Guyana’s Labour Minister Joseph Hamilton on Monday said that Guyana will continue to advocate for digital justice while advancing the fight for reparative justice.
Hamilton speaking at the 4th Session United Nations of the Permanent Forum on People of African Descent said the government which he is a part of has embarked on a transformative agenda that is rapidly changing the economic and physical infrastructure of the country.
“This is deliberately matched with initiatives that ensure greater inclusion and participation of all citizens in the goods, services, and opportunities available to reduce poverty, geographic disparity, ethnic insecurities, and inequality. Time will only allow me to focus on two areas of social justice and how this approach has transformed the lives of Guyanese, including persons of African descent”.
Hamilton made mention of education and human resource development initiatives such as the Guyana Online Academy through which thousands of scholarships were awarded over the last four years; cash grant schemes and distribution of house lots.
“Guyana’s massive national housing program over the last four years alone has distributed over 40,000 house lots, benefiting 200,000 people. Notably, 43% of the owners are women, no ethnic group is excluded. In addition, several subsidies are provided for low-income households, such as mortgage relief at low interest rates”.
Coming directly after Minister Hamilton was the Executive Director of the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) Dr. Natalia Kanem, who said work is being done with twenty-two countries in Latin America and the Caribbean on disaggregation of data.
“Disaggregation of population data by race and ethnicity helps us to lift the cloak of invisibility from groups too often left behind. Why? Because you cannot change what you cannot see. With UNFPA support, 22 countries in Latin America and the Caribbean now include race and ethnic self-identification in their censuses”.
Dr. Kanem also issued a call for countries to end gender-based violence against women of African descent.
“Gender-based violence, it is an ugly, troubling epidemic now exacerbated by online toxicity directed at women and girls of African descent. And this forum will have a role to play in insisting that racism and sexism have no place in public dialog. And that certainly includes the digital space”.