标签： Guyana

Just three hours after Guyanese President Irfaan Ali formally put forward Ambassador Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett as the country’s candidate for the next United Nations Secretary-General, the nation’s opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) has thrown its full weight behind the government’s decision.

In an official statement released hours after the nomination announcement on 12 June 2026, the AFC praised Rodrigues-Birkett as an outstanding Guyanese diplomat whose decades of public service, proven professionalism, and longstanding dedication to multilateral cooperation make her uniquely suited for the UN’s top leadership role. “The AFC is proud to endorse her candidacy and wishes her every success in this historic endeavour,” the statement read.

The opposition party has also called on the Guyanese government to move quickly to rally international backing for the nomination, urging immediate outreach to blocs and partners including the Caribbean Community (CARICOM), the Commonwealth, the Organization of American States, the Non-Aligned Movement, and other global stakeholders to build broad cross-regional support.

At 52, Rodrigues-Birkett brings a wealth of high-level diplomatic and international experience to the candidacy. She served as Guyana’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation from 2008 to 2015, before taking on a senior leadership role as a Director at the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. In 2022, she was appointed Guyana’s Permanent Representative to the United Nations, and she currently leads the country’s 2024-2025 term as a member of the UN Security Council. She also previously served as President of the 65th Session of the UN General Assembly, a role that put her consensus-building skills across diverse nations on full display.

The AFC emphasized that Rodrigues-Birkett holds all the core attributes required to steer the UN through a period of unprecedented global strain. “Ambassador Rodrigues-Birkett possesses the experience, diplomatic acumen, integrity, and global perspective required to lead the world’s foremost multilateral institution during a period of unprecedented international challenges,” the statement noted, adding that her decades of work across public service, diplomacy, and global affairs have already earned her widespread respect across the Caribbean, Latin America, and the broader international community.

The party also highlighted Rodrigues-Birkett’s longstanding commitment to foundational global principles: international law, peaceful resolution of cross-border disputes, sustainable development, and the greater inclusion of small states in global decision-making. At a moment when the world faces overlapping crises – from ongoing armed conflicts and accelerating climate change to rising geopolitical division, growing humanitarian need, and mounting challenges to the rules-based international order – the AFC argues the UN needs principled, inclusive, forward-looking leadership, a standard Rodrigues-Birkett meets fully.

Beyond her personal qualifications, the AFC noted that her nomination marks a key milestone for both Guyana and small developing nations globally. Her candidacy not only reflects Guyana’s expanding role in global diplomacy, it also creates a critical opportunity to center the perspectives and lived experiences of small developing states at the highest levels of global governance. The party expressed confidence that under her leadership, the United Nations would emerge better equipped to advance shared goals of peace, security, sustainable development, and cross-national cooperation.

Rodrigues-Birkett becomes the fifth official candidate in the race to succeed outgoing Secretary-General António Guterres, whose second term concludes on 31 December 2026. She joins a growing field of contenders that includes four previously announced nominees: Rafael Mariano Grossi of Argentina, nominated in November 2025; Rebeca Grynspan Mayufis of Costa Rica, nominated in March 2026; Macky Sall of Senegal, nominated by Burundi that same month; and Michelle Bachelet Jeria of Chile, whose nomination was backed by Brazil, Chile, and Mexico before Chile withdrew its sponsorship in late March.

On Friday, 12 June 2026, Guyana High Court Judge Fidela Lincoln-Corbin delivered a landmark defamation ruling holding current Guyanese Second Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo financially liable for defamatory comments he made against prominent senior engineer Charles Ceres back in 2019.

The case stems from a press conference held on 27 June 2019, when Jagdeo was serving as Opposition Leader and General Secretary of the People’s Progressive Party (PPP). At that event, Jagdeo made damaging public statements about Ceres’ 2019 land acquisition deal with his then-wife.

In her written ruling, Judge Lincoln-Corbin confirmed that Ceres had presented unchallenged evidence proving Jagdeo either personally published or authorized the publication of the defamatory claims against the engineer. The judge ultimately dismissed all three of Jagdeo’s core legal defenses: justification, fair comment, and qualified privilege. She emphasized that Jagdeo failed to introduce any credible evidence to support any of his defensive claims, despite cross-examining Ceres over the course of the trial in an apparent attempt to validate his arguments.

Alongside the GY$15 million in defamation damages owed directly to Ceres, Jagdeo was also ordered to pay an additional GY$2,150,000 to cover Ceres’ court costs. The ruling also addressed co-defendants Tusika Martin, Editor-in-Chief of the *Guyana Times*, and the newspaper outlet itself. After reviewing the full audio recording of the 2019 press conference that was entered into evidence, Judge Lincoln-Corbin found that while the outlet’s news headline did not clarify the piece was a report on the press conference, the body of the article constituted a fair and accurate summary of Jagdeo’s original remarks. As a result, the judge awarded discretionary costs of GY$1 million to Martin and the *Guyana Times*.

Ceres, a globally recognized geotechnical engineer and groundwater hydrologist with more than four decades of professional experience, was represented in court by attorney Darren Wade. Jagdeo’s legal team was led by barristers C.V. Satram and Ron Motilall.

Shortly after the ruling was issued, Wade announced on his Facebook page that Ceres plans to appeal the court’s decision as it relates to *Guyana Times*, and will also push for a higher damages award against Jagdeo. Even so, Wade publicly urged the vice president to resolve the matter immediately by paying the ordered damages rather than pursuing an appeal. “Mr. Bharrat Jagdeo, please pay up as soon as possible. Do not let anyone convince you that there is any real prospect of success on appeal,” Wade stated.

On June 11, 2026, Guyana’s Director of Public Prosecutions Shalimar Hack announced major progress in clearing the country’s long-standing High Court criminal case backlog, crediting targeted support from the Partnership of the Caribbean and European Union (PACE) Justice Project for the transformation. Speaking at the opening ceremony of a two-day joint training workshop for members of the Guyana Police Force and DPP Chambers, Hack detailed how multi-faceted assistance from the UNDP-implemented, EU-funded initiative has driven systemic improvement in the nation’s criminal justice sector.

Between 2020 and 2024, the High Court’s criminal assizes division regularly carried a docket of roughly 300 pending cases. As of 2025, that number has fallen to just over 100, a reduction of two-thirds that Hack called a remarkable milestone for the justice system. This progress came after the PACE project invested in specialized professional training, upgraded forensic infrastructure, and delivered new information technology hardware and software to DPP Chambers and law enforcement agencies.

Beyond clearing the existing backlog, Hack emphasized that the DPP is implementing permanent procedural reforms to prevent case backlogs from reaccumulating, with a core goal of guaranteeing timely trials for all defendants. As evidence of the new system’s efficiency, she noted that a murder trial for an offense committed only two years ago is set to begin next week, while defendants accused of crimes committed in 2025 have already completed their trials.

A key procedural change driving ongoing improvement is the adoption of the new paper committal system, which Hack said will allow her office to manage residual backlogged cases and new incoming caseloads simultaneously. Beyond streamlining court proceedings, the reform is expected to reduce Guyana’s pre-trial prison population, complementing government investments in new prison facilities that are designed to hold inmates in more humane, comfortable conditions while they await timely adjudication of their cases.

Dhiraj Singh, officer in charge of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Guyana, outlined the broader scope of the PACE Justice Project, which centers on reducing case backlogs and expanding equitable access to justice across the Caribbean region. The European Union, the project’s primary funding partner, has allocated approximately €9.75 million (equivalent to US$11.4 million or GYD$2.3 billion) to support criminal justice administration improvements across eight Caribbean nations, including Guyana.

Singh added that the Guyana Police Force has reaped substantial benefits from the initiative’s capacity-building components. In addition to receiving upgraded IT equipment, senior police officers have taken part in regional investigative training hosted in Barbados, while two senior leaders completed a professional study visit to Spain and Italy, where they observed cutting-edge investigation techniques and technological applications. Singh noted that these trained officers will now cascade their new skills and knowledge to broader ranks of the national police force, lifting the overall investigative capacity of Guyana’s law enforcement sector for long-term systemic improvement.

GEORGETOWN, GUYANA – 11 June 2026 – As Guyana grapples with a steep rise in civil lawsuits alleging constitutional rights violations by law enforcement, the country’s top legal leadership is pushing to establish a permanent, mandatory training program for all ranks of the Guyana Police Force (GPF) to strengthen legal compliance and operational accountability.

The announcement was delivered Thursday by Deputy Solicitor General Shoshanna Lall during the opening ceremony of a specialized joint training initiative between the GPF and the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP). This event falls under the Partnership of the Caribbean and European Union (PACE) Justice Project, a regional development effort co-funded by the European Union and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

Lall told attendees that Attorney General Anil Nandlall has already initiated preliminary discussions with DPP Director Shalimar Hack and senior UNDP representatives to formalize the permanent training framework. Unlike one-off workshops, the proposed program will focus exclusively on practical legal topics critical to daily police work: core criminal practice and procedure, constitutional law principles, updates to existing and newly enacted statutes, legislative amendments, proper protocols for traffic offense ticketing, the balance of civilian constitutional rights and freedoms during police operations, identification of repealed legislation, and analysis of binding case law precedents.

Lall emphasized that this targeted training fills a long-unaddressed gap in local law enforcement capacity building. While she publicly acknowledged the invaluable, wide-ranging “yeoman service” the GPF provides to Guyanese communities, she underlined that consistent, up-to-date legal knowledge is non-negotiable for ethical and effective policing.

Citing official data from the Attorney General’s Chambers, Lall confirmed that lawsuits against the GPF for alleged constitutional rights breaches have become one of the most frequent legal matters the chambers handles. “From my personal vantage point at the AG Chambers, when police – not all officers, by any means – fail to uphold these protected rights and freedoms, civil proceedings are immediately filed,” she explained. “Defending these police actions makes up the single largest portion of our court work. Constitutional challenge claims are filed almost every other day, requiring our team to continuously respond to litigation tied to police operations.”

Looking ahead, Lall noted that additional cross-sector training will be required later this year, when the judiciary formally launches new criminal code rules. This upcoming regulatory shift will require updated training not only for police officers, but also for prosecutors, judges, and practicing defense attorneys across the country to ensure uniform implementation of the new legal framework.

The push for permanent training comes as Guyana’s legal system continues to adapt to growing public demand for greater law enforcement accountability, with international development partners backing efforts to strengthen judicial and policing capacity across the Caribbean region.

On June 10, 2026, a fierce public and political debate over Guyana’s proposed amendment to the Sexual Offences Act took a sharp turn after the country’s president and vice president publicly broke ranks with the initial draft of the bill that would have created a closed, non-public sex offender registry.

The controversy erupted after the amendment, which was tabled in the National Assembly on June 5, drew widespread criticism from the public and opposition groups, who questioned the lack of transparent public consultation and the decision to keep the registry off-limits to ordinary residents. In the hours before the government’s reversal, Human Services and Social Security Minister Dr. Vindhya Persaud defended the closed register provision in a 3:19 PM Facebook post, arguing that the bill had been drafted in line with results from public consultations that overwhelmingly favored a non-public system.

Just one minute before Dr. Persaud’s post went live, however, Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo made a surprise announcement that upended the government’s initial position. Jagdeo revealed that President Irfaan Ali had issued a formal instruction to refer the pending Sexual Offences (Amendment) Bill to a bipartisan parliamentary Select Committee for expanded review and debate. Crucially, Jagdeo confirmed that both the president and the full Cabinet hold an unwavering position that any national sex offender registry must be open and accessible to the public. “I strongly share this view,” Jagdeo added, aligning himself firmly with the president’s stance.

Shortly after Jagdeo’s statement, Dr. Persaud backed the move to send the bill for further scrutiny, confirming that the bipartisan committee process would allow for broader input from parliamentarians. “My intention as subject Minister is to propose to have the Bill taken to Select Committee in Parliament to have it further discussed by members. It will benefit from more scrutiny and views at that Committee,” she said.

The announcement followed widespread pushback from members of the public who challenged Dr. Persaud’s claim that the closed register was backed by public consultation. Multiple commenters, including Jaya Manickchand, sister of sitting government minister Priya Manickchand, publicly questioned when and where these consultations were held, and how they were advertised to the general public. Dr. Persaud did not directly respond to these questions, but noted that the consultations had been led by consultant Dr. Kim Kyte through the Ministry of Legal Affairs. One public commenter called for the consultation process to be restarted with proper public advertising, with a full breakdown of stakeholder input shared publicly to justify any final decision on an open or closed register.

Beyond questions of process, the debate has exposed deep public divisions over the core policy question of whether a public or private registry better serves Guyana. Supporters of a closed register argue that an open system permanently stigmatizes offenders, blocking their path to rehabilitation and reintegration into society. Critics of open registries also note that the system harms people wrongfully accused of sexual offenses, destroying their personal and professional reputations before they can prove their innocence. They point to the case of young people who committed offenses as teenagers under the influence of drugs, alcohol or immaturity, arguing that if murderers can access rehabilitation and privacy after completing their sentences, sex offenders deserve the same second chance.

On the other side, advocates for an open register say a closed system offers no practical benefit to communities, who have a right to know if convicted sex offenders are living near them. “How would a closed register help anyone? Residents need to know who is living around them. It’s unfortunate that it took Guyana until 2026 to get this done and it’s of no use to anyone,” public commenter Harry Chowbey said.

The small non-parliamentary opposition Alliance For Change (AFC) has emerged as one of the most vocal critics of the original proposed amendment, arguing that the bill is unfit for parliamentary consideration and represents an insult to survivors of sexual abuse. “It sends a troubling message that the concerns of victims are secondary to the interests of offenders,” the party said in a formal statement.

The AFC also raised a series of procedural and policy objections to the original bill, questioning how the government expects offenders to comply with mandatory reporting requirements to Indigenous village chiefs (known as Toshaos) in remote communities that lack regular police presence. The party also criticized provisions in the bill that allow certain offenders to be exempted from the registry entirely. While the AFC acknowledged that it is reasonable to seal records for minor offenses committed by minors in appropriate cases, the party questioned who would be given the power to grant exemptions for offenders claimed to be mentally disabled. “If a court has convicted an individual of a sexual offence, it suggests that any defence based on mental incapacity was either unsuccessful or insufficient to prevent a finding of guilt,” the party noted.