Guyana, US hold talks on human trafficking

The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) last Thursday met with US officials to discuss the situation in Guyana.

The meeting was held in the boardroom of the Home Affairs Ministry. Two officials from the US State Department, along the US Embassy’s Chargé d’Affaires Bryan Hunt were present at the meeting.

According to Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee, the Task Force had several meetings in the past with officials from the US State Department and was looking forward for a productive discussion this round.

“We have had several engagements in the past with the representatives from the Department of State in the US, and this is an ongoing exercise where we meet with State Department officials visiting in Guyana, from time to time, to engage particularly with the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons,” Rohee stated.

Some of the members of the Task Force present at the meeting were Human Services Minister Jenifer Webster, Foreign Affairs Minister Carolyn Rodrigues-Birkett, Natural Resources Minister Robert Persaud, and Amerindian Affairs Minister Pauline Sukhai.

Also present were acting Police Commissioner Seelall Persaud and Child Care and Protection Agency (CCPA) Head Ann Greene. The Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons was established in February 2007.

Only last month, the Task Force blasted the US State Department’s 2014 report on the TIP situation in Guyana. Minister Webster noted that the report again did not reflect a fair review of TIP in Guyana, as it contains several inaccuracies and misrepresentations regarding the scope of TIP.

Guyana was placed on the US Tier 2 Watch List as the US 2014 report calls it a source and destination country for men, women, and children to be subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour.

It also added that women and girls from neighbouring countries such as Venezuela, Suriname and Brazil are subjected to prostitution in Guyana.

It was further stated in the report that despite Government not fully complying with the minimum standard for the elimination of trafficking, it is making significant efforts to do so. The report went on to say that the Ministerial Task Force was designated to monitor and assess the Government’s anti-trafficking efforts, but it did not report any results.

However, both Government and the Human Services Ministry refuted this, saying that they have done a lot to curb TIP in Guyana to protect victims.