Joint Civil Society Statement on the COI and Other Matters of National Importance Related to the MV Barima Tragedy

Joint Civil Society Statement on the COI and Other Matters of National Importance Related to the MV Barima Tragedy

PRESS RELEASE.

We, the undersigned individuals and non-governmental organizations in Guyana, the Caribbean, and other countries, mourn with the families of all the passengers and crew who drowned when the MV Barima capsized and sank off the Guyana coast during the night of 18 July 2026. This tragedy which took the lives of a still-unknown number of innocent, economically disadvantaged, and historically marginalized persons, was wholly preventable and should never have occurred in the first place. 

This disaster- the worst in Guyana’s history apart from the foreign-led Jonestown massacre, and one of the worst maritime disasters in the Caribbean- has exposed the broken system of governance in Guyana, characterized by regular and widespread abuse of State power, chronic lack of accountability and oversight at all levels, intimidation and repression of critical and dissenting voices, and denial of civil society participation and representation in local governance and community based decision-making. Our mourning thus encompasses the strangling of democracy that we witness and experience daily in Guyana. 

We echo the public calls for the resignation of Minister of Public Works- Juan Edgill, Minister of Public Utilities and Aviation- Deodat Indar, and MARAD Director General- Stephen Thomas, along with General Manager of the Transport and Harbours Department (T&HD)- Yolanda Hughes Smith and Chairperson of the T&HD Board- Rosalinda Rasul, in keeping with well established norms of international accountability that locates ultimate overall accountability in those at the highest level of authority in the chain of command. However, it is a well-known principle of delegation that the delegation of authority does not absolve the delegator of responsibility. The public is therefore entitled to know how those above these specific individuals are also responsible in this tragedy.

We remind President Ali that all Commissions of Inquiry must satisfy the full implementation of Article 13 of the Constitution of Guyana on inclusionary democracy, guaranteeing the participation of citizens and their organizations in state management and decision-making, especially regarding wellbeing and safety. 

As such, the present COI- established unilaterally by President Ali on 26 July 2026- is unacceptable and must be replaced by a truly representative COI widened through genuine consultative processes to include the perspectives of survivors and families who lost loved ones, Indigenous leaders and organizations, relevant civil society groups and representatives of the opposition parties.  

We have learnt from the deficiencies of the previous COI into the Mahdia tragedy of 2023, which also lacked impartiality and suffered from State overreach, shielding of subject ministers and other State officials from accountability, and manipulation of grieving and traumatized family members of the 20 Indigenous students who died at that time. We reject a repeat of such ineffectual and unsatisfactory past COIs and will not accept anything less than a genuine consultative process so that full accountability can be realized. 

We also note the public reports of wrongdoing on the part of several of those appointed by President Ali to this COI, and urge the removal of all such tainted individuals from this process. 

  The Commission of Inquiry into the MV Barima disaster must: 

• Be public and accessible to all Guyanese- not held behind closed doors- with full transparency to survivors, their families, and all Guyanese. As part of full accessibility, Creolese and Indigenous languages interpreters must be provided during the asking of questions and the taking of testimonies. 
• The proceedings must be covered by the independent press who must be treated with respect and given unimpeded access to all participants, except for court-specified restrictions.
• Ensure that the key role and position of Secretary to the COI must satisfy public confidence and strict requirements for independence, transparency, impartiality, integrity, and aptitude. 
• Record the testimony of survivors of the MV Barima sinking as well as those who did not board it but who witnessed its final boarding and who can accurately describe conditions of travel to Port Kaituma on July 18 and previous public ferry journeys to the Northwest Region. 
• Record eye- witnesses accounts of public and private parties involved in the search, rescue, and recovery operations, and evaluate the coordination, speed, and effectiveness of emergency response mechanisms inclusive of state and private agencies.
• Record, share, document and specify in detail the psycho-social trauma counselling given to survivors and their families inclusive of who, how many times, where and qualifications of counsellors- not only for adults but also the many children who lost mothers, fathers, siblings and other family members. Detail arrangements in place to continue long term counselling for survivors and their families. Identify civil society organizations who have been approached to assist with psycho- social and trauma counselling short term and long term.
• Document arrangements made for burial of those who lost their lives, to show if these were carried out in keeping with dignity and sensitivity and the wishes of their families.
• Make all findings and recommendations in the final report publicly available locally, regionally and internationally.

Additionally, 

• Indigenous and riverain communities must be meaningfully consulted and given the opportunity and means to testify to the shortcomings of the existing system of riverain transportation, and to contribute to solutions as they are the ones who rely most heavily on these systems and suffer disproportionally the risks and inequities. 
• Sanctions must be applied on any public official who misleads or obstructs this inquiry.

• The Government of Guyana must provide free, equal, and equivalent independent legal representation for survivors and bereaved families as that for public bodies, officials and ministers.
• Admissibility of evidence must be determined by the Chair of the Commission- not the State agencies under investigation, and there must be no attempt to invoke ‘national security” in order to shield public agencies and officials from accountability.

We call on the President of Guyana to direct the Minister of Labour and the Head of the Environmental Protection Agency, among other agencies, to investigate and report on the numerous allegations of violations of health and safety requirements on the MV Barima ferry and other public hinterland ferries managed by the Transport and Harbours Department. 

Guyana, as a member of the International Maritime Organization (IMO) and signatory to the International Convention for the Safety of Lives at Sea (SOLAS), must undertake an independent technical marine casualty investigation consistent with the IMO Casualty Investigation Code, the IMO Model Regulations on Domestic Ferry Safety, and SOLAS. A Commission of Inquiry cannot be a substitute for an independent marine safety investigation conducted in accordance with internationally recognized standards. 

We also call on the relevant authorities to also immediately comply with Guyana’s Shipping Act 49.01- especially Part X VIII which clearly outlines a structured framework for addressing marine casualties and requires formal marine casualty investigations by qualified boards or authorized officers to determine the cause of incidents before criminal liability is assessed for captains and crew. These marine investigations must precede any criminal prosecution, ensuring the root cause is established within the framework of maritime law- rather than bypassing it for common law charges or the Criminal Law Procedures Act.  

As such, it is our view that the action of the Director of Public Prosecutions- in recommending 72 charges of murder against the boat captain, first mate and goods loading supervisor- is precipitate and in fact, obstructs the full and fair investigation into this disaster. The events on 18 July 2026 suggest that the people with the most relevant knowledge of the disaster are these very individuals who are now prevented from answering questions to avoid self-incrimination according to Section 12 of Guyana’s Commission of Inquiry Act (cap. 19:03, 1933-1997). 

The DPP’s actions also prevent the coroner from holding an inquest into the circumstances of the MV Barima deaths, as required normally by sections 06 and 18 of the Coroners Act.  As the DPP has been unable or unwilling to disclose her reasons for these recommendations of hers, we urge that she withdraw these charges in order to allow a complete investigation and inquest. The grieving families and people of Guyana need to hear the full and unconstrained testimony of all relevant parties and all those who contributed to this tragedy must be held fully accountable. 

Finally, we demand assurances that all attempts to criminalize persons and organizations for exercising their constitutional right to freedom of conscience, expression, assembly, association, equality, and non- discrimination be ceased immediately.

Endorsed by: 

Guyanese Organization of Indigenous Peoples

Red Thread Crossroads Women’s Center

Transparency International Guyana Inc.

Oil and Gas Governance Network

We The People (Gen Z Youth Movement)

Organization for the Victory of the People (OVP)

Guyana Trades Union Congress (GTUC)

and additional signatories:

Link ⇒https://www.ipetitions.com/p/joint-civil-society-statement-on-the-mv-barima-coi-sign-on/