CAT/C/GUY/CO/1
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The State party should strengthen the administrative measures to control the
indiscriminate issuance of firearms licences, ensuring that the process of application
for firearms is streamlined and that the Firearm Regulations are applied uniformly
and amended where necessary.
8.
The Committee regrets the lack of information on the compliance by the State party with
article 3 of the Convention.
The Committee would like to remind the State party of the absolute nature of the
prohibition on expelling, returning (refouler) or extraditing a person to another
State where there are substantial grounds for believing that the person would be in
danger of being subjected to torture, as established by article 3 of the Convention.
The State party should submit in its next periodic report information regarding the
implementation of article 3 of the Convention in cases of extradition, expulsion or
return (refoulement) of foreigners.
9.
While taking note of the efforts made by the State party in addressing the issue of the
ethnic composition in the Guyana Police Force, the Committee is concerned at the reduced
presence of persons of Indo-Guyanese origin in the police force, which would appear to be
among the underlying causes of the high number of deaths in custody of persons of
Indo-Guyanese origin.
The State party should continue its efforts to diversify the ethnic composition of the
Guyana Police Force and take appropriate measures to prevent the incidence of
deaths in custody.
10.
While taking note of the low number of health personnel in the country, the Committee is
concerned at the absence of training for medical officers on their obligations under the
Convention, particularly to identify and document cases of torture and to assist in the
rehabilitation of victims (art. 10).
The State party should take the necessary steps to ensure that adequate training is
provided to the medical personnel in the country regarding their obligations under
the Convention and in accordance with the Istanbul Protocol. The State party is
encouraged to seek international cooperation and technical assistance to conduct
such trainings.
11.
The Committee is concerned about reports on the excessive length of pretrial detention,
which, despite existing legislation limiting its duration, can occasionally last between three and
four years (art. 11).
The State party should take all necessary measures to guarantee that the mandatory
limits established by law are respected in practice in order to ensure that pretrial
detention is only used as an exceptional measure for a limited period of time.