THE Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has said that while Guyana is free from the acts of terrorism and their consequence gripping other areas of the globe, there are no grounds here for complacency with respect to the promotion and protection of human rights.

In a statement issued Monday to mark International Human Rights Day 2001, it said the political and racial disturbances following the March 19 national elections this year demonstrated how vulnerable Guyana's situation is to internal pressures.

In this respect, the association called on the Government and all Guyanese to work diligently to recognise and respect the human rights and dignity of all Guyanese.

The statement said that Ms. Mary Robinson, UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, in her message on the occasion, commented that "the hope that the turn of the millennium would signal a new era of respect for fundamental freedom seems like a distant memory now".

"In its place we are left with the sobering realisation that there is as much, if not more, work to do to make human rights a reality for all," she was quoted as saying.

In an equally disturbing note, the GHRA said a distinguished group of independent experts associated with the United Nations Human Rights Commission, in their own Human Rights Day message expressed their "deep concern over the adoption or contemplation of anti-terrorist and national security legislation and other measures which may infringe upon the enjoyment for all of human rights and fundamental freedoms."

The GHRA said they called on states "to limit the measures taken to the extent strictly required by the exigencies of the situation".

Against this less than optimistic assessment of the international human rights situation, the association said it would be fair to conclude that in the Guyana context, to date, it is not threatened by the erosion of fundamental rights and liberties by anti-terrorist legislation.

More direct causes for concern in Guyana, it says, relate to delays in the administration of justice, police inefficiencies and brutality, and abuse of women, children and other groups.

These matters were ventilated at the 16th Annual General Meeting of the GHRA Saturday to coincide with International Human Rights Day and resolutions approved by members dealt with the issues of delays in trials and the inadequacies of social services to protect minors, the statement said.

In resolutions at the AGM on `Delays in Trials', it noted the backlog of cases generated overcrowding in the prisons and denies victims their rights.

GHRA said the meeting called for legal authorities to liaise more effectively with the Prisons and Parole authorities for alternative sentencing to be introduced for minor offences and for the use of lay magistrates in appropriate cases.

With regards to abuse of children and women, GHRA said the meeting heard of cases involving sexual abuse of girl children which were not treated by the judicial system with the seriousness these merit. In particular, it said the meeting voiced the opinion that the office of the Director of Public Prosecutions should be more vigorous in laying and pursuing charges.

The human rights body said too that while the Guyana Government was allocating significant resources to the provision of basic services with respect to water, housing, health and education, the meeting felt that the public was not effectively protected from abuse in the administration of privatised utilities such as electricity and telephones.

In response to these concerns, the meeting also called on the GHRA to be more vigilant with respect to economic and social rights.