A/HRC/10/11/Add.2 page 10 been made in this respect and government claims that the Cabinet is multi-ethnic are countered with charges of tokenism in the appointment of Afro- and Indigenous members who lack a political base of support or respect within their own ethnic communities. 21. Five parliamentary commissions with responsibilities in the field of human rights and equality have been authorized in the revised Constitution of Guyana. All communities and political parties agree that the establishment of all five commissions is an essential step towards rebuilding trust among communities. 22. However, to date, only the Ethnic Relations Commission is functioning.10 The Indigenous Peoples’ Commission, the Women’s and Gender Equality Commission, the Human Rights Commission, and the Rights of the Child Commission have not yet been created. The National Stakeholder Forum convened by President Jagdeo in February and March 2008 identified the creation of these commissions as a priority for implementation by Parliament by 28 May 2008. 23. A number of reasons have been cited by government and opposition sources as a reason for these delays, including failure to agree on the appointment of membership and charges of bad faith or lack of political will by each party against the other. The Government notes that constitutional and parliamentary provisions, agreed to by all the parliamentary political parties in the 1999-2003 period, require a two-thirds majority to appoint members to the human rights commissions. The constitutionally provided Parliamentary Standing Committee of Appointments of Members to Commissions failed to receive the two-thirds majority in 2005 (8th Parliament) to establish the Women and Gender Equality Commission and in 2007 (9th Parliament) to establish the Ethnic Relations Commission because the PNC withdrew its votes, despite unanimity in the Committee. Civil society commentators, while strongly encouraging the creation of the commissions, have noted a number of problems in their design, strategy, and principle. 24. Each of Guyana’s 10 administrative regions is administered by a Regional Democratic Council (RDC) headed by a Chairman.11 Opposition groups emphasized that although all regions theoretically maintain a degree of autonomy and some are under the control of opposition parties, decisions cannot be made without the authorization of the Minister for the Regions who is appointed by the Government. Accusations of discrimination arise when ministerial decisions, particularly regarding resource allocations, are favourable toward regions with ethnic characteristics that match that of the PPP. 25. The Government rejects descriptions of Guyana as “ethnically polarized”, and states that this flies in the face of observable and documented occasions such as Guyana’s hosting of the ICC WI World Cup Cricket in 2007 and the Caribbean Festival of Arts in 2008. It asserts that from the first free and fair elections in 1992, the Guyana Government has been striving, despite 10 However, at the time of the independent expert’s visit, there were issues about whether the Ethnic Relations Commission was constituted and functioning in compliance with the Constitution. 11 In addition there are Neighbourhood Democratic Councils (NDC) within each region. These operate at the local or village council level.