The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) has joined the calls for the Government to immediately publish the agreement reached with the United States for Guyana to accept third-country deportees from the US.

In a statement, the human-rights organisation criticised the Government’s decision to participate in the US arrangement, arguing that the policy raises serious constitutional and international human-rights concerns.

According to the GHRA, Guyana’s participation could also conflicts with Article 141(1) of the Constitution, which states that no person shall be subjected to torture or to inhumane or degrading punishment or other treatment.

“This absolute right applies to all persons not Guyanese alone and admits of no exceptions. Moreover, the Guyana Government has offered no explanation for its unconstitutional agreement to receive an unknown number of enforced future deportees.  Apart from violating the national Constitution, the Government’s action also violates International Conventions Guyana has ratified, principally, the UN Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, the Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment and the Inter-American Convention,” the GHRA said.

The GHRA said the Government has not adequately explained the constitutional basis for the agreement or the conditions under which deported persons would be received and treated.

It also questioned how many people will be accepted under the arrangement.

The organisation said the issue raised the question of a broader deterioration in principled governance accompanying Guyana’s oil-driven economic expansion.

The human rights body raised concerns about the treatment of migrant workers in Guyana, alleging that some overseas workers have been subjected to exploitative conditions resembling modern-day indentureship through arrangements involving business interests and public officials.

The organisation argued that forced deportation can represent the culmination of a process that begins with people leaving their countries because of poverty or violations of social and economic rights.

The GHRA’s immediate demand is for the Government to release the full text of the agreement with the United States governing Guyana’s acceptance and treatment of deported persons.

It said publication of the agreement would allow the public to determine the precise obligations Guyana has undertaken and whether adequate safeguards exist for the rights and welfare of those transferred to the country.

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