I must confess that when I first heard that the government was taking steps to deal with the “trafficking in persons,” my first thought was that the government was moving against those involved in what we term “backtracking” or the illegal movement of persons out of Guyana.
Every single adult Guyanese is aware of the term “backtracking.” Very few of us can claim not to know or have heard about someone who has not left these shores without a visa and found themselves in a foreign country requiring a visa for entry. Each year hundreds of Guyanese enter the countries of the North illegally. As we would say, they left Guyana through the back track.
The illegal movement of migrants however is not the same as trafficking in human persons. The United Nations Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, defines trafficking in persons as: “the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harboring or receipt of persons, by means of threat or use of force or other forms of coercion, of abduction, of fraud, of deception, of the abuse of power or of a position of vulnerability or 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 shall include, at a minimum, the exploitation of the prostitution of others or other forms of sexual exploitation, forced labor or services, slavery or practices similar to slavery, servitude or the removal of organs.”
Thus, when we think of trafficking in persons we are not dealing with backtracking but with the movement of people by trickery or force for the purposes of forced labour, prostitution and other forms of exploitation. This includes bringing people from the interior to work in servitude in your kitchens. So beware all of you out there who like to exploit your help!
Since 2000, the international community, led by the United Nations has begun to focus on issues of transnational crime involving the movement of persons. And a direct consequence of this has been the passage of legislation in countries like the United States that has extra-jurisdictional effects. The US can now punish countries that do not comply with certain minimum standards it sets out in its laws dealing with the trafficking in human persons.
At times it seems that all we are doing in Guyana is dealing with the concerns of the international community and especially the United States of America. There are numerous issues that require our full attention as a nation. There is still much to be done on the local agenda that would be of benefit to the country as a whole. However, instead of dealing exclusively with these issues, Guyana finds that from time to time its efforts must be diverted to deal with the concerns of the international community. Not that the concerns of the external world is of no significance to us. They are, except that we find ourselves being wagged by foreign forces to address their concerns over our own domestic priorities.
Ever since the September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Centre, countries throughout the world have found themselves caught up in the domestic and foreign agenda of the United States government. For example, increased security and surveillance of ports are now required, at a hefty cost to countries. The same applies to the trafficking in narcotics where small countries are punished for not doing sufficient to deal with the export of narcotics to the United States, the world’s largest consumer of illegal drugs. In order to keep the streets of America clean, small countries like Guyana are forced to wipe out trafficking often with very little assistance from the destination country.
This column is of the view that apart from the token assistance that Guyana receives for its anti- drugs effort from the United States of America, that country should implement a reward system for every kilo of drug destined for the US that is intercepted by local authorities. But this is something that the richest and most powerful nation of the world will never consent to once they can use their political and diplomatic muscle to have us do their boding for free.
Presently, Guyana stands at the risk of having sanctions being imposed on it because of the 2004 State Department Report on the Trafficking in Persons. In that report, Guyana is inexplicably listed as a tier 3 country. Interestingly, Guyana was not listed in the 2002 or 2003 reports and one wonders what could have interceded over the last year that would have Guyana grouped with such nations as Burma, Bangladesh, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan, Venezuela, North Korea, Sierra Leone and Ecuador. A tier 3 country, under this obnoxious US extra-jurisdictional legislation is one not considered as complying with the minimum standards to deal with the trafficking in persons. A country so categorized under US law faces possible sanctions. Not only can the United States government withhold non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance, but it can also oppose developmental assistance from international from international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks such as the World Bank as of October 1 of this year.
The threat of sanctions is one of the reasons why the government has acted so swiftly to deal with the issue of trafficking in persons. Given the influence that the US holds over most of our multi-lateral donors, the imposition of sanctions can cripple our country.
The 2004 US report accuses Guyana of being a country dealing with the trafficking of children and women for sex, including trafficking across our borders. According to the report, “Much of the trafficking takes place in the interior of the country, where observers indicate that likely over 100 persons are engaged in forced prostitution in isolated settlements. Victims are also found in prostitution centers in Georgetown and New Amsterdam. Guyanese victims originate mainly from Amerindian communities; some come from coastal urban centers. Most foreign victims are trafficked from Northern Brazil; some may also come from Venezuela. Guyana is also a transit country for victims trafficked into Suriname. More complete information, pointing to a significant number of trafficking victims, has made it possible to include Guyana in the report for the first time.”
Who exactly are these “observers” that is referred to in the report. The government of Guyana needs to ascertain who are these persons or groups that are responsible for the views contained in the US report. Were any local NGO’s or human rights groups involved in providing information to US authorities, which has led to this classification for Guyana? I am just asking.
It is interesting that last year Suriname was listed as a tier 3 country. This year it has been upgraded to a tier 2 country i.e. one that does not meet the minimum standards but which is taking significant steps to bring itself into compliance. The 2004 report notes that Guyana is also a transit country for victims trafficked into Suriname.
What is the, “more complete information, pointing to a significant number of trafficking victims” that made it possible for Guyana to be included in the report for the first time?” Guyana needs to ensure that it demands from the United States government the evidence that the US has about trafficking in human persons.