed the polling. The observers
pronounced the elections fair and open although marred by some administrative problems.
Source: Wikipedia: Politics of Guyana
| INTERNATIONAL DISPUTES |
All of the area west of the Essequibo River is claimed by Venezuela preventing any discussion of a maritime boundary; Guyana has
expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with
Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic
dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitration under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially
oil-rich waters
expressed its intention to join Barbados in asserting claims before UNCLOS that Trinidad and Tobago's maritime boundary with
Venezuela extends into their waters; Suriname claims a triangle of land between the New and Kutari/Koetari rivers in a historic
dispute over the headwaters of the Courantyne; Guyana seeks arbitration under provisions of the UN Convention on the Law of the
Sea (UNCLOS) to resolve the long-standing dispute with Suriname over the axis of the territorial sea boundary in potentially
oil-rich waters
| TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS |
Current situation: Guyana is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; most trafficking appears to take place in remote mining camps in the country's
interior; some women and girls are trafficked from northern Brazil; reporting from other nations suggests Guyanese women and girls
are trafficked for sexual exploitation to neighboring countries and Guyanese men and boys are subject to labor exploitation in
construction and agriculture; trafficking victims from Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela transit Guyana en route to Caribbean
destinations
Tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, Guyana is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence
of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement actions against trafficking offenders; the
government has yet to produce an anti-trafficking conviction under the comprehensive Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act,
which became law in 2005; the government operates no shelters for trafficking victims, but did include limited funding for
anti-trafficking NGOs in its 2008 budget; the government did not make any effort to reduce demand for commercial sex acts during
2007 (2008)
commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; most trafficking appears to take place in remote mining camps in the country's
interior; some women and girls are trafficked from northern Brazil; reporting from other nations suggests Guyanese women and girls
are trafficked for sexual exploitation to neighboring countries and Guyanese men and boys are subject to labor exploitation in
construction and agriculture; trafficking victims from Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela transit Guyana en route to Caribbean
destinations
Tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, Guyana is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence
of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement actions against trafficking offenders; the
government has yet to produce an anti-trafficking conviction under the comprehensive Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act,
which became law in 2005; the government operates no shelters for trafficking victims, but did include limited funding for
anti-trafficking NGOs in its 2008 budget; the government did not make any effort to reduce demand for commercial sex acts during
2007 (2008)
| ILLICIT DRUGS |
Transshipment point for narcotics from South America - primarily Venezuela - to Europe and the US; producer of cannabis;
rising money laundering related to drug trafficking and human smuggling
rising money laundering related to drug trafficking and human smuggling
| HUMAN RIGHTS STATEMENTS, ANALYSIS AND CRITIQUES |
2009 Human Rights Report: Guyana
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
March 11, 2010
The Co‑operative Republic of Guyana is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately 760,000. President Bharrat
Jagdeo was reelected to a second full term in 2006 elections considered generally free and fair by international observers. President
Jagdeo's People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has been the majority party in Parliament since 1992. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
While the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, there were problems in some areas. The most significant
reported abuses included:
Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor
2009 Country Reports on Human Rights Practices
March 11, 2010
The Co‑operative Republic of Guyana is a multiparty democracy with a population of approximately 760,000. President Bharrat
Jagdeo was reelected to a second full term in 2006 elections considered generally free and fair by international observers. President
Jagdeo's People's Progressive Party Civic (PPP/C) has been the majority party in Parliament since 1992. Civilian authorities
generally maintained effective control of the security forces.
While the government generally respected the human rights of its citizens, there were problems in some areas. The most significant
reported abuses included:
- killings by police,
- torture and mistreatment of suspects and detainees by security forces,
- poor prison and jail conditions,
- lengthy pretrial detention,
- corruption
- sexual and domestic violence against women,
- abuse of minors.
27 February 2009
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Tenth session Agenda item 3
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT
Report of the independent expert on minority issues*
MISSION TO GUYANA**
Summary
The independent expert on minority issues, Ms. Gay McDougall, visited Guyana between 28 July and 1 August 2008. During her
visit, she travelled to Georgetown and surrounding communities. She held consultations with the State President, ministers and other
senior government representatives, NGOs, civil society groups, political parties, religious leaders, academics and others working in
the field of minority issues and anti-discrimination. The independent expert visited communities, including Buxton, and talked to
community members about their lives and issues.
In July 2003, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
highlighted that he found that every level of Guyanese society is permeated by a profound moral, emotional and political fatigue,
arising out of the individual and collective impact of ethnic polarization In 2008, the independent expert witnessed a continuing
societal malaise that shows evidence of having deepened and transformed in some instances into despair, anger and resistance. This
is particularly evident among Afro-Guyanese individuals and communities that reported feeling excluded, discriminated against and
criminalized.
Ethnically divided political and administrative structures and failed political processes have created deep frustrations and distrust in
the institution of government. A climate of suspicion, rumour and conspiracy theory exists in Guyana which has been fuelled by
exceptionally violent incidents in 2008. Two separate and conflicting narratives and perceptions of reality have emerged among
Afro- and Indo-Guyanese, which threaten to undermine shared values and common goals that are essential to a united, prosperous
Guyana.
The independent expert recognizes commendable steps on the part of the Government to date to address issues of ethnic tensions,
criminal activities and economic underdevelopment. However, further effective action is required urgently to restore confidence in
good governance and the rule of law among all communities, and prevent an inexorable slide into further polarization and possible
violence. A new era of political will and strong, visionary leadership is required to realize change and reverse the economic and
social stagnation that is evident in a divided Guyana.
Click here to read more »
HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
Tenth session Agenda item 3
PROMOTION AND PROTECTION OF ALL HUMAN RIGHTS, CIVIL, POLITICAL, ECONOMIC, SOCIAL AND
CULTURAL RIGHTS, INCLUDING THE RIGHT TO DEVELOPMENT
Report of the independent expert on minority issues*
MISSION TO GUYANA**
Summary
The independent expert on minority issues, Ms. Gay McDougall, visited Guyana between 28 July and 1 August 2008. During her
visit, she travelled to Georgetown and surrounding communities. She held consultations with the State President, ministers and other
senior government representatives, NGOs, civil society groups, political parties, religious leaders, academics and others working in
the field of minority issues and anti-discrimination. The independent expert visited communities, including Buxton, and talked to
community members about their lives and issues.
In July 2003, the Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance
highlighted that he found that every level of Guyanese society is permeated by a profound moral, emotional and political fatigue,
arising out of the individual and collective impact of ethnic polarization In 2008, the independent expert witnessed a continuing
societal malaise that shows evidence of having deepened and transformed in some instances into despair, anger and resistance. This
is particularly evident among Afro-Guyanese individuals and communities that reported feeling excluded, discriminated against and
criminalized.
Ethnically divided political and administrative structures and failed political processes have created deep frustrations and distrust in
the institution of government. A climate of suspicion, rumour and conspiracy theory exists in Guyana which has been fuelled by
exceptionally violent incidents in 2008. Two separate and conflicting narratives and perceptions of reality have emerged among
Afro- and Indo-Guyanese, which threaten to undermine shared values and common goals that are essential to a united, prosperous
Guyana.
The independent expert recognizes commendable steps on the part of the Government to date to address issues of ethnic tensions,
criminal activities and economic underdevelopment. However, further effective action is required urgently to restore confidence in
good governance and the rule of law among all communities, and prevent an inexorable slide into further polarization and possible
violence. A new era of political will and strong, visionary leadership is required to realize change and reverse the economic and
social stagnation that is evident in a divided Guyana.
Click here to read more »
Freedom In The World 2010 Report
Political Rights Score: 2
Civil Liberties Score: 3
Status: Free
Trend Arrow
Guyana received a downward trend arrow due to the violation of detainees’ rights by law enforcement officials.
Overview
In 2009, President Bharrat Jagdeo retained a strong base of support despite a series of government scandals relating to sex, drugs,
and credible allegations that police officers had tortured criminal suspects. Charges of corruption and police brutality spiked in
2009, with formal complaints increasing by 11 percent.
President Jagdeo handily won another five-year term as his PPP-C received 54 percent of the vote and 36 seats in the 65-member
National Assembly. The main opposition PNC-Reform party (PNC-R) won 34 percent of the vote and 21 seats. A new party, the
Alliance for Change (AFC), won 5 seats, and two minor parties, the United Force and the Justice for All Party, each won a single
seat. The emergence of the multiracial AFC suggested that the fierce racial divide of Guyanese politics was on the wane.
Nevertheless, relations between the government and opposition remained tense.
In 2009, President Jagdeo’s strong support fueled speculation that he may seek to amend the constitution and seek a third term.
While denying such claims, it remained unclear who his party would choose as a successor. Meanwhile, opposition leader Robert
Corbin of the PNC-R led demonstrations and publicly charged that the Jagdeo government had links to convicted drug trafficker
Robert Khan. The government also faced an array of lesser scandals. A former army chief forged paperwork in relation to an
adoption application, and the U.S. visa of the president’s press secretary was revoked for soliciting sex with a teenager.
Additionally, Guyanese policemen were accused of torturing three suspects held in connection with a murder investigation,
including a fifteen year old boy whose genitals were doused with flammable liquid and set ablaze by local authorities.
Guyana is an electoral democracy. The 1980 constitution provides for a strong president and a 65-seat National Assembly, elected
every five years. An Assembly Speaker is also elected, and two additional, nonvoting members are appointed by the president. The
leader of the party with a plurality of parliamentary seats becomes president for a five-year term, and appoints the prime minister
and cabinet.
The 2006 elections strengthened the hand of the ruling PPP-C, but also demonstrated that some Guyanese are beginning to vote
across racial lines, as symbolized by the establishment of the multiracial AFC. The main opposition party remains the PNC-R. Other
significant political parties or groupings include the Alliance for Guyana, the Guyana Labor Party, the United Force, the Justice for
All Party, the Working People’s Alliance, and the Guyana Action Party, which enjoys strong support from indigenous communities
in the south.
Guyana was ranked 126 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, the
worst ranking in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Click here to read more »
Political Rights Score: 2
Civil Liberties Score: 3
Status: Free
Trend Arrow
Guyana received a downward trend arrow due to the violation of detainees’ rights by law enforcement officials.
Overview
In 2009, President Bharrat Jagdeo retained a strong base of support despite a series of government scandals relating to sex, drugs,
and credible allegations that police officers had tortured criminal suspects. Charges of corruption and police brutality spiked in
2009, with formal complaints increasing by 11 percent.
President Jagdeo handily won another five-year term as his PPP-C received 54 percent of the vote and 36 seats in the 65-member
National Assembly. The main opposition PNC-Reform party (PNC-R) won 34 percent of the vote and 21 seats. A new party, the
Alliance for Change (AFC), won 5 seats, and two minor parties, the United Force and the Justice for All Party, each won a single
seat. The emergence of the multiracial AFC suggested that the fierce racial divide of Guyanese politics was on the wane.
Nevertheless, relations between the government and opposition remained tense.
In 2009, President Jagdeo’s strong support fueled speculation that he may seek to amend the constitution and seek a third term.
While denying such claims, it remained unclear who his party would choose as a successor. Meanwhile, opposition leader Robert
Corbin of the PNC-R led demonstrations and publicly charged that the Jagdeo government had links to convicted drug trafficker
Robert Khan. The government also faced an array of lesser scandals. A former army chief forged paperwork in relation to an
adoption application, and the U.S. visa of the president’s press secretary was revoked for soliciting sex with a teenager.
Additionally, Guyanese policemen were accused of torturing three suspects held in connection with a murder investigation,
including a fifteen year old boy whose genitals were doused with flammable liquid and set ablaze by local authorities.
Guyana is an electoral democracy. The 1980 constitution provides for a strong president and a 65-seat National Assembly, elected
every five years. An Assembly Speaker is also elected, and two additional, nonvoting members are appointed by the president. The
leader of the party with a plurality of parliamentary seats becomes president for a five-year term, and appoints the prime minister
and cabinet.
The 2006 elections strengthened the hand of the ruling PPP-C, but also demonstrated that some Guyanese are beginning to vote
across racial lines, as symbolized by the establishment of the multiracial AFC. The main opposition party remains the PNC-R. Other
significant political parties or groupings include the Alliance for Guyana, the Guyana Labor Party, the United Force, the Justice for
All Party, the Working People’s Alliance, and the Guyana Action Party, which enjoys strong support from indigenous communities
in the south.
Guyana was ranked 126 out of 180 countries surveyed in Transparency International’s 2009 Corruption Perceptions Index, the
worst ranking in the English-speaking Caribbean.
Click here to read more »
Document - Guyana: Submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review: Eighth session of the UPR Working Group of the
UN Human Rights Council, May 2010
9 November 2009 Public
Amnesty International
Guyana
Executive summary
In this submission, Amnesty International provides information under sections B, C and D, as stipulated in the General Guidelines
for the Preparation of Information under the Universal Periodic Review:1
In section B, Amnesty International raises concern over shortcomings of legislation pertaining to the death penalty and
criminalization of sexual orientation.
Section C highlights Amnesty International’s concerns in relation to excessive use of force by the security forces, sexual violence
against women, and the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
In section D, Amnesty International makes a number of recommendations in the areas of concerns listed.
Guyana
Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review
Eighth session of the UPR Working Group, May 2010
B. Normative and institutional framework of the State
The death penalty
Although there have been no executions in Guyana since 1997, death sentences continue to be handed down by the courts.
According to press reports, at least two new death sentences were handed down in 2009. In December 2008, Guyana voted
against United Nations General Assembly resolution 62/149 calling for a global moratorium on executions. Guyana is one of only
two English-speaking Caribbean nations where the death sentence is mandatory for convictions of murder. Mandatory death
sentences violate international standards on fair trials: individualised sentencing is required to prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment and the arbitrary deprivation of life. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation
of the right to life and as the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Click here to read more »
UN Human Rights Council, May 2010
9 November 2009 Public
Amnesty International
Guyana
Executive summary
In this submission, Amnesty International provides information under sections B, C and D, as stipulated in the General Guidelines
for the Preparation of Information under the Universal Periodic Review:1
In section B, Amnesty International raises concern over shortcomings of legislation pertaining to the death penalty and
criminalization of sexual orientation.
Section C highlights Amnesty International’s concerns in relation to excessive use of force by the security forces, sexual violence
against women, and the human rights of people living with HIV/AIDS.
In section D, Amnesty International makes a number of recommendations in the areas of concerns listed.
Guyana
Amnesty International submission to the UN Universal Periodic Review
Eighth session of the UPR Working Group, May 2010
B. Normative and institutional framework of the State
The death penalty
Although there have been no executions in Guyana since 1997, death sentences continue to be handed down by the courts.
According to press reports, at least two new death sentences were handed down in 2009. In December 2008, Guyana voted
against United Nations General Assembly resolution 62/149 calling for a global moratorium on executions. Guyana is one of only
two English-speaking Caribbean nations where the death sentence is mandatory for convictions of murder. Mandatory death
sentences violate international standards on fair trials: individualised sentencing is required to prevent cruel, inhuman or degrading
punishment and the arbitrary deprivation of life. Amnesty International opposes the death penalty in all circumstances as a violation
of the right to life and as the ultimate cruel, inhuman or degrading punishment.
Click here to read more »
Guyana: Stop Dress Code Arrests
Repeal Discriminatory Laws
March 5, 2009
(Georgetown) - Guyana should halt arrests and police abuse of transgender people and repeal a repressive law that criminalizes
wearing clothes considered appropriate only for the opposite sex, six human rights organizations said today in a letter to President
Bharrat Jagdeo.
The letter was signed by the Caribbean Forum for Liberation of Genders and Sexualities (CARIFLAGS), Global Rights, Guyana
Rainbow Foundation (Guybow), Human Rights Watch, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), and
the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). They called on the Guyanese authorities to drop the charges
against seven people arrested under the law in February, 2009, and investigate allegations of abuse by the police.
"Police are using archaic laws to violate basic freedoms," said Scott Long director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "This is a campaign meant to drive people off the streets simply because they dress or act
in ways that transgress gender norms."
Between February 6 and 10, police in the Guyanese capital, Georgetown, detained at least eight people, some of them twice,
charging seven of them under section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02. This criminalizes as
a minor offense the "wearing of female attire by man; wearing of male attire by women."
Officers took the detainees to Brickdam police station. The detainees reported to SASOD Guyana, a local human rights organization
working for the freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, that police refused to allow them to make a phone call
or contact a lawyer, both basic rights under Guyanese law.
The detainees reported that police officers photographed them and then told them to take off all of their "female clothes" in front of
several police officers. One defendant told rights organizations that after the detainees stripped, the police told them to bend down
to "search" them, as a way to mock them for their sexual orientation. They were then ordered to put on "men's clothing."
Police kept five of the men in solitary confinement until the day of the trial, contending that it was for their safety.
Click here to read more »
Repeal Discriminatory Laws
March 5, 2009
(Georgetown) - Guyana should halt arrests and police abuse of transgender people and repeal a repressive law that criminalizes
wearing clothes considered appropriate only for the opposite sex, six human rights organizations said today in a letter to President
Bharrat Jagdeo.
The letter was signed by the Caribbean Forum for Liberation of Genders and Sexualities (CARIFLAGS), Global Rights, Guyana
Rainbow Foundation (Guybow), Human Rights Watch, International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission (IGLHRC), and
the Society Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD). They called on the Guyanese authorities to drop the charges
against seven people arrested under the law in February, 2009, and investigate allegations of abuse by the police.
"Police are using archaic laws to violate basic freedoms," said Scott Long director of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender
Rights Program at Human Rights Watch. "This is a campaign meant to drive people off the streets simply because they dress or act
in ways that transgress gender norms."
Between February 6 and 10, police in the Guyanese capital, Georgetown, detained at least eight people, some of them twice,
charging seven of them under section 153 (1) (xlvii) of the Summary Jurisdiction (Offences) Act Chapter 8:02. This criminalizes as
a minor offense the "wearing of female attire by man; wearing of male attire by women."
Officers took the detainees to Brickdam police station. The detainees reported to SASOD Guyana, a local human rights organization
working for the freedoms of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people, that police refused to allow them to make a phone call
or contact a lawyer, both basic rights under Guyanese law.
The detainees reported that police officers photographed them and then told them to take off all of their "female clothes" in front of
several police officers. One defendant told rights organizations that after the detainees stripped, the police told them to bend down
to "search" them, as a way to mock them for their sexual orientation. They were then ordered to put on "men's clothing."
Police kept five of the men in solitary confinement until the day of the trial, contending that it was for their safety.
Click here to read more »
Guyana is living the dream Enmore Martyrs died for
President says at 62nd Enmore Martyrs anniversary
Wednesday, 16 June 2010 00:00
The struggles of the five Enmore Martyrs for better wages and working conditions were echoed in tributes at the 62nd anniversary
of the Enmore Martyrs today but according to President Bharrat Jagdeo, their struggles for freedom, dignity and respect must not
be forgotten.
The five sugar workers had joined labourers from Enmore, Non Pariel, Lusignan, Mon Repos, La Bonne Intention, Vried’s Lust and
Ogle in a mass protest against social conditions in 1948.
They were subsequently honoured in 1972 as the Enmore Martyrs and a monument was constructed in their honour that was
unveiled in 1977.
President Jagdeo described the monument site as a special place in the history of Guyana, but noted that the struggles of the five
workers go beyond bread and butter issues as many seem to think.
He said that the freedom and dignity which today’s society enjoy was not permissible under the colonial era at the time.
“That struggle that the Enmore Martyrs lead, although this may not have been their intention, ignited a process that continued over
a long period to where we are today and to the kind of country that we live in; a free country where people can live in dignity and
respect of each other,” President Jagdeo said.
The President proudly spoke of a society today free from division along ethnic, religious and nationality lines, and one that is on a
clear path to improvements and a better life for its people.
Despite these achievements, the President said there are still sacrifices to be made particularly in the allocation of resources so that
the next generation benefits.
“We can take maybe $100M that we invest in education and pay greater wages and salaries because it would be a popular thing to
do… but it will be short-sighted, if we don’t make the investment in education that is necessary to prepare the next generation of
Guyanese to have a better life,” President Jagdeo said.
He added too, that the $30B from the treasury over the past five years that was directed to capital development could have been
used to pay wages and salaries, but would not have lead to a successful sugar industry today.
Click here to read more »
President says at 62nd Enmore Martyrs anniversary
Wednesday, 16 June 2010 00:00
The struggles of the five Enmore Martyrs for better wages and working conditions were echoed in tributes at the 62nd anniversary
of the Enmore Martyrs today but according to President Bharrat Jagdeo, their struggles for freedom, dignity and respect must not
be forgotten.
The five sugar workers had joined labourers from Enmore, Non Pariel, Lusignan, Mon Repos, La Bonne Intention, Vried’s Lust and
Ogle in a mass protest against social conditions in 1948.
They were subsequently honoured in 1972 as the Enmore Martyrs and a monument was constructed in their honour that was
unveiled in 1977.
President Jagdeo described the monument site as a special place in the history of Guyana, but noted that the struggles of the five
workers go beyond bread and butter issues as many seem to think.
He said that the freedom and dignity which today’s society enjoy was not permissible under the colonial era at the time.
“That struggle that the Enmore Martyrs lead, although this may not have been their intention, ignited a process that continued over
a long period to where we are today and to the kind of country that we live in; a free country where people can live in dignity and
respect of each other,” President Jagdeo said.
The President proudly spoke of a society today free from division along ethnic, religious and nationality lines, and one that is on a
clear path to improvements and a better life for its people.
Despite these achievements, the President said there are still sacrifices to be made particularly in the allocation of resources so that
the next generation benefits.
“We can take maybe $100M that we invest in education and pay greater wages and salaries because it would be a popular thing to
do… but it will be short-sighted, if we don’t make the investment in education that is necessary to prepare the next generation of
Guyanese to have a better life,” President Jagdeo said.
He added too, that the $30B from the treasury over the past five years that was directed to capital development could have been
used to pay wages and salaries, but would not have lead to a successful sugar industry today.
Click here to read more »
Guyana’s rights report to UN contemptuous of civil society
Posted By Stabroek staff On May 13, 2010
-GHRA
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) says that Guyana’s report to the UN Human Rights Council did not benefit from
consultations and is contemptuous of the council and civil society here.
The first Report from Guyana under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was considered on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights
Council at its current session in Geneva. Yesterday, the GHRA, in a strongly worded statement said that the Guyana Report reflects
contempt for both the Human Rights Council and for Guyanese civil society.
It pointed to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 of June 2007 which says “States are encouraged to prepare the information they
submit through a broad consultation process at the national level with all relevant stake-holders”. The GHRA also pointed to Guyana’
s response:
“Guyana believes that consultation is an on-going process as opposed to one-off occasional events. Guyana therefore respectfully
submits that consultation has been on-going on the key and critical issues that have been reported on in this report. There is no
policy, programme nor issue of national importance that has not been subjected to review by Cabinet, national stakeholders,
communities, non-governmental bodies, civil society, the media and/or parliamentarians at various stages of the consultative
process. The information provided herein is in keeping with the General Principles and Guidelines for the preparation of information
under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).”
The GHRA said it considers Guyana’s statement to be “specious, self-serving and substantively untrue.” It explained that “not only
has the process of preparation of this Report been highly secretive, the society has, never at any time, witnessed impartial
consultations on extra-judicial executions, torture, discrimination, or a range of other human rights issues raised by civil society and
the political opposition parties”.
The human rights organisation said that in this respect, the Report is less participatory than any human rights report submitted to
the UN since 1992. Reports since that date, excluding the present one, used to benefit from dialogue with an inter-Agency
Committee under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which included civil society. The Guyana Human Rights Association
was an active member of that Committee. The recent Report ought to have been available on the UN Human Rights Committee
website since at least last November. However, the GHRA was only able to obtain a copy recently, it said.
Alluding to the UPR process, the organisation pointed out that all member States are obliged to report on progress made to
implement human rights Conventions that it has ratified. The UPR process is intended to improve on the many defects of the
previous system in which States reported separately on each Convention ratified.
The new system, it must be recognized, is friendly to the point of being obsequious towards reporting States, in an effort to
encourage genuine dialogue, the GHRA said.
Denouncing violations has been virtually extinguished from the process as the price for dialogue, it said, adding that despite these
favourable circumstances, the Guyana Report reflects contempt for both the Human Rights Council and for Guyanese civil society.
Click here to read more »
Posted By Stabroek staff On May 13, 2010
-GHRA
The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) says that Guyana’s report to the UN Human Rights Council did not benefit from
consultations and is contemptuous of the council and civil society here.
The first Report from Guyana under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR) was considered on Tuesday by the UN Human Rights
Council at its current session in Geneva. Yesterday, the GHRA, in a strongly worded statement said that the Guyana Report reflects
contempt for both the Human Rights Council and for Guyanese civil society.
It pointed to Human Rights Council Resolution 5/1 of June 2007 which says “States are encouraged to prepare the information they
submit through a broad consultation process at the national level with all relevant stake-holders”. The GHRA also pointed to Guyana’
s response:
“Guyana believes that consultation is an on-going process as opposed to one-off occasional events. Guyana therefore respectfully
submits that consultation has been on-going on the key and critical issues that have been reported on in this report. There is no
policy, programme nor issue of national importance that has not been subjected to review by Cabinet, national stakeholders,
communities, non-governmental bodies, civil society, the media and/or parliamentarians at various stages of the consultative
process. The information provided herein is in keeping with the General Principles and Guidelines for the preparation of information
under the Universal Periodic Review (UPR).”
The GHRA said it considers Guyana’s statement to be “specious, self-serving and substantively untrue.” It explained that “not only
has the process of preparation of this Report been highly secretive, the society has, never at any time, witnessed impartial
consultations on extra-judicial executions, torture, discrimination, or a range of other human rights issues raised by civil society and
the political opposition parties”.
The human rights organisation said that in this respect, the Report is less participatory than any human rights report submitted to
the UN since 1992. Reports since that date, excluding the present one, used to benefit from dialogue with an inter-Agency
Committee under the aegis of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs which included civil society. The Guyana Human Rights Association
was an active member of that Committee. The recent Report ought to have been available on the UN Human Rights Committee
website since at least last November. However, the GHRA was only able to obtain a copy recently, it said.
Alluding to the UPR process, the organisation pointed out that all member States are obliged to report on progress made to
implement human rights Conventions that it has ratified. The UPR process is intended to improve on the many defects of the
previous system in which States reported separately on each Convention ratified.
The new system, it must be recognized, is friendly to the point of being obsequious towards reporting States, in an effort to
encourage genuine dialogue, the GHRA said.
Denouncing violations has been virtually extinguished from the process as the price for dialogue, it said, adding that despite these
favourable circumstances, the Guyana Report reflects contempt for both the Human Rights Council and for Guyanese civil society.
Click here to read more »
Why no Office of the Ombudsman
August 29, 2009
The Office of the Ombudsman has not been filled for years. This is one of the constitutional offices in the country and it is often
held by a retired judge or someone of equal qualification.
The job of the Ombudsman is to adjudicate in cases that are brought by members of the public against Government officials
suspected of wrongdoing. He is independent of any obstruction and his ruling is equal to that of a court. There could be legal
challenges to these rulings, often to the court.
Eusi Kwayana is one of the people in not so recent memory —nearly 40 years ago—who went before the Ombudsman against two
Government Ministers in the wake of complaints that they were involved in wrongdoing. The two were then Works Minister
Hamilton Green and the then Housing Minister, the late David Singh.
The complaints against both men were that they were using their offices to procure material owned by the government for their
personal gain. Hamilton Green was accused of using metal sheets on his home at D’Urban Backlands having allegedly procured
these unfairly and in a manner not befitting a leader of the people. A similar accusation was leveled against David Singh.
In those days independence meant just that. There was no intervention by any leader. The then Prime Minister, Forbes Burnham,
was the head of the country and although much has been said about his dictatorial ways, there is no one who could say that he
meddled with things legal. He never intervened in the legal process, and in his book, it was let the chips fall where they may.
The Ombudsman found David Singh guilty and this Minister was forced to resign. He died soon after.
Hamilton Green was cleared but the Ombudsman noted that there might have been some aberrations.
In the face of the current allegations that contracts are padded and that there are constant irregularities, one of which, as one
columnist noted, involved the signing of a number of remigrant declarations, all of which were fraudulently obtained, the public has
no recourse to the Office of the Ombudsman.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has been asked repeatedly about appointing an Ombudsman but he has failed to do so for reasons best
known to himself. And it cannot be that there is a shortage of candidates. Guyana has many retired judges who had performed with
distinction and whose mental acuity is still there.
Click here to read more »
August 29, 2009
The Office of the Ombudsman has not been filled for years. This is one of the constitutional offices in the country and it is often
held by a retired judge or someone of equal qualification.
The job of the Ombudsman is to adjudicate in cases that are brought by members of the public against Government officials
suspected of wrongdoing. He is independent of any obstruction and his ruling is equal to that of a court. There could be legal
challenges to these rulings, often to the court.
Eusi Kwayana is one of the people in not so recent memory —nearly 40 years ago—who went before the Ombudsman against two
Government Ministers in the wake of complaints that they were involved in wrongdoing. The two were then Works Minister
Hamilton Green and the then Housing Minister, the late David Singh.
The complaints against both men were that they were using their offices to procure material owned by the government for their
personal gain. Hamilton Green was accused of using metal sheets on his home at D’Urban Backlands having allegedly procured
these unfairly and in a manner not befitting a leader of the people. A similar accusation was leveled against David Singh.
In those days independence meant just that. There was no intervention by any leader. The then Prime Minister, Forbes Burnham,
was the head of the country and although much has been said about his dictatorial ways, there is no one who could say that he
meddled with things legal. He never intervened in the legal process, and in his book, it was let the chips fall where they may.
The Ombudsman found David Singh guilty and this Minister was forced to resign. He died soon after.
Hamilton Green was cleared but the Ombudsman noted that there might have been some aberrations.
In the face of the current allegations that contracts are padded and that there are constant irregularities, one of which, as one
columnist noted, involved the signing of a number of remigrant declarations, all of which were fraudulently obtained, the public has
no recourse to the Office of the Ombudsman.
President Bharrat Jagdeo has been asked repeatedly about appointing an Ombudsman but he has failed to do so for reasons best
known to himself. And it cannot be that there is a shortage of candidates. Guyana has many retired judges who had performed with
distinction and whose mental acuity is still there.
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| INTERNALLY DISPLACED PERSONS (IDPS) |
None reported.