APNU welcomes referral of Sexual Offenders Registry bill to select committee

Last Updated on Thursday, 11 June 2026, 16:50 by Denis Chabrol

The opposition A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) on Thursday welcomed government’s “belated decision” to send the draft sexual offenders registry law to a bipartisan parliamentary select committee.

“This is a tacit acceptance that there was not enough consultation in the first place. But going the route of the Select Committee is the next best option in pursuit of a wider consultative approach,” APNU Shadow Minister of Human and Social Services and co-leader of the Working People’s Alliance,  Dr David Hinds said in a statement.

Word of government’s decision to do so followed public outcry over the bill stating that the register would be closed.

Vice President Bharrat Jagdeo and Human Services Minister, Dr Vindhya Persaud almost simultaneously said on Facebook on Wednesday that the Cabinet always favoured an open registry, but the law was drafted based on public consultations, but the amendment to the Sexual Offences Act to provide for the Sexual Offenders Registry would be sent to the select committee.

Several commenters differed on the pros and cons of an open or closed registry in response to many questions about where and when those consultations were held, the Human Setvices said they were conducted by consultant Dr Kim Kyte.

APNU saluted those who raised their voices in protest over some provisions in the proposed bill. That party hope that its government’s decisiom to dispatch the bill to a bipartisan House committee “is not a rare exception by the government but the beginning of a new respect for participatory democracy.”

The WPA co-leader also hoped that the deliberations in the Select Committee would “bear good fruits”  and that the finished bill would reflect the broad spectrum of public opinion and satisfaction.