GHRA demands Parliament-led COI into MV Barima sinking

What this source establishes

Kaieteur News reports the Guyana Human Rights Association's Executive Committee rejecting a Commission of Inquiry whose members are named solely by the executive. The GHRA proposes a seven-member parliamentary commission: three appointed by Government, three by the Leader of the Opposition, and a President with a judicial background, preferably from elsewhere in the Caribbean, endorsed by the other commissioners. It sets out three procedural principles: a statutory duty of candour on officials, state funding for bereaved families' legal representation, and Chair control over admissibility and national-security claims. The GHRA invokes the 2024 Adrianne Younge case as precedent for what follows when inquiries are seen as compromised.

Figures cited in this source

more than 70 bodies recovered

Key claims

• The Guyana Human Rights Association (GHRA) raised concerns over President Ali's plan to unilaterally name the membership of the COI, warning that a body appointed solely by the executive cannot be seen as impartial.
• In a statement issued by its Executive Committee, the GHRA said the announcement 'was not unexpected' and confirmed fears the inquiry could become 'another instance of institutionalized political debauchery'.
• The GHRA said that no matter how qualified the nominees, appointment by the very authorities with the most to lose from an impartial probe undermines public confidence from the outset.
• Prime Minister Brigadier (Ret'd) Mark Phillips has said an independent commission will investigate the circumstances, including discrepancies in the ferry's passenger manifest and whether operating procedures were followed.
• The GHRA outlined three principles: a positive duty of candour on public officials backed by sanctions including prosecution and imprisonment; state-funded independent legal representation for bereaved families; and authority vested in the Chair of the Commission, not the agencies under investigation, to rule on admissibility of evidence and on attempts to invoke 'national security' to shield agencies from disclosure.
• The GHRA said: 'No opportunity has been afforded to date to the public or any civic organization to discuss these or similar proposals. Those nominated by the President can expect to be questioned as to their position on such matters.'
• The GHRA referenced the aftermath of the 2024 death of 11-year-old Adrianne Younge in a hotel swimming pool, when a widely criticised official investigation triggered street violence, curfews and public outrage.
• The GHRA recommended a seven-member parliamentary commission: three members appointed by the Government, three by the Leader of the Opposition, and a President with a judicial background, preferably drawn from elsewhere in the Caribbean, endorsed by the other commissioners.
• The GHRA called for clear sanctions for officials who mislead or obstruct the inquiry; public proceedings open to broadcast media; and accountability for parliamentarians who endorse what it called 'an evidently tainted enquiry', which it said could expose them to charges of misconduct in public office.
• The GHRA proposed a joint political and civic push urging the Government toward a more acceptable form of COI, seeking only an agreement in principle to hold joint meetings.
• The GHRA said such cooperation would be more likely to succeed if the parliamentary opposition began operating as a unified bloc under the leadership of the WIN party, moving past 'discredited and ineffective self-centred posturing'.

Quotations

• “another instance of institutionalized political debauchery”— Guyana Human Rights Association, Executive Committee statement
• “No opportunity has been afforded to date to the public or any civic organization to discuss these or similar proposals. Those nominated by the President can expect to be questioned as to their position on such matters.”— Guyana Human Rights Association
• “Secondly, the State must provide bereaved families with funded legal representation, in the same way as public bodies will benefit from them”— Guyana Human Rights Association
• “discredited and ineffective self-centred posturing”— Guyana Human Rights Association, on the parliamentary opposition

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