Draft Reparations report completed

TIMES INT'L

… will be sent to President Ramotar on June 21

Guyana Reparations Committee Chairman, Eric Phillips
Guyana Reparations Committee Chairman, Eric Phillips

With two months to go before Guyana and other members of the Caribbean Community observe African Emancipation Day, Guyana Reparations Committee Chairman, Eric Phillips has since disclosed that the committee’s report has already been drafted and will be handed over to President Donald Ramotar on June 21.

In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times International, Phillips in providing an update on the committee’s report which was supposed to have been completed by June 1, stated that the date was not an official deadline, but was one which was set by the committee to ensure that time was used efficiently.

He assured that the committee is adhering to that deadline and will present the report no later than June 21.

“We have completed our research, our analysis and other important parts of the report. It has already been drafted and it is now with our experts in history. After this, we will have a public forum where the citizens can come and view the report, give their input and then it will be sent off to the Minister and the President,” Phillips related.

After perusal by President Ramotar and the Minister, the report will then be sent to the Foreign Affairs Ministry and then subsequently off to Caricom, after which legal letters will be issued to countries compensation is being sought from.

The Guyana Reparations Committee was established in September 2013 following the mandate of the 34th Meeting of the Conference of Heads of Government, which was held in July 2013 in Trinidad and Tobago.

During the meeting, it was agreed by Caricom governments that national committees on reparations should be established in member states.

The aim was to establish a committee which would seek reconciliation between victims and beneficiaries, without having an actual confrontation.  It seeks to restore equity in social relations, equality before the law and justice within the fabric of human diversity, which typifies humanity.

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