GUYANA has been taking steps to discourage the trafficking in persons and yesterday recommitted to intensifying efforts to stem the flow of this criminal activity.
Ms. Bibi Shadick, Minister in the Ministry of Labour, Social Security and Human Services, told participants of a seminar that government found the practice revolting and would step up its fight against human trafficking.
Minister Shadick was delivering the keynote address at the opening session of the forum on trafficking in persons at Hotel Tower.
She also expressed disappointment at the U.S. State Department Report on Human Trafficking, which puts Guyana in the third tier where trafficking in humans is concerned.
However, she said the government welcomes the support of the U.S. Government in helping to further highlight the wider implications of the problem and also in helping to devise strategies to tackle it.
Ms. Shadick said her ministry has begun to deal with the trafficking in persons, but until recently the problem was not viewed under the now-wider definition of trafficking in humans.
“The Government of Guyana did not start to take action on the matter because of the U.S. State Department Report,” she said. The report was issued sometime during last week.
“We started taking action on this matter from the time we became aware that some of these activities that we were looking at fell under the definition of trafficking in humans.”
Minister Shadick said the government would continue to go after the issue until there is satisfaction that it is minimized to levels that can be handled.
“Guyana and the government have been accused too many times of being reactive rather than being proactive on a number of matters of national interest, which also have regional or international implications” she noted.
Ms Shadick said legislation is already been looked at and this is being currently being dealt with at the level of the Ministry of Legal affairs.
Currently the ministry is looking at models from U.S. legislation and those from other countries, which will be examined to put together all the best practices. “We are doing all this not to satisfy the U.S. State Department but out of concern for our people”.
Mr Timothy Birner, Counsellor/ TIP Coordinator, American Embassy in Guyana in his remarks said that by modernizing laws to facilitate prosecution of human traffickers Guyana would take significant action to eliminate the problem.
To move away from its tier three ranking Guyana must demonstrate that if it is taking significant steps within 60 days to combat human trafficking.
He said the U.S. Embassy is committed to helping Guyana take the necessary steps to combat the crime from which no country has immunity.