Establishment of Rights Commissions achievable

President David Granger has said the establishment of the four rights commissions is achievable with the full cooperation of the Opposition by the end of this year and reiterated his commitment to meaningful consultations with the political Opposition to see this process through.

The President was at the time responding to questions posed by a reporter during the recording of his weekly programme ‘The Public Interest’.

The Commissions are the Women and Gender Equality Commission, the Indigenous Peoples’ Commission, the Rights of the Child Commission, the Human Rights Commission and the Ethnic Relations Commission.

“Each Minister is aware of the person in the Opposition with whom he or she has to deal on matters of State policy… It is just a matter of form to ensure that there is consultation and there are many other issues on which we have to consult with the Opposition but there are no obstacles to consultation and it is the principle of the coalition to ensure that there is consultation,” President Granger said.

Commissioners were last appointed for the Women and Gender Equality Commission, Indigenous Peoples’ Commission and Rights of the Child Commission in 2010, while the Ethnic Relations Commission has been without a chair since 2011. The Human Rights Commission, which has to comprise the chairpersons of the other four Commissions, was never constituted under the previous Administration.