All TIP cases in Guyana are thoroughly investigated – Minister Webster

Human Services Minister Jenifer Webster said there were six confirmed cases of Trafficking in Persons last year, all of which are being prosecuted in court. This was disclosed during an end-of-year media briefing at her office last Monday.
Webster said while there were some 30 reports, after investigations, only six have been found to be true. “What happens is persons normally would mix Trafficking in Persons with prostitution; most of these cases that are reported would be persons that are over the age of consent,” she highlighted.

The minister said TIP is a very serious crime and is ranking second after drug trafficking in the world. As such, the ministry through various collaborative efforts will be stepping up to the plate to deal sternly with any such reports. However, she noted that Guyana’s TIP situation is insignificant, when compared to other countries.
Minister Webster said all reported cases are thoroughly investigated with the aim of prosecuting any person found guilty of the crime.
Guyana remained on Tier Two in the latest U.S. State Department TIP report in 2012, which says that government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so. Government, however, denounced the report which said that Guyana was not doing enough.
The U.S. said in the report that Guyana is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. Guyanese nationals have been subjected to human trafficking in other countries in the Caribbean region. Cases of human trafficking reported in the media generally involved women and girls in forced prostitution.
According to the report, the country’s experts expressed concern that exploitative child labour practices occur within the mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors.
Limited control
“The limited government control of Guyana’s vast interior regions, combined with profits from gold mining and the prostitution that accompanies the industry, provides conditions conducive for trafficking,” the report said.
The report cited that people in domestic service in Guyana are vulnerable to human trafficking and instances of the common Guyanese practice of poor, rural families sending children to live with higher-income family members or acquaintances in more populated areas, create conditions conducive to domestic servitude.
Washington had also recommended that Guyana boost efforts to hold trafficking offenders accountable, including police, Customs, and immigration officers complicit in the scourge.
Guyana was also urged to work in partnership with NGOs, to develop standard operating procedures to guide and encourage front line officials, including police, health, immigration, labour, mining, and forestry personnel in the identification and protection of persons subjected to forced labour and forced prostitution.