FOLLOWING a successful campaign against Trafficking in Persons (TIP) and the introduction of The Combatting Trafficking in Persons Bill in Parliament, the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social security is moving to the next phase of the campaign. This is to ensure continuous awareness of the problem by the Guyanese population.
A recent press release from the Ministry of Labour, Human Services and Social Security said that the next phase of activities will include the training of some 300 personnel in all the Regions of the country to continue the process of awareness-building and the education of communities.
According to the Ministry, the next few months will see further implementation of other elements in the National Plan of Action, which will effectively address the issues related to TIP.
The subject Minister, Ms Bibi Shadick, has expressed her satisfaction with the pace and direction of progress on the National Plan of Action for Trafficking In Persons formulated by the Ministry's Steering Committee. The Minister also acknowledged the close collaboration and financial support of USAID in the implementation of the various elements of the Plan.
Key Government Ministries and Non Governmental Organisations (NGOs) make up the Committee, and the Plan of Action, which is preventative and remedial in focus, is currently being implemented in phases across the country, the Ministry stated.
"The Plan adopted a multifaceted approach that includes, a Public Awareness Programme aimed at the entire society, education of victims and various communities; identification of victims, perpetrators, sites and centres of these activities; securing appropriate legislation and sanctions, strengthening of law enforcement systems, assistance to victims, prevention strategies and the institution of protective measures. A number of these activities are being conducted simultaneously," the release explained.
The awareness campaign has provoked the kind of response anticipated and the Ministry lauded the media for playing an integral role in providing ample coverage of TIP activities and creating significant awareness of the phenomenon.
An extension of this activity was a number of meetings with numerous organisations and leaders of religious communities, the release stated.
One of the highlights was the series of ten outreach visits conducted by the Minister and a team of officials to a number of hinterland locations in Regions One, Five, Seven, and Eight, which facilitated on-the-spot information gathering.
"The information gathered so far has pointed to a number of social problems many of which require long term solutions, and a number of problems of a more immediate nature have been identified. These include activities, which are clearly illegal and are cases of exploitation which may well fall into the definition of TIP," the release concluded.