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friday, april 11, 2014 | guyanatimeSGY.com
Girvan’s passing is an immense loss – Ramotar
EU committed to eradicating child abuse in Guyana
ow Mrs Jasmine Girvan and his family. “Highly respected throughout Latin America and the Caribbean, the magnitude of Professor Girvan’s success in the varied roles which he undertook is measured by the extent of his humility and sincerity. In his capacity as the Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary General in the Good Offices Process, he demonstrated a constructive and objective approach. The Caribbean has lost one of its finest minds,” President Donald Ramotar
Late Professor Norman Girvan
resident Donald Ramotar has described the passing of Professor Norman Girvan as an immense loss for the Caribbean which will be felt for quite some time. The President in a statement said Professor Girvan’s writing and sharp analyses spanning a myriad of issues, demonstrated sincerity in contributing to solutions to the challenges of the economic and social development of the wider Caribbean. Ramotar said his vision for the region’s integration was driven by a profound desire for the peoples of the Caribbean Community to benefit from sustained socio-economic development in a single space. “For Guyana, we valued the wisdom which he brought to the Good Offices Process as the Personal Representative of the United Nations Secretary General. We have indeed lost a great Caribbean icon. I extend my deepest condolences to Mrs Girvan and to his family,” Ramotar said. Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett also expressed sadness at his passing, while extending condolences to his wid-
served as Secretary General of the Association of Caribbean States, Professor of Development Studies and Director of the Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies at the University of the West Indies, and head of the National Planning Agency of the Government of Jamaica. He received his Bachelor’s Degree in Economics of the University College of the West Indies and his PhD in Economics from the London School of Economics. Professor Girvan has published extensively on the political economy of development in the Caribbean and the Global South. He is the recipient of several honours and awards. Regarding his role in the Guyana/Venezuela border controversy, the UN had said that he would assist the two countries in resolving the long-standing issue. His appointment was a response to a request from the parties to resume the Secretary General’s good offices, which were suspended in 2007 due to the death of the Secretary General’s last Personal Representative Oliver Jackman.
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Foreign Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett
Rodrigues-Birkett said. Until recently, Girvan was Professorial Research Fellow at the University of the West Indies (UWI) Graduate Institute of International Relations. In 2010, he was appointed United Nations Secretary General’s Personal Representative on the Guyana-Venezuela Border Controversy. In 2002-2011, he was a Board Member of the South Centre and served as Vice Chairman from 2006 to 2011. Since 2009, he has been a member of the United Nations Committee on Development Policy. He
Head of Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecký speaking at the ChildLink Partnership Review held at Cara Lodge, Georgetown on Thursday
H
ead of Delegation of the European Union (EU) in Guyana, Ambassador Robert Kopecký has underscored the body’s commitment to help in eradicating child abuse in Guyana. Ambassador Kopecký was at the time delivering remarks at the ChildLink Partnership Review held at the Cara Lodge, Georgetown. The Partnership Review is aimed at assessing the impact of the various ChildLink programmes in Guyana, and also to highlight the lessons learnt and challenges encountered in implementation. The EU has been a partner of ChildLinK since 2010 and channels its support to the non-government organisations (NGOs) via the European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR), which has as its main objective the
DSCL hosts blood drive to celebrate 20th anniversary
T
he Demerara Shipping Company Limited (DSCL) recently hosted a blood drive at the company’s Water and Schumaker streets office, Georgetown as part of activities to celebrate its 20th anniversary. The company in a release said the drive, which was conducted in partnership with the National Blood Transfusion Service, saw 33 employees donating one unit of blood. DSCL Operations Manager Mahendra Ramjeawan noted that the event was chosen by employees to celebrate the occasion. He used the opportunity to thank customers and
A Demerara Shipping Company Limited employee donating blood
stakeholders for their support over the years. He also thanked all of the company’s employees for their sterling contributions over the years, especially those who gave blood. DSCL’s parent company, the Demerara Distillers Limited (DDL) also hosted their own blood drive on March 24 and this saw employees contributing another 24 units of blood to the National Blood Transfusion Service. National Blood Transfusion Service Director, Dr Nadia Liu expressed heartfelt appreciation to DSCL and DDL for their continued support over the years.
strengthening of the role of civil society in promoting human rights. To this end, the EU has published regular Calls for Proposals in Guyana since 2010, and to date has awarded contracts totalling G$432 million to Guyanese civil society organisations. Three grant contracts to ChildLinK totalling G$103 million have been approved to partly fund interventions aimed at providing security and protection from violence to children in Guyana.
Protection
In October 2010, a grant contract for G$22 million to support the Hug Project was signed by ChildLinK with the EU Delegation. The main objective of that project was to provide protection and security to children from violence in the Agricola and Ruimveldt communities. That project has been successfully implemented and has exceeded most of its targets, especially in the areas of training of caregivers and child protection sensitisation with children and psychosocial support. All cases of children needing support from a counsellor were closed responsibly at the end of this initiative, and children and families who needed additional support were referred to other relevant agencies. In December 2012, a G$27 million grant was signed with ChildLinK to partly fund the Alternative Family-Based Care Project. This project is currently ongoing and the objective is to build strong systems, policies, practices and guidelines that ensure the new child protection legislation becomes operational for the social protection of Guyanese children by December 2014, in collaboration with the Human Services and Social Security Ministry’s Child Care and
Protection Agency. In December 2013, a G$54 million grant was approved for ChildLinK to partly fund the Empowering Children in Difficult Circumstances Project. This initiative has as its overall objective, the strengthening of policies, practices and approaches to ensure social welfare services prevent and protect 12,650 children across Guyana from sexual violence by December 2015. Ambassador Kopecký in his remarks commended ChildLinK for their continued commitment to the elimination of child abuse and for becoming one of the important actors in Guyana in the fight against child abuse. Ambassador Kopecký also echoed the recent statement by Attorney General Anil Nandlall, that, ‘’no convictions for sex crimes in two years suggests a revision of the jury system being long overdue’’, adding that he welcomed the Attorney General’s open words on this sensitive subject. The EU has taken strong and active measures to curb this terrible problem which robs affected children of their precious innocence and carefree childhood, and which leaves in its wake everlasting scars in the lives of these children, their families, communities, countries and ultimately the entire world.
Civil society
The EU recognises the important role of civil society in the promotion and protection of human rights, which of course includes children’s rights. Hence, aiding civil society organisations such as ChildLinK to become an effective force for the defence of children’s rights fulfils one of the central objectives of the EU’s development policy, which is the alleviation of poverty. The EU strongly believes that its financial support of this nature, coupled with the right policies, can help in achieving the objectives of the European Consensus on Development which underlines that ‘progress in the protection of human rights, good governance and democratisation is fundamental for poverty reduction and sustainable development’, thereby contributing to the achievement of the Millennium Development Goals. The partnership review serves as an important forum for increasing the fight against all forms of child abuse, especially by sharing experiences of lessons learnt in previous projects, and also of the challenges encountered in implementation. Perpetrators still have to see more clearly that the system does not tolerate their actions and the consequences are real and severe.