– increases the age limit in which persons can enter the Force
The National Assembly on last Thursday approved the Defence (Amendment) Bill 2010, which sought to raise the age limit from under 16 to not under 18 at which a recruiting officer may enlist a person in the regular Force.
It also raised the minimum age for enlistment with the consent for instance, of a parent from under 14 years to not under 16 years.
Minister of Legal Affairs and Attorney General Charles Ramson, who presented the Bill, said that the amendment is in keeping with Guyana’s international responsibility under the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
“Wherever it is legislatively possible, we should not collide, we should not have municipal legislative provisions that collide with our international obligations,” he said.
Minister of Foreign Affairs Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, expressing her support for the Bill, explained that recruitment will now be allowed for persons between the ages of 16-18 with parental consent.
“We have children who have graduated from high school, who might enter the armed forces as apprentices, and so we don’t want to prevent that from happening; and this is consistent with what many countries have done,” Minister Rodrigues-Birkett said.
She added that the amendment will send a clear signal to the international community that Guyana is very serious about its obligations.
The Bill was fully supported by the Alliance for Change (AFC). However, the PNCR was of the view that those below the age of 18 should not be allowed to join the Force. (GINA)