The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Unit at the Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has gotten a boost through an agreement with the newly installed task force at the Ministry of Home Affairs.
The Unit and members of the taskforce, led by Home Affairs Minister Clement Rohee recently met to formulate a national plan to stem the incidents a press release from the Government Information Agency (GINA) said. GINA quoted Rohee as saying "The Home Affairs Ministry's task force will be operating as an oversight to the TIP unit." So combined, we are now a Ministerial task force. This will help to strengthen the fight."
The task force will play an active role in the anti-TIP fight and will be working with Food for the Poor, Help and Shelter and other non-governmental organisation. The ministry's TIP Unit has been working with these groups to educate the population about the issue. Over the years the Unit has also conducted several awareness campaigns countrywide; particularly in Amerindian communities which have been identified as the most vulnerable.
GINA said last year about 50 sensitization workshops were held in communities countrywide. About 4,500 persons participated in the sessions where 450 of them were trained to assist in the TIP Unit with cases at the community level. Hundreds of volunteer social workers have also been trained to handle reported TIP cases.
The programme will continue this year with assistance from the International Organisation for Migration and the United States Agency for International Development.
TIP is a global issue and traffickers use a range of coercive mechanisms to control victims and keep them in positions to be exploited.