[www.inewsguyana.com] – More than a month later, the Women and Gender Equality Commission has finally broken its silence on the tape scandal involving the country’s Attorney General (AG) and Legal Affairs Minister, Anil Nandlall.

The Women Rights Commission, chaired by PPP Parliamentarian, Indra Chandrapaul, in a statement issued today, Friday December 05 said it is “shocked and dismayed” by the utterances of the AG, which “clearly demonstrated a marked lack of respect for women.”

As such, the Commission says it endorses the call for all “necessary sanctions” to be taken against Nandlall.

“Two issues are brought to the fore, one is the conduct of public officials and the other is the culture of men as it relates to women in Guyana. The official in this case is particularly worrisome because he has particular responsibility for upholding the Constitution of Guyana which includes the rights and obligations under the United Nations Convention for the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) as well as the mandates of this Commission under Article 86. We therefore endorse the call for all necessary sanctions to be taken,” the statement noted.

On October 27, 2014, a taped telephone conversation between the AG and Senior Kaieteur News Reporter, Leonard Gildarie went viral after the AG was accused of threatening to kill the newspaper’s publisher, Glenn Lall and his staff.

The AG is also heard making lewd comments as it relates to one of the newspaper’s female journalists who had interviewed his relative.

Lall reported the matter to the police and investigations are still ongoing. Calls from various sections were made for the AG to step down following the revelation of the tape; however he has refused to do so, with the full support of the government.

Nandlall has since admitted to the recorded conversation and issued a statement, apologising for the comments made.