Guyana remains on the Tier 2 Watch List compiled by the US State Department in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for 2009 and has been urged to vigorously prosecute offenders.
According to the report released yesterday, “Guyana is a source country for men, women and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour.” It said that “Guyanese trafficking victims have been identified within the country, as well as in Barbados, Brazil, Trinidad and Tobago and Suriname.” “The majority of victims are trafficked internally for sexual and labour exploitation in the more heavily populated coastal areas and in the remote areas of the
country’s interior.”
The report acknowledged that Amerindian teenagers and women in interior regions as forming the predominant group of persons that were trafficked.
The Guyana government has repeatedly denied that TIP is a major problem here.
Recommendations
The report urges that Guyana vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking offences, and seek convictions and punishment of trafficking offenders. Further, it recommended a proactive measure of identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations such as women and children in prostitutions. It was also recommended that victims be protected throughout the process of criminal investigations and prosecutions assign more judges and court personnel to handle trafficking cases in the country’s interior regions, and expand anti-trafficking training for police and magistrates.
Prosecutions
The report noted that “the government had made negligible law-enforcement progress against human trafficking over the last year. It, however, noted the provisions of the Combating Trafficking of Persons Act of 2005. The report said that during the past year, trafficking investigations increased from six in 2007 to eight.
According to the document, “legal cases against alleged trafficking offenders usually did not progress through the trial phase, as charges against most suspects are dropped prior or during the prosecution.
Protection
“The Government of Guyana made significant efforts to assist victims during the reporting period”, the report said. Further, “while the government did not operate shelters for trafficking victims, but doubled its funding to an NGO that provided shelter, counseling and medical assistance to victims of domestic violence; the shelter was also accessible to victims of trafficking, though no trafficking victims sought assistance from the shelter in 2008.”
According to the report, “NGO’s working directly with trafficking victims report that although the government offers a number of useful services to victims, the system by which it provides these services does not function as effectively as it should.” While it was acknowledged in the report that the government of Guyana did several good initiatives to support victims, the report said that “the government did not support victim services outside the capital, and stated that the services remained “inadequate”.
The report noted “In 2008, magistrates continued to dismiss charges in trafficking cases, usually citing a lack of evidence or
failure of the witness to appear for testimony. In October 2008, a judge dismissed the charges against a woman
arrested in September 2006 for subjecting a 15-year old girl to commercial sexual exploitation, claiming
the police `had not done proper investigations’ in the intervening two years. Judicial proceedings are regularly
delayed by shortages of trained court personnel and magistrates, postponements, and the slowness of the
Guyanese police in preparing cases for trial.”
Prevention
The report acknowledged that the government did undertake some prevention efforts during the period in question. These efforts included “some educational and awareness-raising activities on trafficking.” The government trained 100 people designated as community “focal points” on identifying and reporting potential trafficking cases in eight administrative regions.
The government’s denials will be swift,loud and frequent but completely baseless. Our First Nations people are being exploited.
Ok sandhurst first
that is the stratergy of the guyana govt. to drag their feet
so as to get aid for the courts,police and to fill their pockets, the guyana govt. will never prosecute these offenders
because the country is too corrupt, the super powers have to
take a strong stance with the guyana govt. no aid untill you
put your house in order period.
Turbo, rite on, “Put the house on order first,” darn shame.
the govt. of guyana has never prosecuted a major drug dealer,
gun trafficker,gold and diamond smuggler, because they are all
big supporters of the ppp party.
torbo all thow i dont like the PPP or PNC i must ask you 1 question do America ever prosicuted any big drug dealers in this country?WHAT ABOUT THE PROSTITUTIONS RINGS THAT is every where in america where young women being kidnapped and force into it?the lovely usa cant even stop the child porn thats so wide spread,what about the child molesters also?
Onelove ! You got the audacity to question the prosecution record of the US where drug lords are concerned in the US. Well, let’s see. Nicky Barnes and Frank Lucas come to mind. Nicky Barnes posed on the cover of the New York Times Magazine with the caption, ‘Mr. Untouchable’. President Carter went after him. Time’s up.
onelove, although america cant stop child porn and prostitution, the differences between guyana and the u.s is when they are caught they get prosecuted and put in jail, unlike guyana evidence dissapear and they walk free.
Onelove, come on, don’t u read?, don’t the US have law enforcement on the web, catching all those scums, who r trying to tempt young teens and kids?, come on, don’t run us down, don’t compare Guyana to the US, millions resides here, think my friend, think.
Amenr-s, Gorgie, u better explain again and in full to onelove, give full details, bcs, it seems as though some in here don’t comprehend the difference from Guyana and the US. When ever the US enforcement catches those scums here, it’s not like Guyana, bail, on the streets again, friends in big places backing the scums, it’s jail, no bail, u name it, I mean JAIL BIG TIME.
onelove you are living in the usa , this country is huge i mean huge and still they catch the big drugs
dealers,mafia boses,serial killers,child rapist,
private escorts, america has put away alot of criminals
and even haul out criminals and drugs dealers from
other countries
I am not an advocate of TIP, however, are we waiting on a report from the US to tell us to prosecute and how to handle this situation. Come on guys, the US is a double edged sword (They are against Communist Cuba, but 80% of the imports are shipped from China). Look Out Guyana. Instead, the US should be prosecuting all those soldiers who have been raping females in the war zones. Also, let the US look at places like Sudan, which is a more ideal location for the US state department to focus on. Ladies and babies are kidnapped in villages, raped and then killed.
The US has most PORN films and clips that are easily accessible with the click of a mouse. These web pages are hosted by American companies, and the US state Dept benefits from taxes collected from these companies.
In the very near future, all US states would be legalizing same sex marriages, which is bibically wrong.
So if the US says something is correct, then all other countries SHOULD follow, although they know it is morally incorrect.
I totally agrees with your blog and it is nothing but the truth.
But the Guyana Government needs to get there act together and stop Denying that these things are not happening. What they need
to do is start looking into all the things that is causing our country to go under and start trying to fix them instead of saying that these things are not happening.
yelow man, “IT IS ALL ABOUT INTEREST” no friends or allies, just interest.
Big brother is watching, guyana get your act together.
Who is watching “big brother”?Big brother should get their act together first,and then point out other ppl’s faults.
when you big you big, america pay the cost to be the boss, so chill out, canada will soon be an american territory so welcome to america in advance.
Amen i know yall want we oil but we won’t stoop dat low to become a US state.If we only pull the plug on the oil yall in deep doo doo.
amen-ra, What are you smoking? The US is only interested in Guyana for what it can get from us, an as long as their threaty in existance is still in affect. Guyana is still responsible fro its own security, and that they have failed to do for more than 40 years, and getting worse by the day. Look at the history of the Us. They stand and watch, then when things get out of control, they go in destroy, leave worse than before. Don’t forget Grenada.
And if america pull their plug on you guys, canada willbe invaded,is america saving canada from getting invaded and bombed.
Amen-ra, haaaaa, u said it, some of them in here needs to remove that flag next to their names.
Yellow man, be careful what u say, do u have evidence that soldiers rapes women in war zones, u should be glad u r residing in Canada, remember, “BIG BROTHER” can trace u now, u r making broad statements about the US soldiers.
CHERYL NUFF A THEM A TALK BAD BAD ABOUT AMERICA BUT LET
UNCLE SAM FIND THEM YOU WILL SEE HOW FAST THEM GON DROP
PON THEM KNEES BEGGING NOT TO BE DEPORTED OW LAWD AH
BEGGING NAH DEPORT ME TO GUYANA PLEASEEEE MR IMMIGRATION OFFISA…
amen-ra
if yall invade canada,we gat de gdf fuh fight fuh we…
den and only den you will see the true fighting spirit of our guyana defence force……
then again if yuh mighty US tecking a trashin in iraq n afghanistan wid antiquated explosives how yuh figure they can invade canada…yuh tink dem americanos are dat stupid to have their neighbour of 34 million as terrorists whom can make a nuke faster dan dem…
we could give yall black out on the entire eastern coast and freeze yall to death in de winta and remember yall get 25% of yall gas from we….how you wud like we pour dat amount of gas on yall and throw in a lit bick lighter…..ehehehehehehehehehehehehe
The government needs to do a helluva lot more !!!Denial will get the country nowhere. Jagdeo embrace your problems and deal with them one at a time. Fire the crooks!!!
Many Guyanese Refugees have filed successful applications with Canadian and overseas governments. The main qualifiers for Refugee consideration are if you are being discriminated, marginalized, or persecuted based on ethnicity or sexual orientation. And if this persecution is being ignored by the ruling government. Under these criteria, many of the PNC supporters can qualify for acceptance into the Refugee program.
Agree there is human trafficing going on in guyana and all other countries. But if somebody is moved to trinidad or barbados on the promise of some kind of work then end up in prostitution, how is the guyana government to persecute the person who took them there? I thought it should have been the host country responsibility to persecute.
yes biswattie with your help you can speak for all pee n c supporters and let dem come to canada..dont tell it here…go tell harpa de prime minista…e gun listen to u….tell him ow bad pee n c supporters gat in guyana…
Someone needs to tell the Government that Di Nile is in Egypt, not Guyana, cause they always in denial
GTDonna ! you have got it wrong. Should be : Denial is not a river in Egypt.
Another outgrowth of the economic desperation faced by our fellow countrymen. The die-hard PPP supporters will say “what econimic hardship? It was worse under Burnham”.
it was always worst, now no card needed and there are no food lines.
what else can you ask for.
Sky…….only the poor ppl can cry for hardship those who r earnin from the blood of others cus of the support of the present regime will not cry, but as soon as the decide to fly n go else where, the big US of A is waitin for them, and the will sing not cry like Raja ”Charles Bronson” Can,
internal trafficking in persons is hard to prosecute, unless the victims want to be heard. Sometimes language is a barrier, most times the persons move from village to village and i’m sure in and around those mining camps. Some families may view it as income,really they are exploiting their family members. In regards to women in the hinterland, lots of basic necessities are unavailable, hence they are seduced in which case they are taken advantage and falls prey. Unless these victims tells the council person of the village and ensure these persons are brought to justice, It would be a lost cause.
It will be a lost cause because no one wants to invest the time and money to put an end to it. Yes it was a way of life for sometime now. This does not make it right, so it must be stopped. This is what people ars saying. PUT AN END TO TIP.