Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Human Trafficking in  [Guyana]  [other countries]

Street Children in  [Guyana]  [other countries]

Child Prostitution in  [Guyana]  [other countries]

Human Trafficking & Modern-day Slavery

Co-operative Republic of Guyana [ Country-by-Country Reports ]

The Co-operative Republic of Guyana [map], located in NE South America, is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean (N), by Suriname (E), by Brazil (S & W), and by Venezuela (W). The capital and largest city is Georgetown. Guyana is one of the poorest countries in the Western Hemisphere.

Guyana is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. While official reports of human trafficking may be limited, most trafficking appears to take place in remote mining camps in the country’s interior. Amerindian girls are trafficked to brothels near the mining camps and to coastal areas for sexual exploitation and domestic servitude. Young Amerindian men are exploited under forced labor conditions in mining and logging camps. Some women and girls trafficked into brothels in the interior are from northern Brazil. Reporting from other nations suggests Guyanese women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation to neighboring countries such as Barbados, Trinidad and Tobago, Brazil, Suriname, Venezuela, and that Guyanese men and boys are subject to labor exploitation in construction and agriculture in these same countries. Trafficking victims from Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela transit Guyana en route to Caribbean destinations. - U.S. State Dept Trafficking in Persons Report, June, 2008 [full country report]

CAUTION: The following links have been culled from the web to illuminate the situation in Guyana. Some of these links may lead to websites that present allegations that are unsubstantiated or even false. No attempt has been made to validate their authenticity or to verify their content.

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Trafficking in Persons: USAID’s Response [PDF]

[page 25] GUYANA: SHELTER FOR TRAFFICKING VICTIMS, TRAINING POLICE AND COMMUNITY MEMBERS, AND RAISING PUBLIC AWARENESS - Much of the trafficking in Guyana involves AmerIndian girls and takes place from hinterland communities to transportation and commercial nodes in coastal and hinterland areas for prostitution and involuntary domestic servitude. Girls are duped into prostitution with promises of employment as waitresses and bar attendants at coastal establishments and in gold and diamond mining areas; young men are exploited under forced labor conditions in timber camps.

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U.S. Dept of Labor Bureau of International Labor Affairs

INCIDENCE AND NATURE OF CHILD LABOR - The Guyana Human Rights Association reported that there were cases where girls as young as 11 are recruited to work in bars and restaurants as prostitutes. Children are also engaged in prostitution in ports, gold mining areas, and the capital city of Georgetown. Young women and children are known to be trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation mostly within the country.

Bur of Democracy, Human Rights & Labor - Country Reports on Human Rights Practices - 2005

TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS – The country was a source and destination for trafficked women and children, although most trafficking in persons occurred internally. Trafficking reportedly took place in the interior, where there was little government oversight and law enforcement was lacking. Most trafficking originated in impoverished Amerindian communities, although some victims came from the larger coastal cities. Some women trafficked into the country came from the northern regions of neighboring Brazil. Some were trafficked specifically to work in the timber industry. A smaller number of women were trafficked into Suriname's sex trade. The majority of trafficked women and children were lured to mining camps deep in the interior beyond the reach of law enforcement. Reports indicated that trafficking victims were promised employment as highly paid domestic helpers, cooks, restaurant servers, and nude dancers. The victims were provided with barracks-style housing with cramped quarters and sometimes were locked inside. They were restrained through debt-bondage, intimidation, and physical abuse. Most victims were exposed to the same health risks as prostitutes and other victims of sexual exploitation, including sexually transmitted diseases such as HIV/AIDS.

Concluding Observations of the Committee on the Rights of the Child (CRC) 2004

[49] The Committee expresses its concern at the increasing prevalence of child labour in the State party.

U.S. Report On Human Trafficking Reveals Scope Of Modern-Day Slavery

He said several countries listed in the bottom category last year, including Guyana and Bangladesh, were moved up this year because of remedial steps.

Trafficking in Persons: USAID’s Response [PDF]

Government Information Agency

[scroll down] US HUMAN RIGHTS REPORT HIGHLIGHTS PROGRESS IN FIGHT AGAINST TIP - GEORGETOWN, GINA, MARCH 06, 2007 - The Ministry of Human Services and Social Security has been actively involved in sensitization campaigns countrywide, informing Guyanese on ways to protect themselves, and what measures to take if they become a victim.

Guyana accuses US of being unfair in report on human trafficking

Shadick said Guyanese police and other authorities have been raiding mining camps and other areas to rescue mainly indigenous women from prostitution, cheap and forced labour, as well as prosecuting offenders under existing laws.

Freedom House Country Report - Political Rights: 2 Civil Liberties: 3 Status: Free

U.S. Library of Congress - Country Study

Moving Up The Tiers

www.guyanaonline.net/news/index.php?C=Editorials&F=Details&A=17927

With the release of the report the government was quick to counter that it had been addressing the problem in spite of the daunting difficulties the State Department report recognized.

There is no evidence that trafficking in persons here is in any way near the proportions that it is elsewhere in the world but steps must be taken to root out the practice wherever it has sprung up in Guyana.

He added that once it has been recognised that the government has adopted measures that have been successfully implemented and create the requisite environment to deal with trafficking in persons, a reclassification “would be in order.”

Four Nations Move Against Trafficking in Response to U.S. Report

Bangladesh, Ecuador, Guyana and Sierra Leone have acted rapidly over the last few months to reduce human trafficking in their borders. In so doing, they have avoided U.S.-imposed sanctions, according to a White House announcement September 10.

Guyana shocked

"The initial reaction was one of shock," said Mr. Ishmael, the most senior Latin American or Caribbean envoy in Washington.

The ambassador noted that Guyana's minister of human services and social security, Bibi Shadick, complained that Washington failed to recognize the government's efforts to draw international attention to human trafficking in forums such as the Organization of American States and the Inter-American Commission of Women. "Minister Shadick has personally plunged herself into a countrywide campaign to investigate the issue and to educate various communities in the remote interior of the country of problems associated with human trafficking," Mr. Ishmael said. "This is very commendable since it is very unusual for a Cabinet minister in the Latin America and Caribbean region, or anywhere else, to be involved so directly in trying to stamp out a social scourge."

Guyana determined to combat TIP

The Government is concerned about the increasing incidence of Trafficking in Persons that has been gripping the country. But it has not been silent on the issue. In fact, it has adopted a proactive approach to effectively deal with the problem, according to Minister of Human Services and Social Security Bibi Shadick. “We have been putting so much effort into this problem from the time we understood what it is,” she said. She added that her Ministry’s Departments such as the Probation and Family Welfare and Labour Departments were always dealing with many TIP issues such as sexual exploitation.

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Human Trafficking in  [Guyana]  [other countries]

Street Children in  [Guyana]  [other countries]

Child Prostitution in  [Guyana]  [other countries]