195 persons selected for 1st International Human Rights Law Certificate Course

Jul 30, 2024 News

Kaieteur News – The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance (MPAG) on Monday launched an International Human Rights Law Certificate Course, at the Savannah Suites, Pegasus Hotel, Kingston, Georgetown.

The Certificate Course aims to equip public and private sector workers as well as civil society members with an understanding of Guyana’s human rights architecture in the context of international human rights.

Speaking at the launch of the programme, Senior Research Officer of MPAG, Anil Persaud explained that 195 persons were selected from over 1002 applications to participate in the 10-week course.

“We actually were not expecting the overwhelming response from the publication. Within days, such a short space of time after announcing the programme was opened; we had like three hundred applications.”

Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, Gail Teixeira told the gathering that the course delivery will commence featuring virtual and in-person interactive sessions with leading international, regional and local experts in various components of human rights law.

She said the course will cover ten weeks of detailed training sessions, facilitated by several high-level officials well versed in the law and human rights matters, including Chief Justice Roxanne George-Wiltshire.

Describing the programme as “homegrown”, Teixeira said that the course was birthed out of what was seen as a dire need for a heightened sense of human rights knowledge.

“We assumed that people knew about basic things like human rights, and as we went on our sojourn…we discovered that people thought they had [a knowledge of human rights] but didn’t have…so we started playing with the idea of doing an International Human Rights Law Certificate programme,” she posited.

To this end, the Minister explained that more awareness can be raised in Guyana when it comes to human rights through this educational programme.

“This programme is exciting and an interesting one for us and we hope that it will create a greater awareness in the society of human rights and how they operate, both locally in Guyana… [and] what are the mechanisms for redress at an international level,” Minister Teixeira explained.

The course will focus on several pivotal areas, including Guyana’s human rights framework, the International Bill of Rights, key legislation that protects human rights in Guyana, and contemporary issues in human rights law.

At the conclusion, participants will be holders of Certificates in International Human Rights Law from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.

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1st International Human Rights Law Certificate Course, Kingston, Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance (MPAG), Pegasus Hotel, Savannah Suites

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