Human Rights Day
VIOLENCE: THE MOST SERIOUS THREAT TO HUMAN RIGHTS
Guyana Chronicle
December 10, 2003
THE most alarming feature of Guyanese society on International Human Rights Day 2003 is the growth and diversity of violence. Murders for the year number almost 200, an increase of approximately 30% over 2002, which itself was a particularly violent year. Of those murders, 16 were women murdered violently by their husbands or partners. Nine of the murders were police officers, a new phenomenon for Guyana. The State's response has been to meet fire with fire. The number of persons killed by the joint police and army patrols in the first half of 2003 totaled 34.
The high level of unresolved and inexplicable murders in the last half of the year is fuelling segmentation and confrontation. The police again appear powerless and inept in the face of the current wave of criminal violence. Not only are they failing to make any impact on this problem but, more alarmingly, the general public appears to have lost any expectation they will do so.
The inclination towards confrontation and the use of force both by civilians and the State in Guyana aggravates long-standing tensions between races, genders and social classes. It is encouraged by the international confrontation between the rich and poor worlds, led by the richest and most powerful societies. Mediation and conciliation, the traditional hallmarks of democracy, are being set aside by Governments in a preference for confrontation, militancy and the use of force. Methods, condemned when exercised by dictators and extremist groups, are now employed by Western democracies, such as detention without trial, repressive legislation and flouting of international law and institutions.
Repressive domestic legislation and restrictions of rights and freedoms are more readily accepted and justified in a global state of emergency dubbed the 'war on terrorism'. Here in Guyana in the past year we have seen legislation introduced with respect to deportees, fair trials and terrorism that in a less hysterical international atmosphere would have been condemned.
People deported back to Guyana after serving their sentences overseas are subject to a form of double jeopardy, by being liable to official surveillance and subject to reporting obligations. Extension of crimes to which the death penalty applies also reflects imported fears rather than local realities. Legislation of this nature diminishes constitutional reforms intended to lay the foundation for more effective democracy and increased protection for human rights, particularly of vulnerable sectors.
National economies striving to ensure dignified work environments are undermined by the ease with which mega-businesses shift their investments to countries where child and penal labour are available, environmental safeguards non-existent and official corruption widespread. Societies with civilized labour practices find themselves disrupted and side-lined from capital investment and contracts. This in turn becomes the source of more violence and confrontation
Indignation among those most vulnerable to lose jobs is mobilized destructively rather than for the constructive resolution of problems. Rather than seeking real solutions vulnerable sectors of the population are encouraged to see themselves as victims of deliberate discrimination. This approach, by those seeking to make political mileage out of poverty, replaces a search for human dignity, equality and non-discrimination, with self-seeking, vindictiveness and reprisals.
This potential for divisiveness in the labour sector was aggravated in Guyana this year by allegations of bad faith, political interference, allegations of racial discrimination and disregard for established procedures in both public and private sectors.
Replacing confrontation in the many circumstances referred to above with democratic procedures such as mediation, dialogue and conciliation involves generating a new approach to law and order. The starting point for this transformation is to create a new and effective partnership between the community and the Guyana Police Force focused on resolving conflict and crime by greater respect for human rights.
Hopefully the recently completed Report of the Disciplined Forces Commission will provide the impetus for such a process. The scope of the transformation required, however, entails a commitment not only from the Guyana Police Force, but also from all political parties and the leadership of civil society.
A significant number of rights-based concerns occurred during the course of this year in Guyana that have their roots in the failure to respect the principles of equality and non-discrimination. The persistence of domestic violence against women and children; the distance yet to be covered to bring indigenous people on a par with the coastal society; the extent to which the rights of people with disabilities remain unfulfilled; and stigma faced by people living with HIV/AIDS - all reflect the need for more robust and vigorous respect for equality and non-discrimination.
Executive Committee
Guyana Human Rights Association