The Guyana Police Force (GPF) since the beginning of the year has investigated 19 cases of trafficking in persons (TIP) with Venezuelan refugees accounting for the highest number of alleged victims.
This statistic was disclosed by Minister of Home Affairs, Robeson Benn, on Wednesday September 30 at the opening of a two-day virtual training programme for Inspectors and Managers of the National Insurance Scheme (NIS) in Trafficking in Persons Victim Identification and Referral.
A release from the Ministry of Home Affairs yesterday stated that the minister in his address to the participants explained that the primary objective of the training, was to equip inspectors and compliance officers from the NIS who are actively involved in the area of monitoring and compliance, both in the private and public sectors, with the requisite knowledge and skills to prevent, respond and report potential acts of human trafficking.
The training was fully attended by participants from NIS offices in Central Georgetown, Essequibo, Pouderoyen, Lethem, Mabaruma, Corriverton, Linden, Lenora, Mahaicony and Port Mourant.
In his reference to the TIP statistics, Benn noted that from January to August this year, the GPF investigated nineteen suspected cases of trafficking in persons, which included seventy alleged victims and twenty-seven suspects. These reported cases he noted, came from regions Three, Four, Seven, and Nine, with 59 of the alleged victims being females and 11, males. Forty-five of the alleged victims were Venezuelan nationals, 10 Haitians and 11 Guyanese, with the primary purpose of these cases mainly for sexual and labour exploitation.
The minister acknowledged that the current data gathered by the Force may not be an accurate depiction of the real situation on the ground and opined that it may be a consequence of the difficulties and complexities of identifying the crime of TIP especially in the interior locations of Guyana.
In recognition of the complexities of the crime of human trafficking, Benn urged the officers from the various administrative Regions who were undergoing the training, to be more vigilant when visiting various business establishments both in the urban and rural areas.
The seminar is part of Government’s efforts to address one of the outlined recommendations from the 2020 US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report, and that will provide them with some of the indicators that will aid them in identifying instances of human trafficking.
General Manager of the National Insurance Scheme, Holly Greaves, in her remarks at the opening of the programme reminded that trafficking in persons is illegal, inhumane, and morally degrading. She emphasised that “this global phenomenon, affects men, women and children, and everyone has a role to play and an obligation to act.” The training she said, is an opportunity to better understand the problem of human trafficking, and to develop strong legal, policy and law enforcement response.
The Home Affairs Minister also expressed thanks to the visit made by US Secretary of State Michael Pompeo which resulted in a contribution of US$5 million which will help the Government of Guyana to assist the Venezuelan refugees, the release added.
