Little evidence of human trafficking
-- Luncheon
Guyana Chronicle
July 22, 2004
THE fan-out by the government minister heading the campaign against trafficking in persons has found little evidence of the `trade’ here, Head of the Presidential Secretariat, Dr Roger Luncheon said yesterday.
He also announced that a U.S. State Department official is due soon to interact and assess the situation in Guyana.
Luncheon is optimistic that the visit would finally put the issue "to rest" and see Guyana being removed from a list of countries that face possible U.S. sanctions if they are found wanting in the anti-human trafficking campaign.
Guyana is listed as being under Tier Three in the current U.S. State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons (TIP).
Tier Three is the lowest possible level, meaning that Guyana, in the eyes of the U.S. does not currently do enough to combat TIP.
Guyana was recently given a 60-day deadline – expiring in August – in which it must undertake action to be listed as at least Tier Two.
Failure to comply could mean sanctions, most likely in the withdrawal of humanitarian aid to Guyana.
TIP-specific legislation is being drafted and will be tabled in Parliament sometime early next month, officials said.
Luncheon said visits to Regions Five (Mahaica/WestBerbice) and Eight (Potaro/Siparuni) by Minister within the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Ms Bibi Shadick, have aroused considerable community interest but revealed little if any evidence of trafficking in persons.
He reported that in the Mahdia sub-region, it was found that commercial sex operations existed but none under any form of coercion of the operators.
Luncheon told his weekly post-cabinet press briefing that Amerindians the minister visited "vehemently" rejected allegations of the occurrence of pro-trafficking behaviour in their communities.
The Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security has completed a plan of action to deal with the problem of trafficking in persons.
The plan provides for the passage of legislation soon to make trafficking in persons a crime and to provide penalties.
Asked if the steps taken by the government in relation to the issue would forestall or remove permanently possible sanctions by the U.S. administration, Luncheon last week said the matter was not one for “speculation or hypotheses” but was essentially “rules based.”
He added that once it has been recognised that the government has adopted measures that have been successfully implemented and create the requisite environment to deal with trafficking in persons, a reclassification “would be in order.”
He said the government was intensifying efforts to reach the deadline set by the U.S. Government.
Shadick has said that concerted government action against exploitation of persons, especially women and children, had been in the formulation stages since earlier this year.
She said a document had been drafted since April, which will now be updated to deal with the specific issue of TIP.