Rodrigues-Birkett: Guyana committed to advancing human rights

Guyana has implemented several projects in the areas of healthcare, education, prison reform, and domestic violence as a means of tackling challenges associated with human rights.
This was revealed by the country’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, who defended Guyana’s efforts in addressing human rights issues.
She was at the time leading a team that responded to questions and recommendations raised at the OHCHR-UN Human Rights Council Universal Periodic Review (UPR) hosted in Geneva, Switzerland, on Tuesday.

Guyana is among 14 countries earmarked for a human rights review and is now undergoing its fourth review.
Responding to a number of questions and recommendations made by several country representatives, Rodrigues-Birkett noted that the Government of Guyana has placed a keen focus on developing appropriate systems to ensure that the human rights of all Guyanese are upheld.
In direct response to concerns about Guyana maintaining a respectful environment for all ethnic groups, Rodrigues-Birkett said the government remains committed to honouring its unique diversity.

“We see diversity as strength, but we also see that if you do not invest in diversity, it can be used to foment divisions. And so, we continue every day to work as a government to bring our people together because if we’re stronger together, we would be able to have our development at a more rapid pace if we are united,” she explained.
The former Minister of Amerindian Affairs highlighted the government’s aggressive drive to bridge the digital divide between coastal and rural communities. She noted that, through the Office of the Prime Minister’s expansive hinterland connectivity programme, a significant portion of Amerindian communities has already benefitted from Internet access.
“Already, we have had a tremendous increase in digital connectivity to our rural areas because they were the ones who were suffering all along, and we continue to engage with several providers for additional connectivity… We realise that if the digital divide continues, we cannot speak of development in a fulsome way,” Rodrigues-Birkett noted.
The UPR Working Group will adopt the recommendations made to Guyana on May 9.