Guyana has long been the hub or a gateway more to say for the trafficking of persons. According to the TIP report almost 4 years ago issued by the US State Department, Guyana has been a source and destination country for persons subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. This claim was refuted by the then Guyanese administration. However, after much investigation was done, it was found that indeed, the country faced a problem that was not known to be existent on its shores, let alone controlled. As of 2016, much more was put in place to deal with this growing issue and in 2017, the aim of the APNU-AFC government has been realized through the production and unveiling of the National TIP Action Plan.
This plan proposes that within the next two years there will be an increase in the crackdown on acts of Human Trafficking and was officially unveiled yesterday at the Guyana Police Force’s Training College. The government’s intention is to expend a total of $22.4M on the prevention, protection and prosecution of persons in 2017 and 2018. As such, there will be an increased number of arrests, charges and convictions of alleged TIP perpetrators by an estimated 300 per cent.
It was noted that based on recent statistics, there is an increase in the number of reported cases reaching authorities, which mans that the number of identified victims is on the rise. The TIP action plan will ensure the training of 20 police officers, 15 magistrates and attorneys, 10 immigration officers in TIP processing at ports and 10 officers of the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission. In addition to this, 50 civil society representatives will be trained in identifying and reporting TIP, while five manufacturing companies will be asked to include educational messages and contact information for the TIP hotline on their product labels.
There is also the prospect of publishing a Victims’ Rights Handbook by the end of March this year.
