A total of 195 persons will soon become holders of Certificates in International Human Rights Law, compliments of a programme spearheaded by the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.
The educational programme was launched Monday at Pegasus’ Grand Savannah Suites in Georgetown.
The course will cover some 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.
Speaking at the opening ceremony, Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Gail Teixeira described the programme as “homegrown”, indicating that a lot of local talent participated in the crafting of the course.
“This is a homegrown initiative…we as Guyanese have done some interesting things…so [we said] let’s try this one,” she explained.
Minister Teixeira pointed out that the programme 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.
The hope, the governance minister said, is 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 Texeira 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.
Meanwhile, participants of the programme have expressed great eagerness to begin learning and training.
“I do believe that human rights matter…[sometimes] people from the hinterland are not being represented and I believe I can be a voice for someone in that space,” Colette Ault, a Region Seven resident said.
Young human rights volunteer Tyriq Scott lauded the programme spearheaded by the ministry and is ready to gain all the knowledge he can from the course.
“I think it’s a wonderful initiative by the ministry because it is going to give persons, not just educated persons…but persons from all walks of life a chance to learn about human rights which is fundamental…and I am looking forward to seeing how it progresses in the future,” he noted.
“I’m a domestic violence clerk attached to the court and everyday I have to deal with persons…and some of them don’t know their rights. So, when I saw the course, I was excited so it will give me a [better understanding] of how to talk to them, and to tell them what they should and should not accept as humans,” one participant, Renay Dettering, explained.
(Extracted from the Department of Public Information)
