Latin America and the Caribbean
Source tier A. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in Barbados: statutes on record and in force
Barbados, in Latin America and the Caribbean, is party to all four of the instruments tracked here, the last of them since 2023. It appears on neither FATF list. Its legislation on record runs to 3 confirmed instruments, the earliest from 1990. The record is set out in the order the obligations arrive: treaty first, statute second, enforcement last.
International framework
Barbados is bound by all four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 1992 and the most recent from 2023.
| Instrument | Adopted | Ratified or acceded | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 15 Oct 1992 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 11 Nov 2014 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | 10 Oct 2023 | Chapter XVIII-14 |
| Firearms Protocol | 2001 | 11 Nov 2014 | Chapter XVIII-12-c |
What each instrument obliges a party to do is set out once, per instrument, in the conventions reference. The dates above are what is specific to Barbados: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
These are the instruments an official source confirms for Barbados. The list is what could be cited, not necessarily everything in force.
Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, 1992 — A principal instrument in its own right, confirmed on the register named below; its subject matter is not stated on the face of its title. Confirmed against the Organization of American States, checked 2026-07-30.
Proceeds of Crime Act, 1990-131990 – 13 — A principal anti-money-laundering instrument, carrying the laundering and proceeds obligations common to the 1988 Convention, UNTOC and UNCAC into domestic law. Confirmed against the Organization of American States, checked 2026-07-30.
Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control Act), 1990 – 14 50 — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
3 bodies are named in the record for Barbados, each confirmed on Barbados's own government domain. Reading this alongside the treaty position is the point: the conventions say what must be criminalised, and these are the institutions through which that reaches a consignment or a suspect.
| Body | Function | Confirmed on |
|---|---|---|
| Customs and Excise Department | customs and border control | asycuda.customs.gov.bb |
| Immigration Department | immigration and frontier control | immigration.gov.bb |
| Barbados Coast Guard | maritime interdiction | gov.bb |
Ratification sequence
The order matters as much as the count. Barbados came to these instruments over 31 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 1992 and ending with the UNCAC in 2023. Measured against each instrument's own adoption, the shortest gap was the 1988 Convention at 4 years, the longest the UNCAC at 20.
Barbados became a party to the 1988 Convention in 1992, 4 years after it was adopted — faster than the median lag of 5 years across this dataset.
The gaps between those dates are the part worth reading. For the 22 years between 1992 and 2014, Barbados was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the UNTOC, the Firearms Protocol or the UNCAC. For the 9 years between 2014 and 2023, Barbados was bound by the 1988 Convention, the UNTOC and the Firearms Protocol but not yet by the UNCAC. An obligation that arrives late does not reach conduct that took place before it, which is why the sequence matters to a prosecutor and not only to a chronology.
On coverage, Barbados is one of 81 jurisdiction s here party to 4 of the four, against 81 party to all four. 3 of the 33 Latin America and the Caribbean records here are under increased monitoring as the register stands.
Position on the trafficking corridors
Barbados sits on the caribbean corridor, one of the six corridors profiled here. What the corridor meets at this leg is the record set out above.
The Caribbean corridor — 12 jurisdictions, carrying cocaine. The legs either side of Barbados in the reporting are Saint Lucia and Dominica. Across the corridor as a whole, 9 of the 12 legs are party to all four instruments, 2 sit outside the Firearms Protocol, every leg carries a confirmed national instrument , and 2 are under increased monitoring. Barbados clears all three of those checks. The corridor profile carries the leg-by-leg comparison.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, Barbados is recorded as Not listed . The lists are revised three times a year, so this record moves on that cadence rather than continuously. How the plenary reaches these decisions is covered on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in Barbados
Which drug-control conventions has Barbados ratified?
All four: the 1988 Convention on 15 Oct 1992, the UNTOC on 11 Nov 2014, the UNCAC on 10 Oct 2023, the Firearms Protocol on 11 Nov 2014.
Is Barbados on the FATF grey list?
No. Barbados appears on neither the increased-monitoring list nor the call-for-action list in the FATF statements of 19 June 2026.
What national drug legislation is on record for Barbados?
Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, 1992, confirmed against the Organization of American States; Proceeds of Crime Act, 1990-131990 – 13, confirmed against the Organization of American States; Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control Act), 1990 – 14 50, confirmed against the UNODC legal library.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For Barbados that is the Organization of American States, the UNODC legal library. The citation is to the issuing register rather than to any account of it, so the text can be read as enacted.
What is source tier A, and why is this record in it?
Tier A means a national instrument has been confirmed against an official register — for Barbados, 3 of them. The treaty dates and the listing status are separately sourced, so all three layers of this record carry a citation.
Why does the ratification date matter?
The date is the point from which the obligations bind. Barbados's earliest of these commitments dates from 1992, its most recent from 2023; the gap between them is a rough measure of how long the framework took to assemble.
Sources
- Ratification dates: United Nations Treaty Collection, depositary status tables (chapters VI-19, XVIII-12, XVIII-14, XVIII-12-c). Checked 2026-07-29.
- Listing status: FATF, Jurisdictions under Increased Monitoring and High-Risk Jurisdictions subject to a Call for Action, 2026-06-19.
- Mutual Assistance in Criminal Matters Act, 1992: the Organization of American States, checked 2026-07-30.
- Proceeds of Crime Act, 1990-131990 – 13: the Organization of American States, checked 2026-07-30.
- Drug Abuse (Prevention and Control Act), 1990 – 14 50: the UNODC legal library, checked 2026-07-30.