Guyanese authorities this morning participated in a meeting aimed at discussing ways in which countries can strengthen its legislative framework to protect children.
The meeting was organised by Guyana’s Ministry of Legal Affairs in partnership with the Hague Conference on Private International Law (HCCH) and the United Nations Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) Guyana.
Guyana is the first country in the Americas to sign onto all four Hague Children’s Conventions which deal with child maintenance, adoption, abduction and protection.
Guyana’s Legal Affairs Minister Basil Williams, in opening remarks, explained that his Ministry’s drafting division has begun work on a bill to give the 1980 Child Abduction Convention the force of law in Guyana.
“This Convention applies where one parent of a child removes a child out of the jurisdiction without the consent of the other parent and provides for the expeditious return of the child.
“Therefore, the Convention provides recourse for the aggrieved parent to approach the courts for relief.
Williams explained that where there is extensive cross border movement, particularly in a country with porous borders, all the necessary steps should be taken to secure the protection of children.
“As we are all aware, child abduction causes psychological damage to both the child and the parent. Moreover, when a child is abducted and taken to another country issues such as different legal systems come into play.”
The Abduction Convention provides a remedy to these issues by establishing an effective system of co-operation among member states and an efficient procedure for the prompt return of the children to their place of habitual residence.
Regarding adoption, Williams said there has been a substantial increase in requests of international adoption applications both from family members and strangers in respect of children who are citizens of and resident in Guyana.
“Therefore, it is important to ensure that our laws reflect the international best practices to dealing with these issues,” he said.
Williams implementation of the Hague Adoption Convention into domestic legislation will necessitate a review, improvement and expansion of the existing Adoption Unit of the Childcare and Protection Agency and the operations of the Adoption Board.
“Already, we have an Adoption (Amendment) Bill, which seeks to give this Convention the force of law in Guyana and a working draft of Hague Adoption Regulations outlining the procedural aspects of the Convention,” the Minister said.
