GUYANA will now accede to the Apostille Convention and the Hague Family Law Conventions, the Attorney General Chambers and Legal Affairs Ministry disclosed Friday in a statement.

The Apostille Convention also called the Apostille Treaty is an international treaty drafted by the Hague Conference on Private International Law. It specifies the modalities through which a document issued in one of the signatory countries can be certified for legal purposes in all the other signatory states. Meanwhile, the Hague Family Law Conventions, in which Guyana now assent to, include the convention on protection of children and co-operation in respect of inter-country adoption, Convention on the International Recovery of Child Support and other forms of Family Maintenance, Convention on the Civil Aspects of International Child Abduction and Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

“With the support of UNICEF, Guyana and in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, a number of efforts are already underway to assist with the implementation of the conventions,” the chambers said.

The Attorney General’s Chambers, Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will lead in several multi-stakeholder exercises and consultations to raise awareness among stakeholders. In 2016, two members of the Judiciary, namely the Chief Justice and the Chancellor of the Judiciary, were appointed by the Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs, Basil Williams, SC, MP as part of the Hague Network of Judges and this will greatly help in direct judicial communication.

The Attorney General Chambers said Guyana’s accession to conventions comes after the country hosted the regional meeting on “International Family Law, Legal Co-operation and Commerce: promoting human rights and cross-border trade in the Caribbean through the Hague Conference Conventions” held in Georgetown in July 2016. Consultations with civil society, professional groups including the Guyana Bar Association, Guyana Association of Women Lawyers, the Private Sector Commission, the University of Guyana, the Hague Convention on Private International Law (HCCH) and UNICEF were also held here September 2017.

“It is important to note that all the conventions will provide a stronger framework for ease in doing business (Apostille Convention) and country-to-country cooperation,” the chambers said, adding that the “Conventions will also ensure that Guyana increases its capacity (including administrative, procedural and legal) to deal with current and emerging child protection issues, example on international adoption, child maintenance and child abduction.”

These new frameworks will complement the provisions in the convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC) and two of the optional protocols which Guyana is already a party. It said the government is committed to ensuring the best interests of all children are upheld and children’s rights are prioritised.