No escape — authorities look to improve prosecution of TIP cases
Guyana Geology and Mines Commission mines officers will be sharpening their skills to tackle Trafficking in Persons at a
two-day training course which opened on Tuesday (Samuel Maughn Photo)
Guyana Geology and Mines Commission mines officers will be sharpening their skills to tackle Trafficking in Persons at a two-day training course which opened on Tuesday (Samuel Maughn Photo)

THE authorities are seeking to increase the speed of prosecution of Trafficking in Persons (TIP) cases since many international victims are inclined to leave Guyana before the completion of trials.

This is according to the Ministry of Public Security Task Force Coordinator, Oliver Profit, who was at the time speaking at the commencement of a two-day TIP Training Course for GGMC mines officers at the Guyana Police Force, Officers’ Training Centre, Eve Leary, Kingston, Georgetown, on Tuesday.

TIP Task Force Coordinator Oliver Profit

Profit explained that the ministerial task force on TIP found that Guyana and almost all other nations understand the need for victim testimony and its importance in achieving a successful prosecution.

“The time it takes to investigate and prosecute, and they’re mostly adults, they (victims) would not necessarily be interested in staying through the whole process,” he noted.
He added: “So what we’re doing right now, we have drafted a proposal for some changes that might need to be looked at, in order to make it a bit smoother in terms of getting prosecutions successful.”

Noting that there has been a small increase in terms of prosecution, Profit said that all efforts are being made to improve the prosecution rate.
“The onus is a lot on the victim to really be there throughout the duration of the case to give that evidence necessary for us to get that conviction… so what we’re doing is trying to improve our efforts to have other pieces of evidence which hold a lot more weight so that we can still proceed to convictions,” Profit underscored.

He added: “What is positive is that even if alleged victim returns home, there is a provision for the use of Skype [for] video testimony from their home territory, so we’re trying to tap into these options to make ourselves a bit more successful in the future.”

SEXUAL AND LABOUR EXPLOITATIONS
Responding to allegations of Haitians and Cubans being trafficked, Profit said that sexual exploitation and labour exploitation are the major forms of most cases of TIP in general, and most foreign victims are from Latin American countries.

He explained that a lot of times the victims would have families back home and they would need to provide financial support to them, and it may not necessarily be to their interest to stay until the case is completed.

TIP is a global threat and it is estimated that over 21 million persons are enslaved through trafficking. In Guyana, the authorities plan to ensure that such cases are nominal, since because of the lucrative nature of the business there will always be cases to deal with.
“We have to do our job to the best of our abilities so persons don’t see Guyana as a place where this crime can be perpetrated,” he said.

Adding that Guyana has instituted legislation to combat the scourge, Profit said that in 2005 Guyana initiated the Combating in Trafficking Act, which was borne from the UN Convention on Transnational Organised Crime.
Noting that the act gave birth to the task force, he said that the unit was formed in February 6, 2007 with the intention to implement action plans and partnerships.

“It operates on two years action plans, now we are working on the 2017-2018 action plan… the idea of the task force is to coordinate the efforts of all stakeholder agencies that have a vested interest and mandate to fight TIP,” Profit said.
He said this is to ensure efforts are not duplicated and all gaps are filled.

FOUR Ps
The action plan is focused on a four “P” paradigm which are Prevention, Protection, Prosecution and Partnership.
Noting that non-governmental organisations are also part of the task force partnership, Profit said the government alone cannot fight the crime and all assistance is needed.

“A lot of times you find that when we have a case of TIP, victims actually trust non-governmental parties more than they trust government agencies, so they might be able to provide more information and they also show their worth in providing shelter for victims,” he explained.

He said the task force is also divided into subcommittees which handle many needs assessment and activities, since both local and international victims are affected.
Underscoring that Guyana was elevated to Tier One in the US State Department, Profit said this means Guyana met the minimum standards to combat TIP.

Further, he explained that the US State Department has listed Guyana as a point of origin, a point of transit and destination for victims of human trafficking.
As such, he said the task force has been ramping up efforts to reduce and eliminate this social scourge.

Among their efforts is partnering with other agencies, including international bodies such as the International Labour Organisation (ILO) and the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB).
Meanwhile, Lucresha Bryan-French, Foreign Service Officer of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, the task force has been conducting a series of training programmes for various stakeholders who need to be involved in the fight against TIP.

She said that the last occasion that mines officers’ received training was in December 2016, and due to the prevalence of TIP in mining areas, the task force saw a need for more training.

Lucreshabryan-French explained that the training course will focus on identifying and applying anti-TIP legislations, in order to build a working relationship with mines officers who are important sources of information for the task force.

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