Guyana made a moderate advancement last year in efforts to eliminate the worst forms of child labor, but the government lacks a comprehensive policy or targeted social programs to fully address the extent of the problem, a recent global report says.
The 2016 Findings on the Worst Form of Child Labor, produced by the United States Department of Labor’s Bureau of International Labor Affairs, notes that government reformed the Inter-Ministerial Taskforce on Combating Trafficking in Persons, began developing a National Action Plan and Policy on Child Labor last year, and finalized the 2017–2018 National Action Plan on Combating Trafficking in Persons.
“However, children in Guyana continue to engage in the worst forms of child labor, including in mining and commercial sexual exploitation, sometimes as a result of human trafficking,” it says.