THE United States Government is calling on the Guyana Government to vigorously investigate and prosecute sex and labour trafficking cases here and hold convicted traffickers accountable — including complicit officials by imposing sentences that are commensurate with the severity of the crime.The US made the comments in its Trafficking in Person report, which was released on Thursday. The report also revealed that Guyana was taken off the watchlist for TIP, moving from Tier 2 on the Watch List to Tier Two.
Guyana was placed on the Tier Two Watch List three years ago and has since mounted numerous efforts to improve its rating. In addition to calling for holding TIP offenders accountable, the US is recommending the denying of bail and ordering restitution, where appropriate. It also called on the Guyana Government to finalise and issue written procedures to guide and encourage front-line officials, including police, health, immigration, labour, mining, and forestry personnel to identify and protect victims of forced labour and sex trafficking.
The United States also wants Guyana to train law enforcement, judiciary officials, and front-line responders, especially those working outside the capital, on victim identification, referral to services, and victim-centered investigations.
“Allocate additional staff to the inter-ministerial anti-trafficking unit and provide sufficient funding and resources for it to investigate trafficking in the mining sector and conduct awareness campaigns; provide additional protection for victims to enable them to appear in court and testify against traffickers in a way that does not further endanger them,” the US Government recommended.
Washington called on Guyana to increase funding for NGOs that identify and assist victims; take efforts to ensure victims are not summarily deported without the opportunity to assist in a trial against their traffickers; and also that they are not penalised for crimes committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking.
The US also called on the government to open and adequately fund the proposed shelter for male trafficking victims; develop child-sensitive investigation measures and court procedures that protect the privacy of children and minimize their re-traumatization; regularly convene the inter-ministerial taskforce and finalise and implement the 2016-2017 national action plan; offer increased protection and assistance for victims near mining communities outside the capital; and continue to raise awareness of trafficking among civil society.
Meanwhile, the US said that Guyana is a source and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. The report stated women and children from Guyana, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Suriname, and Venezuela are subjected to sex trafficking in mining communities in the interior and urban areas. “Victims are subjected to forced labour in the mining, agriculture, and forestry sectors, as well as in domestic service and shops. While both sex trafficking and forced labour occur in interior mining communities, limited government presence in the country’s interior renders the full extent of trafficking unknown.”
The US said too that children are particularly vulnerable to sex and labour trafficking, noting that Guyanese nationals are subjected to sex and labour trafficking in Jamaica, Suriname, and other Caribbean countries. Washington also alleged that some police officers are complicit in trafficking crimes, and corruption impedes anti-trafficking efforts. “The Government of Guyana does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government convicted one trafficker, imposed a three-year prison sentence, and required her to pay the victim restitution—the first time restitution has been ordered for a trafficking offender in Guyana.”
Funding to NGO
The US report also made special note of government’s provision of $600,000 to a NGO-run shelter dedicated to trafficking victims—the first shelter of its kind in Guyana—to enhance the shelter’s psycho-social services for victims.
“The government further increased collaboration with anti-trafficking NGOs by instituting procedures to refer victims to the shelter and including a leading anti-trafficking NGO on its inter-ministerial anti-trafficking taskforce. However, it did not allocate additional personnel to the severely understaffed anti-trafficking unit to facilitate trafficking investigations, nor did it increase protection and services for victims outside the capital or participating in investigations against their traffickers. The government continued to prosecute and punish suspected trafficking victims for crimes committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking.”
Modest efforts
On the issue of prosecution, the US Government said that Guyana modestly increased its law enforcement efforts. It stated that Guyana reported investigating 15 trafficking cases involving 56 victims, including 16 children, which resulted in seven prosecutions and one sex trafficking conviction, compared with seven investigations, four prosecutions, and one conviction during the previous reporting period.
The defendant in the 2015 conviction was sentenced to three years’ imprisonment and, unlike defendants convicted in previous years, was denied post-conviction bail and required to pay restitution to the victim.
The report noted that at least one of the defendants in an ongoing prosecution was released on bail pending the outcome of her trial. In response to calls received by the trafficking hotline, government officials conducted raids on mining and logging areas outside of the capital. “It is unclear if authorities removed any victims from exploitative situations or initiated any trafficking investigations as a result of these raids.
During the previous reporting period, a police officer was convicted of child sex trafficking and sentenced to four years’ imprisonment, but granted bail pending appeal; his appeal remained pending at the end of the reporting period.”
PROTECTION
Additionally, the US said that the government increased protection efforts, but victim assistance remained insufficient, especially in areas outside the capital and for male victims, and the government continues to penalise some suspected trafficking victims. “It is unclear how many of the 56 identified trafficking victims were identified by the government and how many by NGOs; the government identified 16 victims during the previous reporting period.
