THE world’s second largest intergovernmental organization, Interpol (the International Police) – an organization chartered by 188 nations to investigate organised crime, indicated that Guyana has not been designated as a country involved in trafficking in persons, neither is any Guyanese being sought for any offence related to trafficking in persons by Interpol. In a telephone interview with this newspaper, an information liaison with the body told the Chronicle that trafficking in persons is an international criminal activity vigorously pursued by Interpol. And the organization has no reason to believe nor do they possess any direct evidence of Guyana or Guyanese being involved in human trafficking.
Sources within the local legal fraternity had earlier told this newspaper that Interpol would have been better equipped and empowered to investigate and report on any incidence of international trafficking in persons. And as such, Interpol’s position should supersede any other report accusing any country of entertaining the committal of such offences.
Only Brazil and Colombia were classified by Interpol as countries involved in high levels of human trafficking in South America, while the Dominican Republic was the only country listed for the Caribbean.
Recently, much controversy has been centred on a U.S. State Department report, which arbitrarily placed Guyana at Tier 2 watchlist, a rating generally given by the United States for countries allegedly having high instances of trafficking in persons, out of a three tier system.
While the U.S report is not a U.N sanctioned or universally recognised document, its contents had angered the Guyana Government and the country’s private sector, since all were of the view that the report was arbitrarily compiled without any investigation, merit or supporting evidence.
The Guyana Government is contending that it is always committed to investigate and prosecute any person involved in any form of organised crime, and has called on the United States to provide the evidence of human trafficking.
Nonetheless, Government is intensifying its efforts to monitor and prosecute any person suspected of being involved in human trafficking in Guyana.
Meanwhile, four  days after the Government of Guyana vehemently rejected the US State Department report on trafficking in persons in Guyana, the American Embassy in Guyana notified the Guyana Government that the Global Trafficking in Persons (GTIP) office in the State Department was desirous of discussing Guyana’s public concerns regarding the US issued TIP report.
Minister Priya Manickchand, in speaking with Luis C. De Baca, Ambassador-at-large and head of the GTIP office, in a telephone conversation earlier this week, insisted that the conclusions and recommendations in the report are based on an earlier inaccuracy about large numbers of traffickers and trafficking victims existing in Guyana.
The Minister observed that, despite sincere and comprehensive efforts, the State department failed to have the inaccuracies corrected and GTIP continued basing their conclusions and recommendations on those inaccuracies.
The Minister pointed out how preposterous the finding is that children from the country who come to town to go to school are potential victims of domestic servitude and therefore trafficking.
Equally senseless, she declared, was the recommendation that Guyana establish trafficking specific shelters which provide shelter, care and counselling without credible evidence of a scale of trafficking to warrant more than what currently exists through Government supported NGOs like Help and Shelter.
Minister Manickchand represented to the Ambassador that Guyanese across the board are incensed that isolated, anecdotal accounts of trafficking in persons in Guyana were given such unusual significance as to generate many of the recommendations by the US State Department in its report.
The Minister countered the Ambassador’s invitation for Guyana to work in a partnership with the U.S. by pointing out that the US State Department did not see it fit to have the glaring inaccuracies and baseless accusations against Guyana corrected.
Their stubborn refusal to acknowledge Guyana’s contentions and their insistence on not changing anything in the report, the Minister said, makes a favourable response by Guyana to their offer of partnership difficult.
The Government continues to insist that the reports are misleading and based on fabrications designed to make the GTIP office appear competent. The Administration said it intends to approach higher levels of the US Government and members of Congress to correct these misleading reports.