Constitutional lecture sparks discussion on balancing freedoms

…as AG urges balance between individual freedoms and rights of others

Attorney General and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall has reminded citizens that Guyana’s constitution provides mechanisms that allows for persons to ensure their enshrined rights are enforced. He was at the time speaking at a lecture, at the Arthur Chung Conference Center (ACCC) on the fundamental rights provisions in the Constitution of Guyana, the redress provisions in the Constitution of Guyana and the incorporation of key human rights instruments in the Constitution.
During his remarks he explained that, human rights play an important role in our lives however, he noted that these rights mean little if they are no proper systems in place to enforce them, as such he highlighted article 153 of the constitution which ensures that the fundamental rights enshrined within the constitution are enforced.
“The constitution provides a mechanism that allows you to enforce these rights and that mechanism is contained in article 153, any person including a person acting on behalf of another, so if your fundamental rights are violated and you can’t file an action someone can file it on your behalf, or you can act on behalf of a group whose rights are violated and all of these are new amendments” he stated.
Moreover, the Attorney General informed the class that though the constitution provides the right to certain freedoms, these freedoms are not absolute, noting that several conceptual difficulties arise from the issue of freedom.

“Regularly you hear a person asserting their freedom to do this and rightfully so, but no freedom is absolute, you have a right to free speech but you cannot shout fire! Fire! In a crowded cinema, because it will cause mayhem, you have a freedom of movement but you cannot drive down a one-way street so all freedoms have restrictions” he stated.
On this point he explained that persons must pay due regard to the conflicting rights and freedoms of others, if not he noted that freedom will lead to chaos and anarchy amongst the population.
“So if we are to live in a civilised and ordered society then the same rights and freedoms that the constitution gives you musty be balanced against the rights and freedom of your neighbour, so you have a right to play music but your neighbour has the right to enjoy peace and quiet, so if you play your music to such a decibel so as to affect his quietude then you have a problem. And the same principal applies to every single right,” he stated.
Meanwhile, over 100 Guyanese are participating in the Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Ministry’s International Human Rights Law Course. The newly launched course saw some 1000 persons submitting applications to be a part of the course however only 250 were shortlisted and 195 were enrolled in the programme.
Parliamentary Affairs and Governance Minister, Gail Teixeira addressing the gathering said that the programme stemmed from the urgent need to sensitise citizens about human rights and the importance of these rights. In this regard the minister highlighted that the ministry has conducted several programmes over the years which only catered for the staff of government agencies, however to further sensitise persons, there was a recognised need to administer the programme to a larger audience.
The programme commenced on August 5 and will be executed for a total of 10 weeks, with classes being held two times per week virtually from 18:00h to 20:0h, upon completion participants will receive a certificate from the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance for dedicating their time towards completing the course.