Opposition leader Brigadier (rtd) David Granger says the PPP/C administration must reorganise the police force in the hinterland to enforce the law regarding trafficking in persons, as to date it has failed to stamp out this scourge.
According to a press release from Office of the Leader of the Opposition, Granger cited the US Department of State’s annual ‘Trafficking in Persons Report,’ which gave Guyana an unfavourable Tier 2 ranking. He said government must reorganise the Guyana Police Force and establish more manageable divisions in the hinterland to enforce the law and comply with international conventions against human trafficking.
“More policemen and women must be recruited and equipment and resources must be provided since much of the trafficking occurs in the difficult terrain of mining and logging sites,” he advised.
According to Granger the biggest obstacles to combating human trafficking are poor enforcement by police and the widespread perception by perpetrators that their crimes will go unpunished. He also pointed out that it had been reported in the press that under-age school girls are being lured to seek employment there and others have been found in ‘sex camps’ in the hinterland.
At a recent meeting with the Women and Gender Equality Commission, Granger called on members to adopt an inter-party approach to human trafficking. He said that it had become clear that on its own the government seemed unable to address the crime. He warmed that the virulence and persistence of this plague over the last two decades demanded new official attitudes and approaches. Granger also said that the PPP/C administration should establish a special commission to investigate human trafficking and to promulgate a comprehensive national counter-trafficking enforcement strategy.
