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 liase with the PPP and the late Haslyn Parris to liase 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 Surinam in 2004 was for delimitation of its maritime boundary on the basis of Surinam’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 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 intendtion to request the Secretary General to refer the Controversy to the International Commission of Jurists.
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.