Georgetown: The US is standing by its 2014 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report on Guyana, Ambassador D Brent Hardt said, even as the Government contends that it is laden with inaccuracies.
US State Department 2014 TIP Report said the Government of Guyana should put the requisite systems in place to ensure convicted human traffickers are held accountable. According to the US, three traffickers were set free after being sentenced to a maximum of five years imprisonment.
In an exclusive interview with Guyana Times, the US Ambassador said the granting of bail to convicted traffickers after they were sentenced, creates an unfavourable environment by sending the wrong message. While Guyana has made progress, Hardt said corrective steps should be taken to protect persons residing and operating in vulnerable communities.
“I think it is really vital for the Government to step up its effort to make sure that people on the frontline have training,” he said, positing that the judicial system should be equipped with the requisite information to guarantee full prosecution.
The US is also calling on the Government to strengthen its relationship with civil organisations, which have set out clear objectives to fight human trafficking.
“The only way the fight will be effective is if the Government taps into the efforts of civil society groups like the Guyana Women Miners Organisation (GWMO),” Hardt claims.
Alluding to the issue of inaccuracies, the US Ambassador said extensive investigation and research were conducted before compilation of the report. According to him, Guyana was slow in its response to the US when key information was sought on the TIP fight here.
Rejection
“We were late in getting information and we did not get all the information we would have wished to have had.”
Despite the challenges faced, Hardt said the US is convinced that the report on Guyana is accurate.
“We are very confident in the contour of our report… we don’t put in things that we cannot back up,” he added.
The Government has been repeatedly rejecting the US TIP Report; however, Ambassador Hardt remains adamant that the report is accurate.
When the US 2013 TIP Reports was rejected by the Government of Guyana Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Persons, Hardt said the State Department defended its report and stands willing to do so this time around.
“We would have provided to the Government following their critique last year, a line-by-line break down of the information we had and the sources of the information,” he recalled.
Condemnation not intention
The State Department TIP Report serves to identify weaknesses a country may have in its fight to eliminate human trafficking and simultaneously offer recommendations to strengthen the fight against human trafficking.
“We do not see the report as offering condemnation. That is not the purpose of the report,” Ambassador Hardt said in his quest to clear the air.
On Friday, Human Services and Social Security Minister Jenifer Webster said the US State Department 2014 TIP Report on Guyana misrepresented the scope of human trafficking in Guyana.
Representing the Chairman of the Ministerial Task Force on Trafficking in Person Clement Rohee, Webster said the Guyana Police Force thoroughly investigates cases of human trafficking.
Webster noted too that the Government does not interfere with the proceedings of the courts, as she referenced to the three convicted traffickers who were placed on bail after appealing their cases.
“Under judicial consideration, the court’s role should not be usurped by others making public statements, about how these issues should be dealt with.”
In defence of the Government, Webster said in addition to the Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act of 2005, Guyana has also enacted the Status of Child Act of 2009, the Protection of Children Act of 2009, the Adoption of Children Act of 2009, the Child Care and Protection Agency Act of 2009 and the Sexual Offences Act of 2010.
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