The draft anti-trafficking in persons legislation should be ready by next week as Guyana moves to deal with the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) phenomenon that is rearing its head in the country.
This was announced yesterday by Minister of Labour, Human Services and Social Security, Bibi Shadick, when she met with the Georgetown Chamber of Commerce and Industry (GCCI) to discuss the TIP issue as the ministry commences its sensitisation programme.
The Minister lamented the poor turnout at the meeting, stating that the issue was an important one and the business community needs to be more aware of it.
She noted that Guyana has been listed by the US State Department as being in Tier 3 of the countries involved in TIP.
She explained that this meant that Guyana is seen as not doing even the minimum requirements to deal with TIP such as the necessary legislation, public awareness campaigns etc.
She said Jamaica and Suriname are listed in Tier 2, which meant that those countries are taking action to tackle the problem.
Countries in Tier 1 are those that are doing everything they could to address TIP. Shadick stated that countries in Tier 3 could face sanctions from donor countries if they do not get their houses in order.
Guyana has been given sixty days from the June US State Department report to comply.
Karen Bacchus of GCCI said she was saddened when she learnt that Guyana was listed in the lowest Tier for TIP.
She stated that it was unfortunate that the businesses that are suspected to be involved in some form of TIP were not members of GCCI where the issue could have been dealt with.
She suggested that a 30-minute video on TIP could be made with corporate sponsorship to sensitise the public about the problem.
Another GCCI member, Frank De Abreu, declared that Guyana practices “seasonal law enforcement”.
He said the police operated in spurts to address various crimes—one time clamping down on a certain activity then slacking up at another.
De Abreu stated there is a prevalence of children being served alcoholic beverages and cigarettes in bars and nothing was being done about it.
“In all decent societies persons have to show their ID before they can enter these places, why can’t we put these things in place?” he asked.
The Minister pointed out that Guyana has been working to address the issues that fall under TIP even before the release of the US State Department report.
She recalled that the Women’s Affair Bureau, together with the National Commission on Women, had visited the regions to conduct a children/violence project.
They also addressed reports of children leaving school to go to work in the mining areas.
“We have heard stories of young Amerindian girls being employed as domestics but end up being sex toys for their bosses,” she said. “There are also cases of the girls not being paid or being paid whatever the employer feels like giving them.”
Shadick said her Ministry and the Ministry of Amerindian Affairs were dealing with the issues but, at the time, these did not fall under the definition of the TIP international protocol that came into being in December 2003.
The protocol defines TIP as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of persons, by means of the threat of the use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability, of the giving or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the consent of a person having control over another person for the purpose of exploitation.
Exploitation, according to the protocol, shall include the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labour or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.
Shadick stated that Guyana already had legislation to deal with the issues that fall under TIP, even though it did not have a specific Act for TIP.
“We wish to bring to the attention of the business people that the laws exist and we are asking the police to prosecute the perpetrators to the full extent of the law,” she said.
Shadick said the Ministry had formulated a plan of action in April to deal with issues such as child labour, sexual exploitation, minibus riding by young girls for material rewards etc.
Another issue, the Ministry is looking into, is the employment of under-aged persons. The Minister is requesting businesses to ask persons for proof of age to ensure they are 18 years or older before employing them.
She alluded to a report she received that a business on Regent Street employed girls and had them working long hours without properly compensating them.
“This is labour exploitation. People must at least be paid the minimum wage,” she said. “What we can do as upstanding business people, is to exercise some form of maturity and integrity, so this type of activity does not go on in businesses.”
The Minister also spoke about reports of patrons paying owners of bars for young girls to sit and drink with them. Shadick will be meeting with members of the mining sector today on the issue of TIP at the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission.
The Ministry will also be meeting with the various Chambers of Commerce around the country.