Amerindian Affairs Ministry represents Guyana’s indigenous people, regionally and internationally

Minister of Amerindian Affairs Pauline Sukhai recently represented Guyana at the fifth session of the Expert Mechanism on the Rights of Indigenous People (EMRIP), hosted by the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland where she made a presentation on Guyana’s responsiveness to the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People (UNDRIP) standards and provided an update on the models adopted by the Guyana Government to promote indigenous development. Minister Sukhai at a press briefing at her Ministry on Wednesday, July 25, 2012 updated the media on some of the ministry’s recent international representations towards indigenous development. According to Minister Sukhai, the Geneva conference was attended by representatives from international communities with Amerindian presence and saw discussion on a series of event and activities. She said that the conference was an open session with interactive discussions unusual for high - level meetings and allowed for and encouraged the contribution of views from all the levels of indigenous Non-Government Organisations (NGOs) and civil society and other United Nations (UN) and international agencies and institutions in attendance at the meeting. Among serious agenda issues discussed at the conference were the World Conference on Indigenous People, follow- up on several thematic studies and advice and the study on the role of language and culture in the promotion of the rights and identity of indigenous people. Minister Sukhai said Guyana also came in for credit at the meeting in an EMRIP report conducted on members states based on a questionnaire that sought their views on the best practices regarding possible appropriate measures and implementation strategies in order to attain the goals of the UNDRIP. Guyana was among 14 member countries that completed and submitted the questionnaire and came in for mention in the EMRIP report for its advancement on land issues, culture and development. The conference concluded with the resolution of a number of agreed upon proposals for the submission to the Human Rights Council for its consideration and approval, the Minister said. This includes the organising and scheduling of the World Conference of Indigenous people for September 2014, and the recommendation of a permanent forum on Indigenous issues to be welcomed by the Human Rights Council. Guyana’s international representation at the forum serves to facilitate the sharing of the country’s experiences with others in the promotion and protection of indigenous people and, also to present Guyana’s successes and challenges to indigenous development. Chairperson of the National Toshaos Council Yvonne Pearson also represented the Government at an ad-hoc meeting on Population and Development in Quito, Ecuador, July 4-6, 2012 hosted by the United Nations Population Fund whilst Permanent Secretary in the Ministry Nigel Dharamlall attended and represented Guyana at a Regional Workshop on methodologies of protection and legislation in Brasilia, Brazil, May 30 - June 1, 2012. This event was facilitated by the Amazon Cooperation Treaty Organisation (ACTO).