US TIP report flawed and inaccurate, says Govt.

Jun 29, 2014 News

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The government, on Friday, once again rejected the United States State Department’s report on Trafficking In Persons

(TIP) in Guyana, describing it as inaccurate and a misrepresentation.
At a press conference held at the Ministry of Home Affairs, Minister Jennifer Webster addressed the “inaccuracies” she and the Ministerial Task Force (MTF) had found in the document.
The report was released a week earlier and highlighted what it deemed as Guyana’s deficiencies and made recommendations of the way forward.
The Ministerial taskforce which was established in 2005 “in recognition of GOG (Government of Guyana) seriousness in fighting TIP” comprises the Ministry of Home Affairs, Ministry of Labour and Human Services and Social Security, Ministry of Foreign, Legal and Amerindian Affairs, the Ministry of Local Government, Natural Resources and the Environment, the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission, the Guyana Police Force, the Indigenous Peoples Association, the Help and Shelter, Food for the Poor and the Chambers of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP).
The task force, Webster said, is deeply concerned that once again the report has not reviewed Guyana fairly and therefore attracts “little merit on the part of Government of Guyana.”
She said that the government does not treat trafficking in persons in isolation from other related crimes. There are several other complementary laws that have been enacted to protect women and especially children, she said.
“What is clear is that once again the architects of this report have not made significant progress in improving the veracity, coherence and validity of their annual assessments,” said Webster.
The US report stated that Guyana is a source and destination country for men, women and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour and subjected to prostitution.
Webster referenced from the United Nations and said that TIP is a global phenomenon which is the second largest criminal activity in the world in conjunction with arms trafficking and trailing the drug trade.
She posited that the government has developed strategies to tackle TIP, under the guidance of the Ministerial Taskforce.
“These strategies include school awareness programmes, general and community awareness sessions and training of trainers programmes, inspection of night spots, clubs, mining camps and regulated and unregulated landings.”
The US report, she stated, has flagged reports of forced labour especially with children in the mining, agriculture and forestry sectors, as well as in domestic services and shops.
Government, contrary to what the US State Department is saying, insists it has maximum presence in the interior mining communities.
“The GGMC has mining officers in all six mining districts within Guyana and several other mining agencies are represented within these regions…Officers from the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security, the police and the Health Ministry collaborate and share information in a joint effort to fight against TIP,” Webster outlined.
The government, according to Webster, had members of the Task Force make covert visits to bars and to other night spots to observe the treatment of workers, ages of workers, and detect any cases of persons trafficked and any suspicious activities connected to TIP.
“Raids on some of these establishments were later conducted and once there was sufficient evidence, relevant charges were instituted and the offenders prosecuted.”
The US report further recommended that Government should develop child-sensitive investigate procedures to reduce additional harm to victims, develop procedures to protect privacy of children, and minimize the emotional trauma of providing testimony.
Webster said that the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, through the Child Care and Protection Agency, and in collaboration with local NGOs, have established the first child advocacy one-stop centre.
The one-stop centre, she said, is a child-focused programme in which representatives from key child welfare and protection stakeholders, including the police and NGOs, work together to “conduct forensic interviews for reporting child sexual abuse and exploitation cases. This is followed by therapeutic treatment for the child.”
She added that this is the first centre of its kind, with the plan being to have such centres in all of the Administrative Regions.
The US report added that the government made efforts to protect victims of trafficking, but a continued lack of accountability for perpetrators further endangers victims.
Webster said that it is important to note that judicial independence does not allow for Government control or mixing with the Judiciary or Magistracy.
“The long established practice has been that the GPF establishes and submits the case files to the DPPs office, and the DPP in turn would advise on whether charges would be laid or not, the decision to convict or not, is one exclusively for the Court.”
According to Webster, the role of government is to ensure that “legislation is in place and in this case, it has passed a very comprehensive piece of legislation, the combating of trafficking in persons Act.”
President of the Guyana Women Miners Organization (GWMO), Simona Broomes, has been a vocal critic and fighter against TIP in Guyana. The organization has been rescuing women and children from sexual exploitation, more so within the mining sector, and despite the fact that the entity’s actions are not necessarily in consonance with the government, the administration shares a working relationship with Broomes, says Webster.
“From time to time she (Broomes) would speak to me and she would be in touch with my department, and my officers would collaborate with her and conduct activities. I would like to publicly say that this perception that we don’t is not totally accurate, we might not be funding her activities, but we do collaborate.”
Webster said that the GOG “stands committed to the fight against trafficking of persons in Guyana and calls upon all stakeholders and Guyanese as a whole to join the fight in TIP.”

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