MINISTER of Social Protection, Amna Ally, in a message to mark National Human Trafficking Awareness Day,said government is dedicated to eradicating the scourge of human trafficking and will pursue all perpetrators wherever they operate.Guyana joins the rest of the world in observing National Human Trafficking Awareness day under the theme ‘put the right back into rights’.
“Human trafficking strips all victims of their rights: the right to make their own decisions; the right not to be violated in any form; the right to trade their labour freely; the right to wages when they work; and the right to communicate freely with whom they choose among a long list of others,” the Social Protection Minister explained.
She said that the Ministry will work assiduously to ensure that perpetrators are found, arrested, tried in the court of law and jailed. The Social Minister highlighted that human trafficking cases have increased between 2015 and 2016,despite the efforts of the government.
“Reported cases have climbed from 30 to 41 percent,a 36.7 percent increase while the number of victims soared from 65 to 103 from 2015 to the first ten months of last year, a spike of 58.5 percent.” She urged that citizens of Guyana become aware of the signs of human trafficking which includes limited social interaction by the victims, lack of access to education or to their parents or guardians and also being prevented from communicating with people especially if the ‘boss’ is around.She further urged people to inform the authorities when the observe such behaviour.
Meanwhile, Acting Coordinator, Counter Trafficking Unit (C-TIP) Unit, Tanisha Williams-Corbin said that the C-TIP unit will advocate the phrase “Human Rights” to be valued through various campaign activities. The acting Coordinator explained that the Ministry acts as the frontline to investigate human trafficking reports on where they will meet with the victims to guide them about their rights as well as the investigation and court procedure.

Last year, Guyana recorded 47 cases of suspected human trafficking which accounted for 110 alleged victims. The country has been promoted from the US Tier Two watch, which is commendable.However,Guyana has convicted two TIP cases within judicial courts.