A/HRC/15/60 3. General comments made by other relevant stakeholders 588. Amnesty International regretted the fact that Guyana had not committed to establishing an independent inquiry into abuses allegedly committed by death squads. It expressed its disappointment that Guyana had rejected recommendations to establish a moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. Nevertheless, it welcomed Guyana’s commitment to continue the consideration of this issue over the next two years and to report on its findings to the Council. Amnesty International urged Guyana to remove legislation that discriminated against individuals on the basis of their sexual orientation and to repeal laws that criminalized sexual activity between consenting adults of the same sex. It welcomed Guyana’s commitment to hold consultations on the issue of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. 589. Action Canada for Population and Development on behalf of the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, welcomed Guyana’s commitment to hold consultations on issues affecting LGBT people over the next two years, and expressed its willingness to work with the Government. The attempt in 2003 to include “sexual orientation” in Guyana’s Constitution as a basis for discrimination had not been genuine, as the issue had been presented in a separate bill to the National Assembly and the Government had indicated its intention not to support it. Action Canada added that it would be erroneous to say that no State-sanctioned discrimination, based on sexual orientation, existed in Guyana, and noted that several provisions of the criminal code criminalized sexual intimacy between consenting adult men in private. It called on Guyana to repeal those provisions. 4. Concluding remarks of the State under review 590. The delegation thanked Cuba, Algeria, Morocco, the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland and China for their supportive comments. It also expressed its gratitude to Cuba and China for their assistance. With regard to its human rights commissions, the delegation explained the democratic process of nominations and appointments, which was in accordance with its shared governance, and emphasized that nominees were determined by civil society. 591. In relation to the statement made by the United Kingdom, the delegation expressed Guyana’s assurance that all efforts were being made to improve and modernize the police force and the security sector. Guyana would continue to consult and, on the basis of a democratic process, would make changes as determined by the general public. 592. In relation to the statement by Amnesty International, the amendment to the Criminal Law (Offences) Act would be debated before Parliament in October 2010. The amendment allowed for varied sentencing for different categories of murder, in addition to the death penalty. 593. In relation to the statement by the Society against Sexual Orientation Discrimination, the delegation stated that this non-governmental organization appeared to have been misinformed about the constitutional process that had taken place in relation to the attempt to include sexual orientation in the Constitution. The human rights task force of the Constitutional Reform Commission, comprising parliamentary parties and civil society, had recommended the inclusion of the phrase “sexual orientation” in the new antidiscrimination clause in the Constitution. It was supported by the National Assembly in 2001. However, religious groups then exerted pressure on the Government and the opposition, and demanded that the bill be sent back for review. This was done in 2003, after a two-year delay. At that stage, the anti-discrimination clause included “sexual-orientation”. On the day in question, there was a vote of conscience on both sides and the phrase “sexual orientation” did not win the support of Parliament. The delegation invited the organization to verify this account by consulting parliamentary records. GE.11-17043 171