The Government of Guyana, Ministry of Home Affairs, in collaboration with the United Nations Office on Drug and Crime, Global Firearms Program (UNODC-GFP), on May 22, 2024, facilitated its Second Legal Drafting and Verification Workshop on the development of a new Firearm Control Bill at the Guyana Police Force Officer’s Training Centre, Camp Road and Young Street, Eve Leary.

This workshop aimed at assisting Guyana achieve its prioritised actions, consisting of ‘Goal 1: Reinforce regulatory frameworks governing firearms and ammunition’ of the Roadmap for Implementing the Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030.

The creation of a new Firearms Control Bill will equip Guyana to accomplish: 1. Action 1.2.2: update Firearms Act and relevant norms and regulations; 2. Action 1.2.3: Cross-reference or harmonise firearms legislation with domestic violence prevention legal provisions; and 3. Action 1.2.4: Develop and enforce specialised legislation to regulate the use of firearms by the private security sector.

UNODC Global Firearms Program has been assisting Guyana and other Caribbean Nations Implement the Caribbean Firearms Roadmap through the theme “Supporting the implementation of the crime prevention and criminal justice component of the Roadmap for Implementing the Caribbean Priority Actions on the Illicit Proliferation of Firearms and Ammunition across the Caribbean in a Sustainable Manner by 2030”.

Subsequent to the first Legal Drafting and Verification Workshop held on April 11–13, 2022, Guyana established a committee comprising officials from UNODC-GFP, the Attorney General’s Chambers, the Ministry of Legal Affairs, and the Ministry of Home Affairs.

The new bill will take into consideration Guyana’s international obligations while strengthening its own domestic peculiarities to ensure that crime is dealt with in a holistic manner. Additionally, the bill will examine, among other things, explicit criteria to qualify for a firearms license, reasons for refusal of a license, and a review of the penalty regime to ensure they are dissuasive.

A panel consisting of three: Ms. Joann Bond, Deputy Chief Parliamentary Council, Attorney General’s Chambers, and Ministry of Legal Affairs; Mr. Max Menn, Associate Crime Prevention and Criminal Justice Officer, Firearms Trafficking Section, United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, Global Firearms Program and Ms. Jasmin Louisy, Research Officer, facilitated the workshop.

Stakeholders participated from the Attorney General’s Chambers and Ministry of Legal Affairs, the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Office of the Director Public Prosecution, the Guyana Police Force, the Guyana Revenue Authority, the Ministry of Parliamentary Affairs and Governance, and the Guyana National Rifle Association.