U.S. Embassy conducts human rights training for police, prosecutors, and judges

The U.S. Department of State’s Bureau of Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor (DRL) on Friday conducted training for senior members of the Guyana Police Force (GPF), the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, and the Judiciary.

The training focused on the Department of State Leahy Law, which prohibits State assistance to foreign security forces if there is credible information that a security force unit has committed a gross violation of human rights (GVHR), to include extrajudicial killings, torture, forced disappearance, or rape under the colour of law.

In a release the embassy said the training reviewed definitions of GVHR types, the consequences of committing GVHRs, and the information and reporting standards required to demonstrate that the government of the country is taking effective steps to bring the responsible members of the security forces unit to justice before the resumption of assistance can be considered.

This training was the second in a series of trainings for Guyana’s criminal justice sector, following a January 25 training on the same topic for over 150 members of the GPF and the Guyana Prison Service. This series of trainings on the State Leahy law is an example of the U.S. government’s commitment to the professionalism of Guyana’s criminal justice sector and promoting respect and protection of human rights.