Police killings, death sentences for murder and ill-treatment in overcrowded prisons were among the human rights issues in Guyana in 2003, according to Amnesty International's annual report.
The findings of the Disciplined Forces Commission and the PNCR's return to Parliament were also among the significant developments cited by Amnesty International, in a year that was characterised by high levels of violence.
Though President Bharrat Jagdeo and Opposition Leader Robert Corbin pledged to continue dialogue last year, the constructive engagement referred to in the report has since broken down over government's handling of the death squad allegations and non-implementation of agreements.
The death squad allegations that implicate Home Affairs Minister Ronald Gajraj were not addressed in the report, which only covers January-December 2003.
The allegations first surfaced in January this year when a self-confessed informant claimed that a group of hit men were responsible for several unsolved killings that spanned the period between 2002-3003.
Although no official statistics were published, AI notes that there were continued reports of high levels of violent crime in 2003. AI said last year at least nine police officers were killed, while joint police-army anticrime operations continued in some areas.
Violations by law enforcement officers
A number of police officers were charged with murder but none was convicted, the report noted.
There were at least 29 fatal shootings by the police, some of which appeared to be extra-judicial executions. There were further reports of the unlawful use of force and torture and ill-treatment were alleged in some cases.
Severe conditions in the police lockups were also noted. And there were reports of ill-treatment during security force operations at Buxton in January which led to a meeting between the Police Commissioner and the Opposition Leader.
The murder of University of Guyana student Yohance Douglas was the most prominent of the police killings cited by AI.
On March 1 an armed police patrol opened fire on a car in which the 17-year-old was travelling, killing him and wounding the four other passengers in the car.
The patrol opened fire, reportedly without provocation and by the end of the month two police officers, Mahendra Baijnauth and Gerald Alonzo, were charged with the murder of the unarmed Douglas.
The killing led to wide public outcry that included mass student demonstrations throughout Georgetown. None of the surviving passengers in the car was charged with any crime.
A pathologist who observed the autopsy on behalf of AI concluded that Douglas was shot from behind and his death was caused by a haemorrhage resulting from a gunshot wound.
The preliminary inquiry had not been completed by the end of 2003, which was the period of the AI report.
The PI was completed earlier this year and both officers were committed to stand trial in the High Court.
The death of Albert Hopkinson was also featured in the report which notes that in September, a police officer and another man were both charged with his murder.
Though police reported that he was found unconscious in a cell at a Mabaruma police station, eyewitnesses alleged that he was beaten after his arrest on September 2. An autopsy is reported to have revealed that he died from strangulation, a fractured skull and other injuries.
In November a police officer was charged with manslaughter for the fatal shooting on June 25 of prisoner Michael Clarke, who was shot while trying to escape an escort during a prisoner transfer.
The case is reportedly still pending.
Disciplined Forces Commission
The Disciplined Forces Commission started public hearings into the operations of the police force and received over 100 submissions from government officials, nongovernmental organisations (NGOs), members of the public and others.
Its preliminary report to the National Assembly in November stated that the police needed "urgent, serious and wideranging reform". In addressing the problem of extra-judicial executions the DFC made several recommendations. These included the creation of a dedicated or distinctly identifiable Coroner's Court to reduce the backlog of inquests and inquiries into police killings; greater independence in the investigation of complaints against the police; and clearer terms of reference and lines of command for specialist units likely to confront armed and dangerous criminals.
AI says it submitted its concerns and recommendations on police reform to the DFC. While it welcomed the commission's preliminary conclusions and recommendations, it said it remained concerned at the limited extent to which the report drew on international human rights standards.
Death penalty
AI noted that by the end of 2003 there were at least 20 people on death row. There were no executions and the state did not respond to AI's request to be informed of the number of death sentences imposed following the introduction of antiterrorism legislation in 2002.
Amendments to the law had expanded the scope of the death penalty to include "terrorist acts" and threatened freedom of expression and association, according to the report.
In July talk-show host Mark Benschop was committed to stand trial for treason with political activist Phillip Bynoe, who remains at large.
The charges related to an attack on the Presidential Complex after a demonstration in July 2002. If convicted both face the death penalty.
In September, the Director of Prisons denied reports that Benschop was being illtreated in prison or that he was on hunger strike. His trial was due to start in October but had not begun by the end of the year because of a legal challenge.
Conditions in detention
Conditions in detention remained harsh and amounted in some cases to cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment, according to the report.
AI notes that severe overcrowding was aggravated by a substantial population of prisoners on remand, many of whom are detained for excessive periods and often for several years.
Local human rights activists have however reported a reduction in the prison population at the central prison from 1,000 to 600, though there are still accounts of severe delays in criminal hearings.
In October, 10 prisoners legally challenged the decision to bring Benschop to trial within three months of committal, while they had been awaiting trial for years. The issue is still before the court.
Violence against women
The report noted that in November, 41 NGOs, including women's rights groups, launched a threemonth awareness campaign to eliminate violence against women, in conjunction with the governmental Women's Affairs Bureau.
Access to health care
Official figures released in 2003 showed that 1,500 of around 20,000 women who gave birth in Guyana in 2002 were HIV positive. In October a Memorandum of Understanding on HIV/AIDS education in the workplace was signed between the Ministry of Labour and the International Labour Organization.
Racial and ethnic tension
In July the UN Special Rapporteur on contemporary forms of racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance Doudou Diene visited Guyana.
In his interim report to the UN General Assembly in August, Diene observed that ethnic polarization between Guyanese of African and Indian descent, reflected in the composition of political parties, greatly affected the structure of state mechanisms and perpetuated economic and social underdevelopment.
He had expressed hope that the joint communique signed by President Jagdeo and the Leader of the Opposition reflected political commitment towards finding democratic and sustainable responses to such problems.
Members of the Ethnic Relations Commission were also appointed, to investigate and address complaints of racial discrimination, and promote equal access to public services. The commission did not start its work until early this year.