A/HRC/29/16 Introduction 1. The Working Group on the Universal Periodic Review, established in accordance with Human Rights Council resolution 5/1 of 18 June 2007, held its twenty-first session from 19 to 30 January 2015. The review of Guyana was held at the 15th meeting on 28 January 2015. The delegation of Guyana was headed by Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett. At its 18th meeting, held on 30 January 2015, the Working Group adopted the report on Guyana. 2. On 13 January 2015, the Human Rights Council selected the following group of rapporteurs (troika) to facilitate the review of Guyana: Ethiopia, Portugal and the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela. 3. In accordance with paragraph 15 of the annex to resolution 5/1 and paragraph 5 of the annex to resolution 16/21, the following documents were issued for the review of Guyana: (a) A national report submitted/written presentation made in accordance with paragraph 15 (a) (A/HRC/WG.6/21/GUY/1); (b) A compilation prepared by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) in accordance with paragraph 15 (b) (A/HRC/WG.6/21/GUY/2); (c) A summary prepared by OHCHR in accordance with paragraph 15 (c) (A/HRC/WG.6/21/GUY/3). 4. A list of questions prepared in advance by Germany, Mexico, the Netherlands, Norway, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland was transmitted to Guyana through the troika. These questions are available on the extranet of the universal periodic review (UPR). I. Summary of the proceedings of the review process A. Presentation by the State under review 5. Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Minister of Foreign Affairs, presented the national report for the second UPR of Guyana as well as the status of the implementation of the recommendations made at the fifteenth session of the Human Rights Council in 2010. 6. The delegation recalled that, as highlighted in the national report, Guyana had submitted State party reports to various treaty bodies. Guyana had also submitted to the International Labour Organization (ILO) 80 per cent of its reports that had been outstanding. 7. Additionally, during the reporting period, Guyana had ratified or acceded to several conventions, and was actively considering ratifying the 1951 Convention relating to the Status of Refugees and its 1967 Protocol. 8. The delegation expressed its concern that the national report had not been posted in a timely manner for the benefit of the various delegations; many of the questions submitted in advance related to issues that had been addressed in the report. 9. Guyana had voluntarily committed to hold consultations on 28 of the 55 recommendations. Those included recommendations on the abolition of the death penalty, on the abolition of corporal punishment, on the decriminalization of consensual same-sex 3