Ten-year Review: State Party Guyana acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 31 October 2014. It has reported existing legislation under national implementation measures for the convention. Guyana attended a regional workshop on the convention in March 2020. It voted in favor of a key United Nations (UN) resolution promoting the convention in December 2019.

Guyana submitted its initial transparency report for the convention in January 2020, which formally confirms that it has never produced cluster munitions and possesses no stocks, including for research and training purposes. Guyana has never used or transferred cluster munitions.

Policy

The Republic of Guyana acceded to the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 31 October 2014 and became a State Party on 1 April 2015.

In January 2020, Guyana reported that it has not undertaken specific implementing legislation for the convention as its provisions “which require national implementation measures including penal sanctions, have already been provided for in the Criminal Law (Offenses) Act of Guyana.”[1] Guyana also reported other relevant existing laws relating to explosives, customs, firearms, disability rights, and social security.[2]

Guyana submitted its initial Article 7 transparency report for the Convention on Cluster Munitions on 16 January 2020.[3]

Guyana did not participate in the Oslo Process that created the convention.

Government officials expressed interest in the convention on several occasions before Guyana acceded in October 2014.[4]

Guyana has never attended a meeting of the convention. However, it participated in a regional workshop on the convention in St. George’s, Grenada in March 2020.

In December 2019, Guyana voted in favor of a UN General Assembly (UNGA) resolution, which promotes implementation of the Convention on Cluster Munitions.[5] It has voted in favor of the annual resolution promoting the convention since it was first introduced in 2015.

Guyana has voted in favor of UNGA resolutions expressing outrage at the use of cluster munitions in Syria, most recently in December 2019.[6]

Guyana has not elaborated its views on several important issues relating to its interpretation and implementation of the convention, including the prohibition on transit, the prohibition on assistance during joint military operations with states not party that may use cluster munitions, the prohibition on foreign stockpiling of cluster munitions, and the prohibition on investments in cluster munition production.

Guyana is party to the Mine Ban Treaty. It is not party the Convention on Conventional Weapons.

Use, production, transfer, and stockpiling

In its initial transparency report for the convention, Guyana has formally confirmed that it has never produced cluster munitions and possesses no stocks, including for research and training purposes.[7] Guyana has never used or transferred cluster munitions.