Latest update February 20th, 2025 12:39 PM
Amendment of TIP Act not on APNU agenda
By Keeran Danny
While A Partnership for National Unity (APNU) acknowledges the need for stiffer penalties for perpetrators of Trafficking In Persons (TIP), it does not plan at present to approach the National Assembly to amend the Trafficking in Persons Act 2005.
Leader of the Opposition, David Granger, during a brief interview with this publication on Friday at his Hadfield Street boardroom, said APNU is insistent that more decisive action should be taken to stamp out human trafficking, which is a form of modern day slavery.
Only recently, Simona Broomes, President of the Guyana Women Miners’ Organization (GWMO), called for the blacklisting of and stiffer penalties for perpetrators of human trafficking. Broomes believes that the latter would deter persons from being involved in the ‘flesh trade’, and the blacklisting of perpetrators from the mining areas could help prevent the cycle of this heinous crime against humanity.
But with APNU, which holds 26 seats in the National Assembly, not prepared to have the law amended soon, the possibility of GWMO’s calls being acted upon remains slim. For years, Government had denied TIP was a problem in Guyana. It was only when GWMO presented the evidence Government acknowledged TIP exists in Guyana, but maintained it is not widespread.
After years of being poorly rated in the US State Department Report on TIP, this year Guyana Government said it would not be completing and returning questionnaires on Trafficking in Persons to the US authorities.
Cabinet Secretary, Dr. Roger Luncheon had said that the United States Embassy in Georgetown is the source of inaccurate reports of TIP in Guyana that are reflected in the US State Department’s 2013 TIP Report.
However, the US Embassy in Georgetown said even without Government filling out the questionnaires, the US will still include Guyana in its reports. According to the Embassy, the report draws heavily on information provided by the Government of Guyana, which has been comprehensively incorporated into the report.
According to Granger, APNU is dissatisfied with enforcement of the existing legislation, particularly by the Guyana Police Force. “And, I would support a higher rate of punishment but it’s like rape and other sexual crimes there have been very little enforcement and very little conviction. So a lot depends on the police force and the attitude of the police force”, he said.
Leader of the Opposition, David Granger
He said for a long time unfortunately Government pretended there was no problem in Guyana. “Government set up its own Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons and it was quite prepared almost every year, to criticize the US State Report, which in fact had pointed to TIP being a problem in Guyana,” Granger said.
He stated that Government must signal to the police force and the wider society that it would no longer tolerate TIP and the longer it takes the problem would continue to linger.
In May, The Opposition (APNU and Alliance For Change) approved a motion led by Granger for the appointment of a Commission of Inquiry (COI) to investigate the incidence of TIP.
But, according to the Government Information Agency (GINA), “This was done despite arguments by Government Members of Parliament (MPs) that the establishment of such a body was unnecessary given that there are measures in place. Presentations by opposition MPs and clauses in the Motion itself also reaffirmed that these measures were in place.”
However, Broomes had said the GWMO is pleased that the joint Opposition has called on President Donald Ramotar to establish a COI to investigate the incidence of Trafficking In Persons (TIP).
According to Granger, the COI has not commenced and he is not hopeful that it would commence. However, it has triggered a higher degree of consciousness in the Ministry of Human Services, Guyana Police Force, civil society, and the diplomatic community.
“So there is a stiffer attitude towards TIP and even though the COI has not been convened I think the attitude would change. Right now there is less and less tolerance for TIP the motion was passed before Parliament,” Granger stated.
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