17 charges, 3 convictions yielded from TIP Action Plan

―2019-2020 Plan of Action launched

DPI, Guyana, Wednesday, June 12, 2019

Seventeen charges along with three convictions for persons involved in Trafficking in Persons (TIP), were some of the successes yielded from the TIP Plan of Action for 2017-2018. Minister of Public Security Khemraj Ramjattan disclosed this as the Ministerial Task Force launched its 2019-2020 Plan of Action for the prevention and response to TIP.

Delivering the feature address, Minister Ramjattan revealed that the task force “has managed to investigate and prosecute. Seventeen individuals were charged. We had three convictions for trafficking in persons, and we had another three convicted for other crimes arising from trafficking in persons’ investigations.”

The minister said despite the challenges, the government is taking the necessary steps to fight against this form of modern-day slavery. The hope is that with the launch of the ‘Plan of Action’, there will be more investigations, charges and convictions. However, it was highlighted by the minister, that continued collaboration between local and international agencies is key to ensuring that the victims are rescued.

The National Plan of Action was developed through collaboration by several government agencies and ministries. Partnership, prosecution, protection and prevention are the four pillars on which the plan is built.

“We cannot win the battle alone at a law enforcement agency, it is never going to be won. There are going to be limitations in relation to law enforcement, but when we can have a variety of individual agencies locally and internationally, we think, of course, success can be at hand,” the minister stated.

Similar sentiments were echoed by Deputy Director of Social Services, Ministry of Social Protection, Abike Samuels. According to Samuels, improving partnership is critical to fighting TIP. She noted that the Social Protection Ministry is committed to leveraging resources needed to confront the threat, support victims and survivors while holding traffickers accountable.

It was pointed out by Samuels that the Ministry’s Countering Trafficking in Persons Unit assisted 156 TIP victims with 93 of them being referred to various facilities for support.

Guyana has managed to maintain its “tier 1” status in Trafficking in Persons. Awareness sessions and training along with implementing the recommendations from the US Department of State’s TIP report for 2017, will all be ramped up through the Plan of Action. Some of the recommendations include more rigorous investigations, prosecutions and also increased emphasis on men and boys.

Anyone with information on persons involved in TIP can contact the TIP Hotline on +592-227-4083.

Image: Marceano Narine