632 suspected victims of human trafficking contacted

WITHIN the period 2018 to 2020, 632 persons were contacted by the Counter-Trafficking in Persons Unit, on suspicion of being involved in human trafficking. This was disclosed by Commissioner of Police (ag) Nigel Hoppie, at the launch of a Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Training Course, for Station Sergeants, by the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, Counter-Trafficking in Persons Unit, on Thursday, at the Police Force Officers’ Training Centre, Eve Leary, Georgetown. The two-day training is designed to encapsulate a gamut of objectives which will equip the participants to be able to identify and respond to situations of TIP, to develop the necessary skills required in dealing with victims of TIP and to understand the laws and procedures pertaining to the issue, to name a few.

The acting commissioner explained that of the 632 individuals, 579 of the suspected victims were of foreign nationality, hailing from Brazil, Cuba, the Dominican Republic, Venezuela and Haiti among others. The contacting of the alleged victims was prompted by raids conducted by the Guyana Police Force as well as reports made by the general public reacting to suspicion in relation to activities pertaining to human trafficking. Between the said period, 84 reports were accepted by the police, from which 58 cases were made; so far, securing six convictions, with cases still open and before the courts.

According to Hoppie, Guyana, in 2005, ratified the Palmyra Protocol of 2000, a supplement of the United Nations Convention against Transnational Organised Crime, which obliges states to prevent, suppress and punish TIP, into domestic jurisdiction through the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act 2004. The Act provides comprehensive measures to combat trafficking in persons, through the implementation of stringent penalties. In accordance to the said legislation, the Ministerial Taskforce of TIP was established on February 6, 2007 to facilitate the planning, implementation and monitoring and evaluation of national strategies in response to TIP.

The commissioner (ag) explained that the task force has been instrumental in curbing trafficking in persons in Guyana, and has seen a high success rate in relations to victims rescued and the number of perpetrators placed before the court. In June 2020, Guyana retained Tier 1 ranking in the latest Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report of the United States Department of State, the fourth consecutive year of Guyana receiving a Tier 1 ranking. Present at the event was the Minister of Human Services and Social Security, Dr. Vindhya Persaud, who highlighted the importance of the training to maintain the Tier 1 ranking.

TRAINING AN ESSENTIAL STEP

The minister explained that training is a crucial and essential step to ensure that the servicemen and women of the nation are properly equipped with the skills required to combat trafficking in persons. “It is imperative that we put every mechanism in place so that we can destroy networks and let persons who are involved in carrying out this heinous activity know that we are serious and we mean business,” Persaud explained. She charged the participants of the training, as ambassadors of the Force, to be passionate in the execution of their duty, in order to bring trafficking in persons, to an end “Be passionate about what you do, to be passionate advocates against trafficking in persons but more importantly be passionate custodians of the safety and security of people, so that we can stop the scourge that is called modern day slavery,” Minister Persaud told the ranks present.

Minister Persaud, in recognising International Human Rights Day observed on 10 December, explained that TIP is “modern day slavery” and everyone must be cognisant of the impact it has on the country, and play their part to preserve and maintain fundamental human rights. “Today is World International Day that deals with human rights and the human right that we are trying to preserve is the right to freedom and with that right to freedom comes many other rights that we must always be conscious of,” she said. She adding: “You [the participants] and we too at the Ministry of Human Services, are the custodians of these rights in many ways and when we do not act in a manner where people are assured of their rights, then I think we need to look at ourselves a little more very objectively, and at times critically to see what we need to do.”

The minister reiterated that trafficking in persons is very much real, and will not be eradicated until the stakeholders involved work collaboratively and play their distinctive roles in response to the issue. She highlighted that the eradication of TIP requires many steps, from education and awareness, to training of individuals involved in the response team, intervention according to protocols and standard of procedures, laws and regulations and the most critical component helping persons who are victims of TIP. Trafficking in persons occurs in all walks of life, from coast to coast and the training will help equip the force with the required knowledge and skill to combat the problem in Guyana.