Government commits to complying with IACHR Precautionary Measures on Chinese Landing
– all parties urged to cooperate during the process
The Government of Guyana hereby wishes to present the public with the facts regarding the ongoing petition by the Village Council of Chinese Landing, the Amerindian People’s Association and the UK Forest Peoples Programme (the applicants/beneficiaries) to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR).
Firstly, Guyana is a member of the Organisation of American States (OAS), and while like many other countries in the OAS, Guyana is not a signatory of the American Convention on Human Rights, the state party is still held to the principles of the convention, as all members states are expected to uphold the rights contained therein. The Inter American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) is one of the two organs of the Convention with due competence to act in matters relating to the fulfillment of the commitments made by the States Parties of the OAS. The functions of the IACHR include accepting petitions and other communications and making recommendations to the Governments of the member states when it considers such action advisable.
On March 8, 2023, the applicants submitted a request for precautionary measures to be granted by the IACHR which would require the State Party, Guyana, to adopt measures to protect the rights to health, personal integrity and life of the beneficiaries. The IACHR then requested information from the State on March 23, 2023. A response was sent by the State on April 17, 2023, which was provided to the applicants who then made an additional submission to the IACHR on May 22, 2023. The government was not asked by IACHR to respond to new allegations. The IACHR Resolution No 41- 23 granting precautionary measures followed approximately two months after on July 21, 2023.
The premise of the application is based on reports which suggest that the residents of Chinese Landing are at risk in the context of an alleged unconsented mining encroachment by Mr. Wayne Vieira on the titled lands of Chinese Landing. The applicants also argue that there has been a history a violence, threats, and harassment made by Vieira’s operatives. The petition also notes negative environmental impacts of the ongoing mining, which is the primary economic activity in Chinese Landing among both villagers and outside miners. The medium scale mining concession in question was granted to Vieira in 1995 in an area of the land known as Tassawini. This granting of the concession in 1995 predated the Amerindian Act of 2006 which is now the principal legal authority requiring consent of the village council and the miner to carry out mining activities and for the village council to receive royalties directly from the miner. Noteworthy is that Mr. Vieira and the Chinese Landing Village Council entered into an Agreement on July 19th, 1998. This agreement was not renewed by the Village Council after the passage of the Amerindian Act. On July 27, 2011, the Village Council formally wrote to the GGMC that it had decided not to renew the agreement with Mr. Vieira.
The Government of Guyana wishes to place of record that there were numerous correspondences among the Village Council, the Minister of Amerindian Affairs and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) between 2004 and 2006 regarding the continuance of Veira’s permit. In 2007, the Minister of Amerindian Affairs indicated to the GGMC that a renewal of Vieira’s permit was a breach of good faith and was in contravention of the Amerindian Act of 2006. Subsequently, in 2010 after receiving further complaints from the village council about the discrepancies and resulting issues between the village and Vieira, GGMC issued a Cease Work Order (CWO) on Mr. Vieira on the basis that he had no formal agreement with the village council of Chinese Landing to mine, and as such was in violation of the Amerindian Act of 2006.
Vieira then moved to the courts, bringing a claim against the validity of the CWO issued by GGMC which he won in 2012. The GGMC did not renew Mr. Vieira’s license. This resulted in two other cases which were brought in 2013. This case made its way through the domestic judicial system, and in December 2017, the Caribbean Court of Justice (CCJ), Guyana’s apex court, ruled in favour of Vieira, thereby rendering the CWO void. In keeping with the principles of respecting the rule of law, Mr. Vieira’s mining permits were renewed on April 17, 2018.
In 2021, the applicants before the IACHR then brought a new case against Vieira and the GGMC. This case was dismissed but is now being appealed. As such, the appeal will be heard in Guyana’s domestic courts, and can also be taken to the CCJ if the applicants are dissatisfied with the outcome. Thus, a case regarding Chinese Landing is before the Guyanese courts once again.
After the request for precautionary measures were submitted to the IACHR, the Government of Guyana undertook a series of processes to ensure that an unbiased and comprehensive response informed by facts, evidence and records could be submitted to the IACHR. The Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, as the Ministry responsible for Guyana’s human rights treaty reporting obligations, immediately coordinated a team of technical experts to conduct a visit to Chinese Landing to assess the situation, gather more information, and commence interventions to address the claims made by the applicants.
Heads of agencies including the GGMC, Guyana Police Force and Environmental Protection Agency were consulted in the preparation of the State’s response to the claims. Recognizing the sub judicial nature of the claims against Vieira, the Government of Guyana was focused on addressing the most critical rights issues in the claims, especially those regarding threats, harassment, and violence against the Amerindian people of Chinese Landing, as the law is clear on the consequences of such actions. Regrettably, investigations revealed that many of the allegations made to the IACHR were not reported to the relevant local authorities, and as such, there were no records to inform legal proceedings against alleged perpetrators. Notwithstanding, efforts were made to get in contact with the alleged victims – some refused to give statements, some denied such events, while others could not be found or no longer resided in Chinese Landing. Information about the deployment of Joint Patrol teams to Chinese Landing and neighbouring communities, findings from several meetings with the village council and residents, and information about the complete absence of formal reports were also provided to the IACHR, along with critical information about the consistent scientific investigations and advancements which showed improved water quality through turbidity testing.
All these facts and more were presented to the IACHR in the State’s April 17, 2023 submission.
However, the Government of Guyana acknowledges the decision of the IACHR in Resolution No. 41/23 to issue precautionary measures and takes very seriously the recommendations contained therein.
As a result, the Government of Guyana has already completed an initial planning meeting to address the precautionary measures among senior government officials including the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, the Minister of Amerindian Affairs, the Minister of Natural Resources and the Minister of Home Affairs, along with the Commissioner of Police (ag), heads of the GGMC, Legal Advisors of the Attorney General’s Chambers and technical staff of the respective ministries and agencies. In this meeting, a plan of action was greed upon, and steps are now being taken to ensure that the following actions are implemented:
1. A new multisectoral fact-finding team is being assembled of government officials to be deployed into Chinese Landing to further assess the social and environmental issues which need to be addressed based on the IACHR summary of its decision and guided by the terms of reference for the team. This team will report directly to the high-level committee coordinated by the Minister of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance.
2. In keeping with the requirements for permission to be sought from the Toshao and Village Council before entering their lands, a letter of request based on the IACHR Resolution has been sent to Toshao Orin Fernandes to indicate the Government’s interest in sending in the fact-finding team. Regrettably, up to the time of the dissemination of this release, the request for permission to enter remains pending.
3. Upon the completion of the fact-finding mission, the high-level committee will invite representatives of the Chinese Landing Village Council, the mining company and miners operating in the area as well as relevant agencies to engage in discussions about mutually beneficial and amicable measures which can be adopted in the interest of protecting fundamental human rights of all concerned. This is in keeping with the precautionary measures issued which stipulate that the state must consult and adopt measures.
4. Submit a formal response to the IACHR, informed by the results of the fact-finding mission, consultations and further investigations.
5. Work with the community of Chinese Landing to develop a permanent monitoring mechanism, established within the community, which will have a clearly defined responsibility to monitor and report on all issues which pose threats. This mechanism will allow for reports to be recorded, dispatched to the relevant authorities and acted upon in a timely manner. Any reports of infringements on human rights in contradiction of the constitution and legislation of Guyana will be investigated and acted upon accordingly.
6. The relevant authorities will conduct further scientific studies to ascertain impacts of environmental factors. The types of studies to be conducted will be informed by consultations with the community and relevant experts.
The Government of Guyana remains committed to ensuring that the rights of all persons in Guyana are protected, especially the most vulnerable. This commitment is evident in all the efforts that the government has made to improve the lives of Amerindian peoples across the country and to realize culturally appropriate development in Amerindian villages through annual presidential grants, relief grants, Amerindian Development Fund grants and other additional grants from carbon credits, scholarships, and expansion of health and education services.
These efforts to address the issues in Chinese Landing date as far back as the interventions implemented by Government since 2006. However, these interventions were nullified repeatedly by the several rulings of the court.
Notwithstanding, all good-faith efforts will be made to ensure that the State is in compliance with the precautionary measures issued by the IACHR. The Government of Guyana also takes this opportunity to urge all parties involved to cooperate during this process and have good sense prevail to ensure that all possibilities for adequate resolution can be explored and implemented in the best interest of the Amerindians peoples of Chinese Landing and the wider society.