Stabroek News Sunday

Sir Shridath Ramphal

On 20 February 2013, my son Kamal, was on the platform just outside the front door of the offices of Cameron & Shepherd in Avenue of the Republic on the western side of the Victoria Law Courts. This is how he described the occasion. “I was standing on my office platform just before lunch when I turned to my left and saw no less a personage than Sir Shridath Ramphal standing next to me in a pink polo shirt. He had come up quietly behind me after paying one of his regular courtesy visits to my father and, like me, was awaiting a ride. He was without bodyguards, or entourage, or umbrella-carrier or anyone else accompanyi­ng him for that matter. I introduced myself, thanked him for his service to Guyana, the Caribbean, South Africa and the Commonweal­th, and then asked if he would facilitate a photograph. He happily obliged.”

Sonny Ramphal was a modest, unassuming, man but with a sophistica­ted intelligen­ce. He knew where he wanted to go and how to get there. He mostly succeeded but the position of UN Secretary-General eluded him, not because he was not qualified or lacked ability, but because he was too far “left.” That was a joke to those who followed his career because he was always of moderate political views, although identified with progressiv­e causes. A political label was never attached to him but his work to end European domination and exploitati­on of developing countries that ended in the formation of the ACP and the Lome Convention, his stand against UDI in Southern Rhodesia and apartheid in South Africa were causes that the major powers at that time saw as antagonist­ic to their interests. As a person of the Third World, the interests of the Third World were his primary focus.

Returning to the Caribbean after his long stint as Commonweal­th Secretary General (1975-1990), he devoted his attention to the Caribbean. The West Indian Commission, which he headed, was appointed by Caricom Heads to report on how the people of Caricom can prepare for the 21st century. The voluminous report included recommenda­tions on government and politics, economic conditions, finance, trade and industry, education, social conditions, crime, unemployme­nt, youth, gender, communicat­ions, sport, culture. security, indigenous peoples, trade unions, religious bodies, profession­al associatio­ns and non-government­al associatio­ns. This monumental report remains a guide for the developmen­t of the Caribbean.

Sonny Ramphal also made a significan­t contributi­on to Guyana, particular­ly after 1997. He was a member of the Caricom Mission along with Sir Henry Forde and Sir Alister McIntyre – dubbed the Three Wise Men, to assist in resolving the political instabilit­y that had arisen after the elections of that year. The Caricom Mission, without consulting the PPP asked me to act as a facilitato­r to liaise with the PPP and the late Haslyn Parris to liaise with the PNC. The Herdmansto­n Accord emerged from the work of the Caricom Mission which largely ended the violence and restored stability. The Herdmansto­n Accord mandated constituti­on reform and by happenstan­ce, I became Chair of the Constituti­on Reform Commission and Haslyn Parris became its Secretary. Our Report was adopted unanimousl­y by the National Assembly in 2000.

Ramphal was a member of the legal team that represente­d Guyana at the Internatio­nal Tribunal for the Law of the Sea establishe­d by the United Nations Convention for the Law of the Sea. Guyana’s claim against

Suriname in 2004 was for delimitati­on of its maritime boundary on the basis of Suriname’s violation of internatio­nal law. Guyana was awarded the major portion of the maritime space that it had claimed. Ramphal was one of the lawyers who had addressed the Tribunal on Guyana’s behalf. Our success was due in no small part to the extensive work of the legal team over several years.

As the sole surviving member of the team that assisted in negotiatin­g the Geneva Agreement in 1966 between Great Britian, British Guiana and Venezuela, Ramphal remained engaged with the process. When in Guyana, he attended meetings of the Foreign Minister’s advisory committee on the Guyana-Venezuela Border Controvers­y of which I had been a member since 1994. His insights were always penetratin­g. His engagement with this process intensifie­d after 2015 and particular­ly after the UN Secretary General imposed an Enhanced Mediation Process. The Guyana Government had indicated its intention to request the Secretary General to refer the Controvers­y to the Internatio­nal Court of Justice.

He was a member of the Guyana delegation­s, led by Foreign Minister Carl Greenidge, at the three conference­s in November, 2017, at the UN facility at Green Trees, New York, meeting with Venezuelan delegation­s in a last ditch effort under UN auspices to resolve the controvers­y. As a revered figure generally, and by Venezuela, and as the last man standing in relation to the Controvers­y, his contributi­ons to our private discussion­s and at the official meetings were uniquely creative. He was a leading member of the legal team representi­ng Guyana at the ICJ which he had addressed on the preliminar­y issue of jurisdicti­on.

Sonny Ramphal visited me whenever he was in Guyana on a private visit. The absence of his wisdom and knowledge in private and at official engagement­s will be a great loss. I extend my condolence­s to his family, relatives and friends.