The Ministry of Home Affairs will be soon undertaking the construction of a processing facility to house Trafficking in Persons (TIP) victims and conduct interviews.
This was revealed by the Ministry’s Coordinator for the Ministerial Taskforce on TIP, Daniel Griffith, at the Guyana Police Force’s Symposium 2023 during a panel discussion that focused on “procedures to detect, investigate and convict traffickers/perpetrators.”
“The Ministry of Home Affairs is taking steps to establish a processing facility and a transitional facility… Budgetary allocations have already [been made] and we will commence the construction of this facility soon to be utilise by Guyana Police Force’s Trafficking In Persons Unit and the Ministry of Home Affairs,” Griffith stated.
He was at the time responding to a statement made by Commissioner of Police, Clifton Hicken, who pointed out that victims are needed to make out a TIP case against perpetrators. However, he noted that ever so often victims are being treated like the perpetrators during the investigative process.
To this end, he called on the Home Affairs Ministry and the Legal Affairs Ministry, which are the administrative agencies, to establish a conducive space and atmosphere for victims to be held.
He noted “…we should have a location or locations prepared specifically to house the persons that are being trafficked comfortably rather than having them at the stations and further violating their rights …and have them go through psycho-social evaluation – the whole gamut of support.”
This issue was raised by the Police Commissioner just one day after the symposium dealt depth with protecting human rights while policing.
According to the Top Cop, “this symposium should either change the way we do things or improve on our current posture.”
Moreover, Hicken went on to talk about mitigating Trafficking in Persons as a regional effort.
The Guyanese Police Commissioner is currently the Chairman of the Standing Committee of Chief Immigration Officers across the Caribbean. He disclosed that one of the things they are currently working on is the formation of a constitution that deals with migration in the Region.
“One of the doctrine out there is if we simplify the processes to move from country to country, then it will stymie the Trafficking in Persons at a magnitude… They’re of the opinion that the immigration process is too long and the qualification is difficult, and that is why it’s encouraging trafficking from country to country,” he noted.
The Top Cop posited that while in theory this makes sense, there is still a lot of other intricacies that needs to be considered and ironed out before such a Memorandum of Understanding is established.
Only last month, the US Department of State released its 2023 Trafficking in Persons report, which recognised that the Government continues to demonstrate serious and sustained efforts to combat this crime during the reporting period.
For the seventh consecutive year, Guyana has maintained its Tier 1 status in the State Department ranking. Guyana is one of two – the other being The Bahamas – Caribbean Community (Caricom) members that were given Tier 1 ranking in this year’s TIP report.
Among its efforts to maintain its ranking, according to the State Department, included convicting three traffickers; identifying more victims and referring them to services; consistently implementing a 10-day reflection period, including shelter for victims; raising awareness in Indigenous languages; expanding the inclusivity of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons (the Task Force); and initiating a programme to screen children in situations of homelessness.
However, the report noted that although the Guyana Government meets the minimum standards, it neither increased investigations and prosecutions nor formally approved the National Action Plan (NAP). The Government also did not adequately oversee recruitment agencies or adequately screen for trafficking victims in the interior of the country.
Nevertheless, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had noted that Guyana has already taken steps to implement the recommendations made to enhance the country’s efforts to combat this crime and offer greater support to victims of human trafficking.
For the first half of 2023, it was reported that the Guyana Police Force’s TIP Unit investigated 21 reported Trafficking in Persons cases, of which, 244 alleged victims were interviewed and screened, with 23 of them being under 18 years of age.
Five persons were officially charged and placed before the court between January to May this year for offences ranging from Trafficking in Persons, assault, forgery of currency notes and the operation of a brothel.
