Guyana to Establish National Sex Offender Registry
By Tiana Cole | HGP Nightly News.
GEORGETOWN, Guyana — Guyana will soon implement a National Sex Offender Registry, according to Attorney General and Minister of Legal Affairs Anil Nandlall.
The announcement was made on Tuesday during Nandlall’s weekly program, Issues in the News. The registry is part of proposed amendments to the Sexual Offences Act, which the government has been refining over the past year. However, the draft legislation did not reach the National Assembly before the close of the current parliamentary session.
“Unfortunately, we didn’t get an opportunity to conclude the work to take it to the National Assembly. So, it will have to go in the next parliament,” Nandlall explained.
The bill has undergone extensive consultations, with multiple revisions shaped by feedback from key stakeholders. The drafting process involved a consultant and three government ministries. A national stakeholder forum was also convened on July 3, 2024, to discuss the proposed changes further.
Participants at the forum included:
- Representatives from Guyana’s administrative regions
- NGOs
- Health and medical professionals
- Prison and police officers
- Members of the Guyana Bar Association
- And statutory bodies such as the Women and Gender Equality Commission
According to the Attorney General, recommendations from these sessions were reviewed and integrated into the final version of the bill that is now awaiting introduction in the next Parliament.
