Sustained comprehensive action at national, international level required
– Rohee
MINISTER of Home Affairs, Mr. Clement Rohee, yesterday, received the report of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) from the Secretary, Mr. Clement Henry, in his ministry Brickdam, Georgetown boardroom. The documentation, among other things, revealed that Guyana does not have significant numbers of TIP victims and he said the authorities have made significant strides in increasing efforts aimed at preventing and addressing the phenomenon.
Such actions include protecting victims and vulnerable persons and prosecuting perpetrators, Rohee said.
Also present was Permanent Secretary in the Ministry, Ms. Angela Johnson as well as members of the reporting group.
Rohee said that the compilation is the product of collaboration among stakeholders, comprising the Ministerial Task Force, which was established by Cabinet to address issues relating to TIP and has been meeting every month since its inception and felt it obligatory to publish its own compendium.
Thus, the current document is not necessarily a response to the United States (U.S.) State Department’s, he explained.
Rohee said: “The collective perspective is that, since we have the institutional memory and we have knowledge of the extent to which TIP exists in our national jurisdiction, we felt obliged to produce our own report so that we have our own views out there rather than having our views subsumed in the U.S. State Department’s Report.”
He said the 2010 Report of the Ministerial Task Force addresses a number of issues, such as the number of victims; the level of awareness among citizens, especially those in hinterland and border areas; training of law enforcement officers and the level of cooperation that exists amongst the agencies that respond to TIP.
Rohee told the media that the Government of Guyana began its own assessment of the TIP phenomenon in 2008 and this is the third annual national assessment of the extent of human trafficking in Guyana and it documents the strategies employed by the government and its partners in responding to TIP.

Modern-day slavery
According to him: “TIP is a global phenomenon and a report from the International Labour Organisation (ILO) states that TIP, which is often referred to as modern-day slavery involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labour or sexual exploitation, affects about 12.3 million people worldwide.”
He said it is believed that TIP is the second largest and the fastest growing criminal enterprise in the world, with an estimated total annual revenue between five to nine billion U.S. dollars.
Rohee told the gathering that, taking into consideration the global impact of this phenomenon, sustained comprehensive action is required at the national and sub-national levels, in order to respond to vulnerabilities that increase the likelihood of individuals being victims of TIP.
The Minister indicated that this is why the Government of Guyana and partners have seriously sought to implement a range of measures, including programmes to reduce vulnerabilities to the allure of traffickers.
He stated that, notwithstanding the extent of the problem globally, repeated assessments have revealed a low prevalence of TIP in Guyana. However, the potential impact of TIP on the safety and human rights of citizens has driven the government and its partners to develop strategies and programmes aimed at combating TIP.
Rohee noted that initiatives aimed at combating TIP have been undertaken under the guidance of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking, which comprises representatives of governmental and non-governmental agencies and chaired by him.
He said: “The initiatives include the development of cross country awareness campaigns, training of frontline staff and focal point persons, collaboration of a new Action Plan (2010-2011) and strengthening the institutional infrastructure to respond to TIP.”
Rohee said the report of the National Task Force on TIP was born out of a desire to give citizens a factual and authentic picture of the nature and magnitude of TIP in Guyana and a straightforward documentation of Guyana’s response to this phenomenon.
He stated that the report of the Ministerial task Force on TIP covers five main areas, which are institutional and legislative framework, prevention, protection and victim assistance, prosecution and an assessment of the US State Department’s Report on Guyana.