Guyana: Information on whether Jehovah's Witnesses are harassed or forced to perform military service and whether any applicable exemptions are granted
| Publisher | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada |
| Author | Research Directorate, Immigration and Refugee Board, Canada |
| Publication Date | 1 September 1994 |
| Citation / Document Symbol | GUY18263.E |
| Cite as | Canada: Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada, Guyana: Information on whether Jehovah's Witnesses are harassed or forced to perform military service and whether any applicable exemptions are granted, 1 September 1994, GUY18263.E, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/3ae6ac5aa0.html [accessed 27 May 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
For information on military, paramilitary and national services in Guyana, please refer to Response to Information Request GUY18264.E of 6 September 1994, which is currently available at your Regional Documentation Centre.
According to an editor with the Guyana Chronicle, a Georgetown daily owned but not controlled by the state, Jehovah's Witnesses have been operating in Guyana for a very long time and he has never heard of members being harassed for their religious beliefs under the current and past governments (6 September 1994). The organization and its members have been free to pursue their religious objectives like any other religious organization in Guyana (ibid.). Members of the Jehovah's Witnesses are not forced to perform military service (ibid.). An editor with the Catholic Standard, a Catholic church weekly in Georgetown, corroborated the above information provided by the Guyana Chronicle editor (6 Sept. 1994). This editor added that the members of the Jehovah's Witnesses have always taken such a low profile in Guyanese society that their presence has hardly been felt. Furthermore, Guyana is not a country in which the government harasses persons for their religious orientation, even during the days of the Burnham administration when the government was generally perceived by some as hostile to religious organizations (ibid.).
This response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.
References
Catholic Standard, Georgetown. 6 September 1994. Telephone interview with editor.
Guyana Chronicle, Georgetown. 6 September 1994. Telephone interview with editor.
