Latin America and the Caribbean
Source tier A. Conventions checked 2026-07-29.
Drug and firearms law in Guyana: statutes on record and in force
Guyana, in Latin America and the Caribbean, is party to all four of the instruments tracked here, the last of them since 2008. It appears on neither FATF list. Its legislation on record runs to 3 confirmed instruments, the earliest from 1971. Where a field could not be sourced it is reported as unsourced rather than left to be inferred.
International framework
Guyana is bound by all four instruments this dataset tracks, the earliest from 1993 and the most recent from 2008.
| Instrument | Adopted | Ratified or acceded | Depositary reference |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1988 Convention | 1988 | 19 Mar 1993 | Chapter VI-19 |
| UNTOC | 2000 | 14 Sep 2004 | Chapter XVIII-12 |
| UNCAC | 2003 | 16 Apr 2008 | Chapter XVIII-14 |
| Firearms Protocol | 2001 | 2 May 2008 | 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 Guyana: they are the points from which each obligation began to bind, taken from the depositary's own status tables.
National legislation
The following instruments have been confirmed against a citable national source. Titles are given as enacted and are not translated.
2009 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act — 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 finance.gov.gy, checked 2026-07-30.
1988 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act as amended by the 1999 Act — An amending instrument in the drug control legislation, which is where the operative text of an older act is usually found. Confirmed against the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs, checked 2026-07-30.
1971 Food and Drugs Act — A principal drug control instrument, carrying the 1988 Convention's trafficking and confiscation obligations into domestic law. Confirmed against the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs, checked 2026-07-30.
Enforcement authorities
One body is named in the record for Guyana, each confirmed on Guyana's own government domain. Naming the body matters because the treaty obligations above bind the state, while the powers to act on them sit with particular institutions under national law.
| Body | Function | Confirmed on |
|---|---|---|
| Customs Anti Narcotics Unit | customs and border control | moha.gov.gy |
Ratification sequence
A count of four tells you less than the sequence that produced it. Guyana came to these instruments over 15 years, beginning with the 1988 Convention in 1993 and ending with the Firearms Protocol in 2008. Measured against each instrument's own adoption, the shortest gap was the UNTOC at 4 years, the longest the Firearms Protocol at 7.
Guyana became a party to the 1988 Convention in 1993, 5 years after it was adopted — exactly the median lag across the jurisdictions in this dataset.
The years in between are the ones a case from that period would have to be judged against. For the 11 years between 1993 and 2004, Guyana was bound by the 1988 Convention but not yet by the UNTOC, the UNCAC or the Firearms Protocol. For the 4 years between 2004 and 2008, Guyana was bound by the 1988 Convention and the UNTOC but not yet by the UNCAC or the Firearms Protocol. Conduct inside such a window is judged against the instruments then in force, not against the set as it stands today.
On coverage, Guyana is one of 81 jurisdiction s here party to 4 of the four, against 81 party to all four. The Latin America and the Caribbean cohort runs to 33 records, 3 of them currently listed for increased monitoring.
Financial-crime monitoring
As of the FATF plenary statements of 2026-06-19, Guyana is recorded as Not listed . Nothing here is a finding about Guyana's financial controls; it records only that neither statement names it. The mechanics of listing and delisting are on the FATF grey list tracker.
Questions about drug and firearms law in Guyana
Which drug-control conventions has Guyana ratified?
All four: the 1988 Convention on 19 Mar 1993, the UNTOC on 14 Sep 2004, the UNCAC on 16 Apr 2008, the Firearms Protocol on 2 May 2008.
Is Guyana on the FATF grey list?
No. Guyana 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 Guyana?
2009 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act, confirmed against finance.gov.gy; 1988 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act as amended by the 1999 Act, confirmed against the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs; 1971 Food and Drugs Act, confirmed against the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs.
Which register confirms the legislation on this page?
Each instrument names its own. For Guyana that is finance.gov.gy, the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs. Following the link reaches the document itself; nothing here paraphrases an instrument it has not cited.
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 Guyana, 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. Guyana's earliest of these commitments dates from 1993, its most recent from 2008; 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.
- 2009 Anti-Money Laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism (AML/CFT) Act: finance.gov.gy, checked 2026-07-30.
- 1988 Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (Control) Act as amended by the 1999 Act: the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs, checked 2026-07-30.
- 1971 Food and Drugs Act: the Guyanese Ministry of Home Affairs, checked 2026-07-30.