Six weeks after the two-month deadline set out in the May 6 communiqué between President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Robert Corbin for the parties to work to facilitate the appointment of the Ethnic Relations Tribunal and the Secretariat for the Ethnic Relations Commission, neither body is in place.

And it will only be tomorrow that the voting members of the Commission will meet to elect a chairman from among themselves. Speaker of the National Assembly, Ralph Ramkarran SC will chair the meeting. With the election of the chairman, the Parliament Office’s involvement with the commission will end.

The establishment of the Secretariat and the appointment of the tribunal are the responsibility of the Office of the President.

The voting members, who were all sworn in more than a month ago, are Shahabuddeen McDoom nominated by the Moslem community; Cheryl Sampson, nominated by the Women’s organisations; Norman McLean nominated by the Private Sector; Dr Frank Anthony nominated by the Youth organisations; Andrew Garnett by the Labour movement; Pt Ramkissoon Maraj nominated by the Hindu community; and Bishop Juan Edghill; nominated by the Christian community.

Their alternates are Rafeek Khan, Leila Austin, John Willems, Dr Rajendra Singh, Carvil Duncan, Radha Krishna Sharma and Pastor Roy Thakurdyal.

The non-voting members are the nominees of the Indigenous People’s Commission, the Women and Gender Equality Commission, the Commission for the Rights of the Child and the Human Rights Commission.

These commissions are yet to be established.

The establishment of the commission was recommended in the St Lucia Statement of 1998 and it was to have been in place before the March 2001 elections.

The act establishing the commission was assented to in August 2000 and later that year the National Assembly approved the resolution identifying the bodies to be represented on the commission as well as the legislation approving the establishment of the three-member tribunal.

The President assented to the legislation establishing the tribunal on December 20.

However, the members and their alternates representing the identified bodies were not nominated until last year. They were all sworn in by mid-July. The tribunal, which will hear appeals from the decisions of the commission, is yet to be appointed.