Guyana: Treatment of Portuguese persons by authorities and the general population, and availability of state protection for them (2000-2004)

No information on a specific treatment of Portuguese persons or persons of Portuguese descent in Guyana could be found among the sources consulted by the Research Directorate.

However, without specific reference to any national, ethnic or linguistic group, the Human Rights Committee of the United Nations referred to ethnic tensions and discrimination in response to a report submitted in 1999 by the government of Guyana, and included the following statement among its concluding observations:

The Committee is concerned at insufficient attention being paid to the need for multi-ethnicity within the police force, and at reports of considerable ethnic tension and at manifestation of incitement to discrimination, hostility or violence on racial grounds.

The State party should encourage recruitment to the police force of members of all ethnic communities, and ensure strict compliance with article 20 (2) of the Covenant by enforcing the prohibition of incitement to racial hostility and by taking measures to reduce ethnic tension between all the different groups in Guyana (UNHRC 25 Apr. 2000, para. 20).

Country Reports 2002 refers to ethnic tensions and discrimination, albeit without specific reference to Portuguese persons or persons of Portuguese descent (31 Mar. 2003, Sec. 5). The source notes that "longstanding ethnic tensions, primarily between citizens of African descent and those of South Asian origin, continued to influence society and political life" (Country Reports 2002 31 Mar. 2003, sec. 5).

On possible state protection for minorities, Country Reports 2002 provides the following statements:

The Constitution provides fundamental rights for all persons regardless of race, sex, religion, or national origin; however, the Government did not always enforce these provisions effectively.

...

The 1997 Antidiscrimination Act built upon the provisions of the 1990 Equal Rights Act. The two laws provide a strengthened framework under which women and minorities may seek redress for discriminatory acts or practices. However, no case ever has been tried under the Equal Rights Act, and critics of the Antidiscrimination Act claimed that it was unlikely to be effective since it places enforcement responsibilities on the overburdened Chief Labor Officer (ibid.).

Please refer to the attached extracts of a country study on Guyana, compiled by the United States Library of Congress, for background information on the Portuguese community of Guyana.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the Research Directorate within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum. Please find below the list of additional sources consulted in researching this Information Request.

References

Country Reports on Human Rights Practices for 2002. March 2003. "Guyana." Washington, DC: U.S. Department of State. [Accessed 21 Jan. 2004]

United Nations Human Rights Committee (UNHRC). 25 April 2000. "Concluding Observations of the Human Rights Committee: Guyana." (CCPR/C/79/Add.121) [Accessed 21 Jan. 2004]

Attachments

United States of America. 1997 Federal Research Department, Library of Congress. Guyana(A Country Study. "Nineteenth-Century British Guiana," "Other Political Groups" and "Portuguese and Chinese." [Accessed 28 Jan. 2004]

Additional Sources Consulted

Dialog

Latinamerica Press [Lima]. 2000-2003

Latin American Regional Reports: Central America & the Caribbean [London]. 2000-2003

Internet sites and search engines, including:

Government Information Agency (GINA), Georgetown

Stabroek News [Georgetown]. Searchable archives

United States Agency for International Development (USAID) Democracy Center