GUYANA-SOGI-TBs-CCPR

Concluding Observations on Report 3 (2024) (Link)

Non-discrimination

14. The Committee notes the information provided by the State party that it is reviewing the Prevention of Discrimination Act 1997. However, it remains concerned about the absence of comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that extends beyond discrimination in employment, provides full and effective protection against all forms of discrimination prohibited under the Covenant, including direct, indirect and multiple discrimination, and contains a list of prohibited grounds of discrimination in line with the Covenant. The Committee is concerned about reports of: (a) the continued ethnic divide and tensions in the State party; (b) hate speech and incitement to racial hostility by politicians and public officials, as well as racial profiling by the police; (c) ill-treatment and violence, including sexual violence against transgender individuals in police custody and prisons, which are worsened by underreporting and ineffective investigations into such human rights violations; and (d) failure by the police to investigate all allegations of discrimination and violence against lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender persons, in particular murders, and to bring perpetrators to justice (arts. 2, 7 and 26).

 15. The State party should:

(a) Adopt comprehensive anti-discrimination legislation that explicitly addresses all spheres of life and prohibits direct, indirect and intersectional discrimination on all grounds, including race, ethnicity, age, nationality, religion, migration status, disability, sexual orientation and gender identity, and ensure access to effective and appropriate remedies for victims of discrimination;

(b) Redouble its efforts to end the existing divide and tensions between ethnic groups and discrimination against ethnic minority groups, including by creating opportunities for open dialogue between various ethnic groups, promoting inter-ethnic harmony and tolerance and overcoming prejudices and negative stereotypes, including in schools and universities and through the media;

(c) Take the steps necessary to prevent, condemn and combat hate speech and incitement to racial hostility, including by public officials and politicians, directed at the groups most exposed to racial discrimination;

(d) Take all measures necessary to effectively combat and eliminate racial profiling by law enforcement officers, inter alia, by providing mandatory training to law enforcement personnel on cultural diversity and the inadmissibility of racial profiling;

(e) Combat violence and discrimination against persons based on their sexual orientation and gender identity, ensure that offences motivated by the victim’s sexual orientation or real or perceived gender identity are investigated promptly, and establish specific investigation protocols for such cases to ensure that those responsible are brought to justice and appropriately punished and that the victims receive full reparations.

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Concluding Observations on Report 2 (2000) (Link)

[no mention]

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Concluding Observations on Report 1 (1982) (Link)

[no mention]

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