VZCZCXRO5626
OO RUEHLMC
DE RUEHGE #0539/01 3361818
ZNY CCCCC ZZH
O R 021818Z DEC 09
FM AMEMBASSY GEORGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 0055
INFO EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
USAID MISSIONS IN LATIN AMERICA COLLECTIVE
RHEFHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHINGTON DC
RHMFISS/HQ USSOUTHCOM MIAMI FL
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHINGTON DC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHINGTON DC
RUEHLMC/MILLENNIUM CHALLENGE CORPORATION WASHINGTON DC

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 GEORGETOWN 000539 
 
SIPDIS 
NOFORN 
G/TIP - AMY ROFMAN 
G 
INL 
DRL 
PRM 
WHA/PPC - SCOTT MILLER 
AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN PASS TO AMEMBASSY GRENADA 
 
E.O. 12958: DECL: 2019/12/02 
TAGS: PHUM SMIG PREF ELAB KTIP KCRM KWMN KFRD GY
SUBJECT: President Jagdeo Discusses Human Trafficking in Guyana 
 
CLASSIFIED BY: Karen L. Williams, Charge d'affaires; REASON: 1.4(B), 
(D) 
 
¶1. (C) Summary.  In an unexpected meeting with a visiting G/TIP 
Officer on November 24, President Bharatt Jagdeo said he views 
trafficking in persons as a serious matter and would like to see 
Guyana ranked higher than Tier 2 Watch list.  He said there are 
three on-going cases to prosecute traffickers, but that he cannot 
"guarantee" a conviction to occur anytime soon.  He cautioned 
against placing too much credence on anecdotal evidence and 
encouraged future visits by G/TIP to visit mining camp areas. End 
Summary. 
 
¶2. (C) Background.  Although G/TIP Officer Amy Rofman was scheduled 
to meet with Minister of Home Affairs Clement Rohee only, Rofman 
and PolChief met with both Minister Rohee and President Jagdeo on 
November 24 as both men were attending a two-day National Crime 
Prevention Conference.  The November 23-24 G/TIP visit also 
involved high-level meetings with other senior GoG officials and 
several NGO representatives as well as a meeting with a community 
focal group in Charity on the East Coast of Guyana. 
 
¶3. (C) President Jagdeo stated November 24 that while prostitution 
does occur, there are very few trafficking cases in Guyana with 
only three identified and that periodic alleged cases of 
trafficking reported in mining camps and Chinese restaurants do not 
meet the definition of trafficking but prostitution.  He also 
emphasized that ranking Guyana Tier 2 based on the fact that Guyana 
has not had a trafficking conviction in recent years overlooks the 
positive actions that the GoG has taken to combat trafficking.  He 
cited the establishment of a Child Protection and Care Agency and 
community focal groups as positive GoG actions towards combating 
trafficking.  He also stated that he "would love to have 
traffickers languish in jail," but that he "cannot guarantee that 
the judiciary will move so quickly to prosecute a case."  He 
stressed that there is a huge backlog of existing cases and that 
even a murder case in Guyana can take 10 years to complete. 
 
¶4. (C) President Jagdeo said that he welcomes NGO involvement in 
the fight against trafficking, but that NGOs only have anecdotal 
evidence to provide.  He cited the Guyana Human Rights Association 
as an example: it has only one full-time representative on the 
ground to examine trafficking and human rights issues.  Therefore, 
Jagdeo cautioned against placing too much credence on NGOs with 
limited capacity and no documented evidence to base reports.  He 
did, however, welcome evidence from NGOs and other organizations 
that identifies victims of trafficking so that those cases can be 
brought to GoG attention for action.  He ended the meeting by 
offering to make a public statement on combating trafficking in 
persons in hopes that such a statement would help move Guyana from 
Tier 2 Watch list to a higher ranking. 
 
¶5. (C) Minister of Human Services and Social Security Priya 
Manikchand on November 23 said that the GoG is spending 
considerable resources to keep focal groups in operation.  She 
emphasized that since 2004 the GoG has launched public awareness 
campaigns to address trafficking in persons.  She said the 2009 TIP 
Report is not inaccurate, but that ranking Guyana Tier 2 Watch list 
because it does not have a recent conviction is not justified.  "We 
have a problem on how you weigh things" and "you are dead wrong on 
this issue" she argued.  Minister Manikchand acknowledged that 
there is a backlog of cases in the judicial system and that she 
herself would like to see a conviction, but that court cases are 
left to courts to decide.  She argued that if the GoG is able to 
meet nine out of ten requirements in its effort to combat 
trafficking in persons but is punished for not being able to have a 
conviction, the problem lies not with GoG efforts, but the process 
through which Guyana is ranked in Washington. 
 
¶6. (SBU) Meetings with representatives on November 23-24 from 
United Nations Children's Fund, U.S.-based NGO Catholic Relief 
Services and victim's assistance NGO Help and Shelter confirmed 
earlier reports that no broad-based, thorough surveys regarding 
trafficking exist in Guyana.  We were told that Amerindian woman 
were most vulnerable, that trafficking likely occurs in mining 
camps and in Chinese restaurants along the East and West Coast, but 
 
GEORGETOWN 00000539  002 OF 002 
 
 
representatives admitted that none of these reports were based on 
firsthand evidence.  A focal group team we met in Charity on the 
East Coast of Guyana as well as NGO representatives pointed to 
judicial branch "malaise" and the backlog of court cases as a 
reason for lack of trafficking convictions. 
WILLIAMS