Constitutional reform in Guyana should be taken seriously

Dear Editor,

In welcoming the recent interest of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in constitutional reform, the Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) hopes that it will serve to revitalise domestic interest on the issue. As a civic organisation that emerged in response to the infamous Referendum of 1978, which sought to legitimise the current Constitution and, as an active participant in multiple subsequent coalitions and initiatives to redress its baleful effects, the GHRA has been disturbed by the seemingly ambivalent commitment of the APNU/AFC coalition Government to constitutional reform.

The overriding challenge to a successful constitutional reform process historically, has been the lack of political will on the part of the leadership of all major parties, rather than any substantive constitutional issue.

Despite a relationship characterised for decades by disagreements of every description, one area of enduring common ground between the two major parties has been their resistance to reforms which would democratise political power. In the context of this historical resistance, the want of purpose and lack of enthusiasm demonstrated in the APNU/AFC coalition’s statements on constitutional reform are discouraging.

Had reform of the Constitution not been stipulated in the Herdmanston Accord in 1998 it would not have taken place. The timid reform process of 1997 had settled the matter as far as the major parties were concerned. Even with this international mandate, however, the reform process of 1999-2000 was frustrated by the major parties. A good public consultation process with strong civic involvement was subsequently decimated by the Parliamentary Oversight Committee, followed by unanimous approval of political parties too anxious to get to the next elections to even read the Bills properly. The Reynolds reforms to the electoral system were kicked into the long grass and a sensible approach to Human Rights side-lined in favour of the bizarre concoction of ‘Rights Commissions’ the country is now saddled with.

An important lesson for any future process of constitutional reform is to ensure that extra-Parliamentary influences – civic, business and faith-based – be sustained throughout the process. This recommendation is not unmindful of the need for Parliamentary approval as the final stage of the process, but is calling for imaginative ways of ring-fencing the process against any cynical party political manoeuvring.

Constitution-making in Guyana must address three issues: Nation-building, State-building, and Integrity-building.

Nation-building encompasses, firstly, the rights of citizens and the values by which we want the State to be governed. The second part of Nation-building seeks to make socio-economic rights justiciable. Without this essential feature, the concept of all citizens having equal rights will always be frustrated by the limitations posed by majoritarian politics in ethnically diverse societies. Justifiability, socio-economic rights are preferable as a response to ethnic diversity, than prioritising communal units above individual citizenship.

Rather than politicising ethnicity, the GHRA recommends an intensively participatory approach that works towards acknowledging differences but accommodates them within an over-arching framework of being Guyanese. The constitutional reform process must start from the premise that, while respecting culture and language differences, we are all Guyanese who come to public affairs primarily as Guyanese citizens.

State-building needs to address institutional mechanisms by which the values established under Nation-building are to be delivered. Each institution – Parliament, the Judiciary and the Presidency – must be constantly reminded of their responsibilities to citizens.

Promoting Integrity and accountability of all those elected to public office is vital. In the past we have never paid sufficient attention to the destructive potential of corruption and have paid a price in terms of the low esteem in which politics and politicians are held. Integrity must be emphasised to counter the ever present lure of corruption. For this reason, a strong code against corruption is a constitutional priority. For too long politicians have been motivated by greed, rather than service and this has to be eradicated.

The GHRA is requesting the APNU/AFC coalition to clear the air on what it hopes to achieve from the current constitutional reform initiative. For our part, the GHRA strongly supports a broad-based, adequately-resourced consultative process under the management of a multi-stakeholder committee with a time-table that envisages implementation of major reforms.

Sincerely,

Executive Committee

Guyana HumanRights Association