ADDRESSING ISSUES OF SOCIAL EQUITY IN GUYANA

Feb 05, 2012 AFC Column, Features / Columnists

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By Khemraj Ramjattan

For the first time in half a century, Guyana has an opportunity to develop broad-based consensus on issues of social equity in our country. The tripartite composition of Parliament, and the injection of new energies into that body under fresh leadership, can help take us forward on the path of national cohesion. But we must seize the moment, and wisely.
What would be crucial is that we foster and nurture a national vision to which all parts of our population would rally and where under there would be equitable development for all groups. Potential grievances should be detected beforehand and headed off.
In the quest for social equity, we must use our constitutional architecture to advantage. Our constitution provides for five sectoral commissions on children, women, indigenous peoples, ethnic relations and human rights The chairperson of the Human Rights Commission has never been appointed and so the body has not yet begun functioning. The other four sectoral commissions are in the very early years of their experiences. The Ethnic Relations Commission has been the subject of much controversy. It is vital that we put this phase of our history behind us and that we use the five commissions to our advantage.
For a start, the tripartite consultations should address the need for all party consensus on all five chairs. We need to go forward in harmony with some haste. It would help if the Parliamentary advisory body makes consensual recommendations quickly on the appointments of chairperson and members of these commissions.
National human rights commissions and similar bodies have a long-standing practice of undertaking thematic studies on social equity issues and on other issues of concern within a society. The ethnic relations commission can undertake periodic studies on issues of social equity and on a topic that is of great concern in Guyana, namely that of horizontal equality. The concept of horizontal equality has been developed by social scientists to help societies monitor themselves on how different parts of the population are faring when it comes to the distribution and enjoyment of the resources of the country. Thematic studies can be entrusted to qualified independent social scientists and the results of their work can be debated within the wider society.
The indigenous peoples’ commission should likewise commission an independent study of the situation of our indigenous population and make recommendations for action by the commission itself, by the government, and by local authorities. Here also, the frame of reference for the commission should be the human rights provisions of the Guyana constitution and the pertinent international norms. We should have a forward-looking vision for our indigenous people, grounded in international norms on the human rights of indigenous peoples.
The commission on the Rights Of The Child can help us lay the foundations for justice in the new Guyana we are all striving to build. The commission could arrange for an independent study on the state of children’s rights in our country and could indicate areas where priority corrective action is needed. Addressing the rights of children throughout our society would give us entry points into all the issues of social equity our country is facing. It would help foster a broad debate in our country about where we are headed, what kind of culture our children are imbibing, and how we can instill in our children attitudes of respect, tolerance, and faith.
The women and girls of Guyana face many challenges and we need to have mobilization policies and strategies to foster respect and to protect our women-folk. The commission on gender equality should immediately mount a formal independent inquiry into the state of respect or non-respect for the rights of women and make recommendations to Parliament for urgent corrective action.
There have been many recent reports about domestic violence, sexual abuse, and trafficking.  They should at least lead us to mobilize for action for equity and justice for women and children.
Where does Parliament fit into all of this? I would suggest that Parliament should urgently arrange individual debates on each on the rights’ commissions. It should invite the current chair or acting chair of each of the four commissions to make written submissions on the work of their commissions to date, and on their work plans and visions for the future.
The deliberations of parliamentarians could help the commissions plan their future work. The Speaker of Parliament could distill the sense of Parliament in a concluding statement to the deliberations in each instance.
The blueprint under the Constitution is that the national human rights commission is made up of the chairpersons of the four other commissions plus an independent chairperson. Parliament should insist that the national chairperson have dedicated financing and staff and that the chairperson should take the lead in helping to steer and coordinate the sectoral commissions as well as engage in thematic and other initiatives, studies and inquiries on his or her own intiative. Parliament should also invite the chairperson of the national human rights commission to lay before it directly and annually, a report on the state of human rights in Guyana.
Our country is blessed to have at its disposal people of the requisite stature, independence, and expertise who could help shape the role of the chairperson of the national human rights commission.
A former Chancellor of the Judiciary of Guyana has served as Chairperson of the UN committee on the rights of women.  A Guyanese has served in the position of UN High Commissioner for Human Rights. Meritorious Guyanese have served on the board and as chairpersons of the Guyana Human Rights Association. We have at our disposal present and former judges of the Guyana Court of Appeal. We have at the Bar of Guyana, persons of quality and distinction who could help shape this strategically important position. Yes indeed, I think of names like Desiree Bernard, Bertie Ramcharran and Fenton Ramsahoye, amongst others.
As we set about building a new Guyana, we should have a sense of urgency about the functioning of our human rights bodies. That would be a fitting start to addressing issues of social equity within our midst.

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