U.S. TIP report urges Guyana to boost prosecutions, inspections

Guyana has once again secured a Tier 1 ranking in the United States Department of State’s 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report but the country has also been urged to ramp up prosecutions, strengthen inspections, and expand protection for vulnerable groups.

The announcement was made in a press release issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs.

Under Guyana’s Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, trafficking is defined as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, harbouring, or receipt of persons by means such as threat, coercion, abduction, fraud, deception, or abuse of power for the purpose of exploitation.

Minister of Home Affairs Oneidge Walrond, in a press release, welcomed the ranking, calling it “evidence of the Government’s unwavering dedication and effective action in fighting human trafficking.”

She said Guyana remains steadfast in its commitment to eradicate human trafficking within its borders and across the wider region.

The TIP Report credited Guyana with an increased prosecution rate, the successful conviction of a sex trafficker with restitution ordered for the survivor, enhanced collaboration with foreign governments, and more funding for victim protection and prevention programmes.

However, it also issued 12 recommendations for Guyana to strengthen its efforts, including:

*Increasing prosecutions and convictions, especially involving child victims.

*Eliminating recruitment fees charged to workers

*Expanding labour and spot inspections in high-risk sectors such as mining and logging

*Prompt enforcement of restitution orders

*Proactively screening vulnerable groups, including migrants, for signs of trafficking

*Ensuring traffickers and complicit officials face meaningful penalties

Walrond said the Government will treat these recommendations with urgency.

“We are deploying advanced policies, rigorous monitoring, and strengthened partnerships to disrupt trafficking networks and safeguard victims,” Walrond noted in the Ministry’s release.

Citizens are being reminded to report suspected trafficking cases to the Counter-Trafficking in Persons 24/7 Hotline at 227-4083, 623-5030, or 624-0079 (Spanish), or through any agency on the Ministerial Taskforce on Trafficking in Persons.