IACHR Welcomes Guyana's Legislative Progress in Protecting Children’s Rights

August 14, 2025

Washington D.C. - The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights (IACHR) congratulates the Cooperative Republic of Guyana on the passage, on June 5, of the International Measures for the Protection of Children (Hague Convention) Act 2025. This new law aims to incorporate into domestic law the 1996 Hague Convention on Jurisdiction, Applicable Law, Recognition, Enforcement and Co-operation in Respect of Parental Responsibility and Measures for the Protection of Children.

The passage of this legislation reflects the State's commitment to strengthening international legal cooperation and ensuring effective protection for children in cross-border contexts, such as in situations of custody, visitation, intercountry adoptions and other protection measures.

This law empowers the Minister responsible for children’s services to establish a central authority for receiving and processing requests for international legal cooperation related to child protection, ensuring direct communication with authorities in other countries, and promoting the speedy enforcement of foreign decisions related to custody and visitation, which reduces bureaucratic obstacles and ensures greater protection for children.

It also internalizes rules to determine which court should decide on custody and protection cases and which legislation governs the process, which avoids conflicts of jurisdiction and provides greater predictability and legal certainty to the families involved.

The 1996 Hague Convention is a relevant international instrument that aims to ensure the effective protection of the rights of children in cross-border contexts, such as custody disputes, intercountry adoptions, and the definition of parental responsibilities. It establishes clear criteria for determining the applicable law and the competent judge to decide on protection measures, ensuring legal certainty and uniformity in the application of the rules.

Likewise, it promotes direct international cooperation between designated central authorities, reducing bureaucracy and speeding up judicial and administrative procedures, in line with the principle of the best interests of the child, which demands quick and effective responses to safeguard their rights.

In addition to Guyana, 11 other States in the region have ratified the Convention: Barbados, Belize, Costa Rica, Cuba, Ecuador, El Salvador, Honduras, Nicaragua, Paraguay, the Dominican Republic, and Uruguay. In 2025, the Convention entered into force for El Salvador (July 1, 2025) and will soon enter into force in Belize (October 1, 2025).

These steps indicate significant progress in the universalization of the Convention in the Americas. In this sense, the IACHR welcomes the progress made by Argentina, Canada, and the United States that have signed the Convention, and encourages them to continue with their internal procedures with a view to its prompt ratification.

The protection of children is at the core of the 1996 Hague Convention, whose ratification by OAS Member States contributes to promoting effective legal cooperation and expeditious mechanisms for the recognition and enforcement of foreign judgments. This, in turn, helps reduce procedural obstacles and ensures greater legal predictability. Against this backdrop, the IACHR strongly urges other Member States that have not yet done so to evaluate their adherence to this relevant legal instrument.

The IACHR is a principal and autonomous body of the Organization of American States (OAS), whose mandate stems from the OAS Charter and the American Convention on Human Rights. The Inter-American Commission has the mandate to promote the observance and defense of human rights in the region and acts as an advisory body to the OAS on the matter. The IACHR is made up of seven independent members who are elected by the OAS General Assembly in their personal capacity, and do not represent their countries of origin or residence.

No. 161/25

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