There is a low prevalence of trafficking in persons in Guyana and government continues to sustain programmes to respond to any cases, according to the report of the ministerial task force on trafficking in persons released yesterday.
Government prepared and released the report after strongly objecting to the US State Department’s annual report on human trafficking; particularly its ranking of Guyana. The US report said that the government of Guyana does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
The local report said that the authorities investigated seven cases involving nine persons last year. In three investigations there was no evidence of trafficking while two of the investigations resulted in the suspect being charged and two of the matters are still being probed.
The report, which was released by Minister of Home Affairs, Clement Rohee, was dated October 2011 and it was not clear if the two cases were still under investigation. One of the suspects in one of the cases was charged with raping the victim. Last year, also Guyana recorded its first conviction for trafficking in persons.
“The reports over the years have been clear that as a country Guyana does not have significant numbers of victims of trafficking in persons and the country’s authorities have made significant strides in increasing efforts aimed at preventing and addressing the phenomenon including protecting victims and vulnerable persons and in prosecuting perpetrators,” asserted Rohee in the foreword to the report.
The report presented details of the programmes and systems put in place to respond to trafficking in persons in Guyana. It said that programme implementation was based on the action plan developed to guide the ministerial task force in responding to trafficking in persons. “The action plan was based on sustaining partnerships both internal and external and the development of programmes aimed at preventing trafficking in persons, protecting victims and prosecuting offenders,” the report said.
In the cases investigated, all the victims were female with the youngest being 13 years and the oldest 23. In terms of the nature of the offences, five were suspected sexual exploitation while the other was for suspected labour exploitation.
One matter from the previous year was still under investigation because investigators were unable to locate the two young ladies. With regard to the conviction, a woman was sentenced to three years in prison after she was found guilty of trafficking two girls at One Mile Potaro Road, Bartica.
