AS GUYANA prepares to host the Hague Convention Conference from July 13-15, Attorney General Basil Williams has said Guyana would consider becoming a member of the Hague Conference on Private and International Law (HCCH), so as to access pertinent legal conventions that would benefit the country’s trade and human rights’ interests.Facilitated through a collaborative effort of the Ministry of Legal Affairs and the Attorney General’s Office, in partnership with UNICEF Guyana and the HCCH, the Hague Convention Conference will be held at the Pegasus Hotel under the theme “International Family Law, Legal Cooperation and Commerce, Promoting Human Rights and Cross-Border Trade in Guyana through the Hague Convention.”
HCCH Secretary General Christophe Bernasconi
In an interview with the Guyana Chronicle, Secretary General of the HCCH, Christophe Bernasconi, said this is the third conference that has been held in the Caribbean, and there is hope that Guyana would become the first country within the region to become a member of the HCCH, so as to access the benefits of the organisation.
He said the purpose of this conference is to promote the work of the HCCH in the field of human rights in regard to the protection of children in cross-border situations and other child abduction and child protection matters; as well as strengthening the rule of law, which would enable commercial operators to have legal certainty before they decide to do business in foreign jurisdictions, thereby fostering international trade and business.
THE APOSTILLE CONVENTION
One of the most important conventions held with the HCCH is the Apostille Convention, which Bernasconi said helps to promote trade and congress among countries by providing an internationally recognised certificate that confirms the authenticity of public documents that are used in foreign jurisdictions to conduct trade.
“We have dozens of stories where foreign investors potentially wanted to invest in a jurisdiction, until they realised that they have to go through all this paperwork, (wherein) they are asked to produce a document several times before they establish business in another jurisdiction. The Apostille Convention cuts all of those formalities; and so, many of them decide to put their money in a state that is party to the Apostille Convention, to avoid this,” the Secretary General said.
Such a document, Williams said, can provide much benefit for Guyana in terms of trade relations, and is therefore one of the interests that Guyana holds in hosting the conference.
“We are on the threshold of breaking out economically, and we want to know that our business people will have the opportunity to do business with ease,” Williams said. He added: “You get points in the economic world when people know that you are a signatory to conventions and, better yet, when you’re a member; it makes you an attractive place to do business with.”
CHILD PROTECTION CONVENTIONS
Bernasconi added that the conventions relating to child protection, abduction, and other children’s rights’ violations can help to operationalise the rights within the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child (UNCRC), which are also embedded in the Guyana Constitution.
“The UNCRC outlines establish a list of fundamental rights and principles in the best interest of the child, but I always like to say that you haven’t protected a single child by signing on to this convention, because it doesn’t come with the machinery that puts these fundamental rights into operation,” Bernasconi said.
And even without specific statistics relating to child abduction and other such matters in Guyana, Williams said, these cases do exist, thereby making signing on to these conventions important.
“We are a cross-border country; we have Guyanese in Suriname, Venezuela and Brazil, and we even have Guyanese in Caricom countries as well; and there are many such cases of parents taking children away to other countries while the other parent remains. So these are very relevant conventions (in regard) to these issues,” Williams said.
Moreover, signing on to these conventions would allow for awareness that such protections for children exist, and promote more reporting of cases of abduction of children and other violations of children’s rights, Bernasconi said.
THE HAGUE CONFERENCE
The HCCH was established in 1983; to date, it has 81 member states. With the freedom to sign on to the conventions without taking up membership, however, the conventions under the HCCH have been signed by 148 states (members included). Bernasconi has said that the benefits of becoming a member are twofold, in that Guyana can serve as a key decision-maker when new conventions are being negotiated, thereby impacting international issues; and Guyana can access the support provided by the network provided by the organisation.
The upcoming conference will address certain conventions, like the Apostille Convention, the Child Abduction Convention, the Chile Protection Convention, and the Adoption Convention, among others. Even without becoming a member, Guyana can sign on to specific conventions, and gain access to international laws that would assist in the solving of critical matters relating to trade and human rights’ issues provided under these conventions.
Moreover, the HCCH also provides an International Hague Network of Judges, which provides direct judicial communications among the signatory states to these conventions in aiding to provide rulings and other determinations for cross-border issues.
Williams said Guyana intends to appoint two of its judges to be part of this network; this announcement will be made during the three-day conference.