Guyana screened over 244 TIP victims in first half of 2023

Jun 16, 2023 News

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Kaieteur News – Within the first half of 2023, the Guyana Police Force (GPF), Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit has interviewed 244 alleged victims of human trafficking – 23 of whom are under the age of 18.

TIP refers to a crime whereby traffickers exploit and profit at the expense of adults or children by compelling them to perform labour or engage in commercial sex. According to information from the Ministry of Home Affairs, the TIP Unit investigated 21 reported cases for the first half of the year. It was stated too that five persons were officially charged and placed before the court between January- May, 2023 for offences ranging from trafficking in persons, assault, forgery of currency notes and the operation of a brothel.

Notably, the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) Shalimar Ali-Hack, SC had recommended that the person who was charged for operating a brothel and was sentenced last month, be further charged with two counts of TIP. These charges are expected to be instituted shortly.

Moreover, Guyana has been ranked Tier 1 for the seventh consecutive year in the United States Department of State 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report. The Ministry of Home Affairs and the Ministry Human Services and Social Security welcomed the report, and vowed to continue its efforts to combat TIP.

In a statement, the Home Affairs Ministry said, the report has once again given Guyana a “Tier 1” ranking underscoring the efforts to combat trafficking in persons or human trafficking.  It was underscored that the ranking is a testament of the hard work and dedication of individual members of the Task Force, Non- Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and all other stakeholders who assisted through increased reporting, training, awareness, proactive investigations, victim protection and international and local partnership.

TIP or Human Trafficking remains a deeply entrenched global issue, affecting millions of individuals across borders, age groups and social- economic backgrounds. Notwithstanding the universal challenges of this crime, the 2023 US State Department Report has recognized Guyana’s efforts for convicting three traffickers, identifying more victims and referring them to victim support services, consistently implementing a 10 day – reflection period for victims, raising awareness in Indigenous languages, expanding the inclusivity of the Ministerial Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons, establishment of a new interviewing and screening centre, continuous training of law-enforcement officials,  initiating a programme to screen children in situations of homelessness.

Further, the report has included a number of recommendations that is expected to enhance Guyana’s efforts to combat this crime and offer greater support to victims of human trafficking. The recommendations from the report were welcomed and the TIP task force has commenced efforts to implement same.

Notably, some of the recommendations emanating from the 2023 Report focused on further increasing investigations and prosecution of sex and labour trafficking cases, review existing legislation on labour requirement practices in Guyana, increasing the number of Labour Inspectors, enforce restitution orders, and reduce our reliance on victims to serves as witnesses in prosecution cases.  The Ministry of Home Affairs and other key Task Force member agencies, and stakeholders will incorporate these recommendations into their work plans.

Moreover, 170 law enforcement and community policing groups were trained on the indicators of human trafficking and migrant smuggling along with national referral mechanisms in place to reporting such acts.

Awareness and sensitization were also done with a number of secondary school students in Regions 1, 3, 4, and 6. This was a partnership between the Ministry of Home Affairs, GPF and the Customs Anti- Narcotics Unit (CANU).

It was noted that, “While our challenges do remain and continue to evolve, with the increasing use of online platforms by Traffickers to coerce and recruit those most susceptible and vulnerable, the Ministerial Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons and by extension the Government of Guyana will remain steadfast in its approach to countering this crime.”

As such, it was stated that it is imperative that law enforcement officials remain vigilant in addressing new and evolving criminal patterns and adapt their responses to investigate and prosecute human traffickers from acting with impunity.

Moreover, it was said that the Government deems it paramount that partnerships are continued and as such, the Task Force will be expanded to include more stakeholders in the coming months.  The general public is encouraged to continue to report suspected instances of trafficking in persons, utilizing our 24Hrs English or Spanish TIP Hotline numbers – 227-4083 /623-5030 or 624-0079 (Spanish) or to the nearest police station.

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• Alleged, Guyana Police Force (GPF), human, trafficking, Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit

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