Résumé : From the PNCR, GAP MPs free to vote conscience on gay rights bill By Johann Earle Stabroek News June 11, 2003 The PNCR will allow its members to vote their conscience on the controversial Constitution (Amendment) Act of 2001 which seeks to prevent discrimination against persons on the basis of their sexual orientation and other grounds. A number of religious organisations are opposed to the passage of the bill because it includes sexual orientation as one of the grounds. They are concerned that it could lead to a legalisation of homosexual relations and demands for recognition of gay marriages among other things. PNCR Member of Parliament (MP) Vincent Alexander told a forum at the National Library on Saturday, that the Bill did not seek to legalise homosexuality, but to ensure that persons would not be discriminated against based on their sexual preferences. He was one of two parliamentarians who showed up - the other being PNCR member, Myrna Peterkin. The forum was organised by Students Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination (SASOD), a group comprising fifteen students from the University of Guyana which was formed about two weeks ago. Alexander expects the vote on the bill to come up before the National Assembly in a matter of months. Paul Hardy, Leader of the Guyana Action Party (GAP), told Stabroek News that his party would not be using the so-called parliamentary whip. He added that GAP took a decision that every member should vote according to his or her own conscience. “We have no right to deny the rights of others based on sexual orientation. [The Bill] will guarantee rights to the homosexual.” GAP is in Parliament as part of an alliance with the Working People’s Alliance. GAP/WPA has two MPs. The bill was met with rejection from some members of the religious community in 2001 and as a result of this, the President did not assent to it. In a statement on Monday, the Central Islamic Organisa-tion of Guyana (CIOG) said that it stood in firm opposition to the Bill. The CIOG says the general purpose of the bill may be commendable and that the organisation’s objection is not based on a willingness to promote discrimination. Rather, the CIOG said, it was based on the fact that specific legal protection on the basis of sexual orientation without definition or qualification gives tacit legitimacy to practices which are considered criminal in Islam. “It is foreseeable that such a legal nod of approval (subtle as it may be) of these practices may pave the way for greater social (or even legal) acceptability in the future which, from the perspective of all Muslims including those in Guyana, is an undesirable and sinful outcome,” the CIOG statement said. At Saturday’s event, Muslim teacher Moulana Mohamed Ali Zenjibari spoke of instances of abuse, discrimination and harsh penalties meted out to gay and lesbian persons in countries such as Iran and Saudi Arabia and noted that the Quran did not sanction such punishments for homosexual behaviour. President of the CIOG, Fazeel Ferouz told Stabroek News that a meeting to discuss a strategy with regards to the bill was planned for tomorrow with various religious groups. Stabroek News tried to get a comment on the issue from the PPP/C but to no avail. ROAR leader, Ravi Dev said that his party was now having discussions on the issue. ROAR feels that it is an important question which has to do with morality and should be discussed across the country. He added legislators had to be in tune with their constituents on the issue. SASOD is lobbying for the legislation through the sensitisation of MPs. Keimo Benjamin, a law student at UG, gave a presentation based on the jurisprudential aspects of the discussion on sexual orientation. He argued that morality should not be the only guiding principle on which to base the laws. Sexual activities between two consenting male adults in private could not be equated with a violation of a person’s rights, he said, making the point that the thrust of his presentation was not whether homosexuality was wrong, but whether it violated the rights of others. He said that the attitudes of some towards this subject were based on preconceived notions and prejudices. He cited studies to show that the suppression of certain perceived deviant sexual impulses in persons might do more harm than good. One Harvard University study of teens who said they were gay indicated that those teens were three times more likely to commit suicide. Vidyaratha Kissoon, of Help and Shelter, in his contribution on Saturday, expressed his displeasure at the low turnout at the forum and urged the parliamentarians who showed up to take the message to their colleagues. He noted that because of homophobia, the numerical minority was terrified of speaking out against instances of discrimination. Gays and lesbians in Guyana were subjected to ridicule and abuse, and walk the streets at night not looking for sex necessarily, but for the companionship of persons who empathise with them. During his presentation, Joel Simpson, another member of SASOD, outlined a number of changes made within national jurisdictions that had international implications. One such crucial change was South Africa’s 1996 adoption of a new constitution, making that country the first in the world to expressly include sexual orientation as a prohibited ground of discrimination. It was the first time a developing country had taken the lead with respect to the rights of sexual minorities. He also said that according to Douglas Sanders, a Canadian jurist, the rights of homosexual, bisexual or transsexual men and women had never been officially recognised by the United Nations, despite the fact that international laws on the issue began to emerge at the close of the Second World War. Simpson said that under Article 170 (5), as amended by Section 8 of the Constitution (Amendment) (No. 4) Act 2000, the President is required to assent to any bill which is returned by the National Assembly unaltered after a two-thirds majority within 90 days of its presentation to him. To the parliamentarians present, Simpson stressed that the onus was now on them to adequately represent their constituents which include lesbian, gay, bisexual and transsexual Guyanese. http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news301/ns306115.htm and Vote on sexual orientation should be a matter of conscience - MP Alexander By Esther Elijah Guyana Chronicle June 8, 2003 PEOPLE’S National Congress (PNC/R) Member of Parliament Mr. Vincent Alexander, said the Opposition will vote on “conscience” when the piece of legislation on sexual orientation is again brought before the National Assembly. “With specific reference to my party, when this Bill gets back to the Parliament in the spirit of the arguments here, we will not use the `whip’. Our party will not say we have to vote for the provision (in the Sexual Orientation Bill). We will allow our members to vote as a matter of conscience,” he told participants gathered in the Conference Room of the National Library. “We feel this is a matter of conscience. You may end up with a collective position but you have to deal with us individually,” Alexander said at a poorly attended public consultation aimed at gaining support for sexual orientation to be considered a fundamental right in Guyana. Alexander, one of the main persons who sat on the Constitutional Reform Commission that addressed this controversial clause, said the legislation was not meant to legalise homosexual activities in Guyana. “It was intended to ensure that persons who have an orientation - a way of thinking - which may or may not lead to a certain activity, to not be discriminated against, in terms of their rights,” he explained. Alexander noted that very often, discussions on the sexual orientation provision in the Bill have led to seepages into other areas where debates centre on the “right to be homosexual.” “I am saying the Bill does not comment on that… However, law is peculiar, especially in a Common Law system. Once you venture out and change the law, very often you open other windows which we cannot definitively say exist or does not exist in advance,” he said. “The fear of some people is that the legislators might say one thing and the Courts will eventually say something else. While some people can’t argue against the law, per say, they will say this has opened a window of opportunity not meant to be opened. So, it is better to stay without a window than open it and then have a possibility of something you didn’t intend to happen - happening sometime in the future.” Alexander added: “I want to say I’ve found this activity to have been rich from the perspective of the amount of research which was done by student (speakers). Without any comment as to whether I agree with the arguments, I would wish that much more research on other issues be done by students, and that at the University (of Guyana) students would find it convenient to have forums on other issues, with the same depth of research for their own intellectual development.” Alexander and other Opposition M.P, Lurlene Nestor were the only three Parliamentarians in attendance at the session organised by the recently formed `Students Against Sexual Orientation Discrimination’ (SASOD), a group that has a membership of 15 mostly University of Guyana (UG) students from various faculties. SASOD was established two weeks ago. With the exception of members of the press, the consultation only managed to attract 11 persons, a handful of who were SASOD members. While congratulating the students for an “insightful” presentation, Nestor pointed out that whether or not she chooses to agree with their position is “another issue” and she is entitled to her “own view”. “The issue of sexual orientation is very `toucheous’ …while we agree with the human rights provisions and all that as a society, we must also revert to our own society. Some of the very critical questions that I would want to ask is whether or not at the society (level) we are ready for that kind of thing,” she remarked. “We cannot, at (any) time, ignore the religious groups in our society. If we look at statistics going back to 1992 from a survey done by the Bureau of Statistics, we would see that a small section of the Guyanese population might be considered as people who do not subscribe to a religious view. While the laws are not necessarily based on moral values, we must acknowledge the fact that we might want to revert to many of the cases that (concern) laws that protect public morality.” Nestor told the speakers at the consultation these were some of the issues that they needed to deal with. She highlighted, too, that what must be examined is the effects of same-sex marriages on society and how this issue must be tackled. “These are some of the things we should consider and I don’t think you dealt with that in the presentations,” Nestor stated, adding that the issues must be addressed “frontally.” “Do we think that with the coming to being of this Bill that there might be quite a number of challenges to the Constitution in relation to the same issue of a man marrying a man? What do we do at the society (level)? Do we recognise that?” were the questions directed at the five speakers at the session. Nestor continued: “There is some argument that says, `Oh the Bill does not promote homosexuality or does not encourage a man to marry (another) man, but if you look at Section (15) that talks about `non-discrimination’ then how can we not, with the passage of this Bill, allow a man not to marry (another) man.” According to Nestor, matters of this nature constitute some of the “inconsistencies” of the Bill. On the argument raised by presenters at the session on who determines what is morality, Nestor said in the concept of democracy it is the people who are the determinants based on a “line of thinking.” She also rebutted on grounds that put the spotlight on teachers who may have been caught “interfering” with their young students and who may subsequently be dismissed from their jobs. “Could you imagine such a person interfering with a boy below age 10 - and by virtue of the fact that the Bill is there, the judges (in the case) will have to use their discretion in terms of what happens. We will have more Constitutional changes and problems (arising with the passage of the Bill).” SASOD member and law student, Joel Simpson, in reply, said he doesn’t think any homosexual in Guyana wants to “run into a church and ask that people marry them or anything of that sort.” At one point likening the church to a “club”, Simpson claimed the church has the right to exclude whomever it wants. He further stated that in accordance with the Constitution, people of the same sex do not currently have the right to marry, and will also not be able to do such an act with the passage of the Bill. However, Simpson said it is possible that the law, with the passage of the Bill, would have to recognise same-sex domestic partnerships in relation to employment benefits, sharing of properties, etc. Simpson said he believes there should be a realm of “public” and “private” morality between consenting adults, and implied that the Bill did not fully give “rights” to homosexuals. But, Nestor interjected: “I am informing you further…that the Sexual Orientation provision has, in fact, in some way recognised the rights of homosexuals and we must accept that.” Meanwhile, there was no vocal Christian representative(s) at the consultation and apart from the two Opposition representatives none other participant gave comments or directed questions at the presenters. Other speakers in support of the sexual orientation clause were: Moulana Mohammed Ali Zenjiban, Assistant Director of the International Islamic College; Denuka Radzik from Red Thread, Keimo Benjamin, UG law student and Vidyartha Kissoon from Help & Shelter. The Sunday Chronicle has been reliably informed that the Georgetown Ministers Fellowship, representing groups of Christian leaders staunchly against sexual orientation as a right in Guyana, have recently prepared a detailed 16-page document outlining issues arising from research to further boost their argument against the inclusion of the clause. The document is yet to be made public. http://www.landofsixpeoples.com/news301/nc306083.htm

Droits : All rights reserved by the source institution.
http://ufdc.ufl.edu/AA00014700/00001

Éditeur(s) : Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE) Fundación Global Democracia y Desarrollo (FUNGLODE)
Résumé : (Funding) Support for the development of the technical infrastructure and partner training provided by the United States Department of Education TICFIA program.
Dominican Republic

Droits : All rights reserved by the source institution.
9945-412-17-5

Éditeur(s) : CRPLC : Centre de Recherche sur les Pouvoirs Locaux dans la Caraïbe
Extrait de : "Les entités infra-étatiques et les organisations de coopération et d'intégration régionales" : colloque international, les 25 et 26 mars 2013. Université des Antilles et de la Guyane
Description : "The Americas have a rich history of regional cooperation. In the Caribbean Basin, however, mechanisms for regional cooperation and/or integration have emerged which have sought to transcend the issues of legal status and to address common questions of socio-economic development, democratic institutions and functions. Three regional grouping fall into this category: the Caribbean Community (1937), the Organization of Eastern Caribbean States (1981) and the Association of Caribbean States (1994). This paper will do a comparative survey and analysis of the three organizations. The second part of the paper will examine the specific areas of greatest participation by the non-independent members in the activities of specific regional organizations. The conclusion addresses contemporary themes such as the dynamics of political/constitutional evolution which affect the membership of non-independent territories."
Siècle(s) traité(s) : 21
Droits : CC-BY-NC-ND - Attribution - Pas d'utilisation commerciale - Pas de modification
Permalien : http://www.manioc.org/fichiers/V13127
V13127

Éditeur(s) : Université des Antilles Études caribéennes
Résumé : Cet article analyse les interactions socioculturelles d’acteurs multiples ayant des intérêts divergents en regard de la reconnaissance d’un espace naturel à titre d’aire protégée, plus particulièrement le Parc marin du Saguenay–Saint-Laurent (PMSSL), situé au Québec à l’embouchure de la rivière Saguenay. Compris dans le sens d’espace socialisé et investi de valeurs parfois contradictoires, ce territoire constitue le cas empirique sur lequel repose l’analyse des logiques d’acteurs. La perspective ici mise de l’avant repose à la fois sur une décision de l’État de créer et de mettre en valeur une aire marine ainsi que sur la participation active des collectivités territoriales dans la gestion du patrimoine environnemental et culturel lié à leur identité propre. Si la participation des communautés locales apparaît comme un élément essentiel et démocratique dans la reconnaissance d’un espace naturel protégé, il apparaît tout aussi capital de bien saisir la logique qui sous-tend les actions de l’État et du milieu. Les résultats empiriques montrent deux logiques d’action distinctes à l’œuvre, une logique classique de planification et implantation stratégiques de l’état réservant une espace de participation programmée pour la communauté et une logique stratégique communautaire à caractère émergent, de portée moins englobante, mais adaptable aux nouvelles réalités et contraintes gouvernementales. Les résultats peuvent être représentés sous forme d’un processus de gouvernance à l’œuvre, un caractérisé par une participation de base, mais un qui suggère qu’un processus plus hautement démocratique nécessiterait un plus haut degré de vigilance dans la perspective communautaire, suffisante pour produire une meilleure symétrie de pouvoir démocratique entre l’État.
This paper analyzes the socio-cultural dynamic between multiple stakeholders with divergent interests concerning the formalization of the status of a natural area into a protected area. The empirical case under analysis is the creation of the Saguenay Marine Park located at the confluence of the St-lawrence and Saguenay rivers in Québec, a rural region represented by different localities showing some contradictions in socio-economic values and agendas. The dual perspective put forth is, first, the governmental decision one to create and promote a marine protected area, and second, the regional community one to participate in the process and adapt the management of their cultural and environmental heritage to their own perception of their socio-economic identity. The objective of analysis is to identify the logics of action underlying both processes. The empirical results show two distinct logics at work, a government logic of classic managerial planning and implementation into which the community has a programmed role and a community logic of emergent planning, less comprehensive in scope, but adaptable to the emerging realities and limitations of the governmnent one. They can be seen in tandem as representing a governance process at work, one with a basic participative character, but one which suggests that an enhanced democratic process entails a higher vigilance level from a community perspective, such as to produce a more even democratic symmetry of powers between the State and the regional community.
Québec

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
urn:doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.3565
http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/3565

Éditeur(s) : Université des Antilles Études caribéennes
Résumé : Les effets de la crise du capitalisme se sont traduits en Guadeloupe en janvier 2009 par un mouvement social sans précédent, dirigé par un collectif qui a suscité l’adhésion en raison de son expression du malaise social et de la gestion des revendications adressées au gouvernement. Ce mouvement social est innovant en Guadeloupe en raison de la pluralité des acteurs et de la nature de ses revendications. C’est donc sur son sens qu’il convient de s’interroger. Une société civile s’est réveillée créant de nouveaux espaces de débat.
Capitalism’s crisis effects resulted in social movement unprecedented led by a group that mobilized in the style of expressing unrest and managing demands that were sent to French government. This social movement is new in Guadeloupe because of variety actions and type of demands. It’s therefore necessary to consider its meaning: a civil society woke up creating new spaces for debate.
Guadeloupe

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
urn:doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.4898
http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/4898

Éditeur(s) : HAL CCSD
Résumé : International audience
This text in legal and sociological scope proposes to focus on the rights of young citizens in the development of norms and urban and environmental projects. For this purpose, the mental capacities due to age of the individual should not be forgotten. This article also attempts to provide some insights on the mechanisms implemented and particularly the added value provided by the use of ICT in the context of democratization.
Ce texte à portée juridico-sociologique propose de se concentrer sur les droits du jeune citoyen en matière d’élaboration des normes et des projets urbains et environnementaux. A cet effet, il convient de ne pas oublier les capacités mentales dues à l’âge de chaque individu. Cet article tente également de fournir quelques éclairages sur les dispositifs mis en oeuvre et plus particulièrement la plus-value apportée par l’utilisation des TIC dans ce contexte de démocratisation.
Les écosystèmes numériques et la démocratisation informationnelle : Intelligence collective, Développement durable, Interculturalité, Transfert de connaissances
Schoelcher, France

hal-01258204
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01258204
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01258204/document
https://hal.univ-antilles.fr/hal-01258204/file/Julien%20VIEIRA.pdf

Éditeur(s) : Université des Antilles Études caribéennes
Résumé : Le tourisme est souvent présenté comme l’un des instruments d’un développement durable, même s’il connaît une expansion difficilement maîtrisable, au détriment du patrimoine environnemental, insulaire et littoral en particulier, comme dans les DOM-TOM.Le tourisme a des impacts, culturels et sociaux notamment, sur l’environnement. Les ressources du patrimoine alimentent de leur côté la demande et l’offre touristiques. Un tourisme assis sur une gestion ad hoc des ressources du patrimoine constitue un facteur puissant de durabilité du développement local. La soumission de l’activité touristique aux exigences de protection, de conservation et de gestion reproductible de la biodiversité et du patrimoine naturel, dans les aires protégées de la Caraïbe française en particulier, génère des approches, des stratégies et des comportements nouveaux. La démarche écotouristique appelle une gestion participative et intégrée des ressources et des espaces, et constitue un défi pour les opérateurs du tourisme comme pour les acteurs de l’environnement, et une opportunité de « réappropriation » de leur milieu de vie par les populations locales. Il faut alors en clarifier le concept et les implications ; puis en analyser les objectifs et les enjeux dans une perspective de développement durable.
Tourism often appears as one a tool for a sustainable development, even if it is not easy to control, in the détriment of island and costal environment heritage, as in French overseas regions. Besides the cultural and social impacts of tourism upon environment, the heritage resources nuture the touristic request and offer. If based on an appropriate management of those resources, it may be a strong incentive for local sustainable development. The respect of protection, conservation and sustainable management of biodiversity and natural resources by tourism, especially in the overseas regions of French West Indies, produces new approaches, strategies and behaviours. The ecotourism approach, calling for a joint and integrated management of resources and areas, is a challenge for tour operators as for environment actors, and brings local population an opportunity to reappropriate their life environment. Its concept and implications must then be clarified, before analysing its aims and stakes regarding sustainable development
Caraïbes

Droits : info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
urn:doi:10.4000/etudescaribeennes.3560
http://journals.openedition.org/etudescaribeennes/3560