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Chapter 10:06 - Combating of Trafficking in Persons

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L.R.O. 1/2012
LAWS OF GUYANA
COMBATING OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACT
CHAPTER 10:06
Act
2 of 2005
Current Authorised Pages
Pages
(inclusive)
Authorised
by L.R.O.
1 – 32 ... 1/2012
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Note
on
Subsidiary Legislation
This Chapter contains no subsidiary legislation.
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CHAPTER 10:06
ARRANGEMENT OF SECTIONS
SECTION
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. Short title.
2. Interpretation.
PART II
CRIMINAL OFFENCES AND RELATED PROVISIONS
3. Trafficking in persons.
4. Unlawful withholding of identification papers.
5. Transporting a person for the purpose of exploiting such person’s
prostitution.
6. Restitution.
7. Forfeiture.
8. Sentencing guidelines.
9. Consent or past sexual behaviour history of victim is irrelevant.
10. Legal age of consent to sex not a defence in trafficking.
11. Victim immunity from prosecution.
12. Extradition.
PART III
ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS
13. Protection for the safety of victims.
14. Witness protection.
15. Protection for the privacy of victims.
16. Information for victims.
17. Opportunity for presentation of victims’ views and concerns.
18. Support for victims.
19. Immigration status of victims.
20. Assistance for citizen; permanent resident victims abroad.
21. Verification of citizen; permanent resident status and age.
COMBATING OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACT
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SECTION
22. Return of victims to country of citizenship, permanent residence.
23. Victims unable to prove citizenship status through normal means.
24. Services for returned victims of trafficking.
25. Appropriate implementation for child victims.
PART IV
MISUSE OF TRANSPORTATION
26. Responsibilities of transportation companies or individuals.
27. Liability of transportation companies or individuals.
28. Role of Government.
29. Measures to ensure the safety of children travelling unattended
across international borders.
PART V
PREVENTING OF TRAFFICKING
30. National Task Force for prevention of trafficking.
31. Data collection and dissemination.
32. Training.
33. Public Awareness.
34. Exclusion of persons implicated in trafficking.
35. Border inspections.
36. Application of labour standards.
PART VI
SECURITY AND CONTROL OF DOCUMENTS
37. Integrity of travel and identity documents.
38. Verification of legitimacy and validity of documents.
______________________

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CHAPTER 10:06

2 of 2005 An Act to provide comprehensive measures to combat
trafficking in persons.
[7TH APRIL 2005]

Short title.

Interpretation.
PART I
PRELIMINARY
1. This Act may be cited as the Combating of
Trafficking in Persons Act.
2. In this Act—
“abuse of a position of vulnerability” means such abuse that
the person believes he has no reasonable alternative but
to submit to the labour or service demanded of the
person, and includes but is not limited to taking
advantage of the vulnerabilities resulting from the person
having entered the country illegally or without proper
documentation, pregnancy, any physical or mental
disease or disability of the person, including addiction to
the use of any substance, or reduced capacity to form
judgments by virtue of being a child;
“child” means any person under eighteen years of age;
“coercion” includes violent as well as some forms of non-
violent or psychological coercion, including—
(i) threats of serious harm to or physical
restraint against any person;
(ii) any scheme, plan, or pattern intended
to cause a person to believe that
failure to perform an act would result
in serious harm to or physical
COMBATING OF TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS ACT
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restraint against any persons; or
(iii) the abuse or threatened abuse of the
legal process;
“debt bondage” means the status or condition of a debtor
arising from a pledge by the debtor of his personal
services or those of a person under his control as a
security for debt, if the value of those services as
reasonably assessed is not applied toward the liquidation
of the debt or the length and nature of those services are
not respectively limited and defined;
“exploitation” means—
(i) keeping a person in a state of slavery;
(ii) subjecting a person to practices
similar to slavery;
(iii) compelling or causing a person to
provide forced labour or services;
(iv) keeping a person in a state of
servitude, including sexual servitude;
(v) exploitation of prostitution of another;
(vi) engaging in any form of commercial
sexual exploitation, including but not
limited to pimping, pandering,
procuring, profiting from prostitution,
maintaining a brothel, child
pornography;
(vii) illicit removal of human organs;
“forced labour” means labour or services obtained or
maintained through force, threat of force, or other means
of coercion or physical restraint;
“illicit removal of organs” refers to the unlawful conduct, and
not to legitimate medical procedures for which proper
consent has been obtained;
“practices similar to slavery” includes, in general, debt
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Trafficking
persons.

bondage, serfdom, forced or servile marriages and
delivery of children for exploitation;
“servitude” means a condition of dependency in which the
labour or services of a person are provided or obtained
by threats of serious harm to that person or another
person, or through any scheme, plan, or pattern intended
to cause the person to believe that, if the person did not
perform such labour or services, that person or another
person would suffer serious harm;
“slavery” means the status or condition of a person over
whom any or all the powers attaching to the right of
ownership are exercised;
“trafficking in persons” means the recruitment,
transportation, transfer, harbouring or receipt of a person
by means of the threat or use of force or other means of
coercion, or by abduction, fraud, deception, abuse of
power or of a position of vulnerability, or by the giving
or receiving of payments or benefits to achieve the
consent of a person having control over another person,
for the purposes of exploitation.
PART II
CRIMINAL OFFENCES AND RELATED PROVISIONS
3. (1) Whoever engages in or conspires to engage in,
or attempts to engage in, or assist another person to engage in
or organizes or directs other persons to engage in “trafficking
in persons” shall—
(a) on summary conviction—
(i) be sentenced to not less than
three years nor more than five
years imprisonment;
(ii) be subject to forfeiture of
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Unlawfully
withholding of
identification
paper.


property under section 7; and
(iii) be ordered to pay full
restitution to the trafficked
person or persons under
section 6.
(b) on conviction on indictment—
(i) be sentenced to not less than
five years or to life
imprisonment;
(ii) be subject to forfeiture of
property under section 7; and
(iii) be ordered to pay full
restitution to the trafficked
person or persons under
section 6.
(2) The recruitment, transportation, transfer,
harbouring, or receipt of any child, or the giving of payments
or benefits to obtain the consent of a person having control of
a child, for the purpose of exploitation shall constitute
trafficking in persons irrespective of whether any of the
means described in section 2(k) have been established.
4. Any person who for the purpose of trafficking in
persons, and acting or purporting to act as another person’s
employer, manager, supervisor, contractor, employment
agent, or solicitor of clients such as a pimp, knowingly
procures, destroys, conceals, removes, confiscates, or
possesses any passport, immigration document, or other
government identification document, whether actual or
purported, belonging to another person commits an offence
and shall on summary conviction be fined one million dollars
together with imprisonment for not more than five years.

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Transporting a
person for the
purpose of
exploiting such
person’s
prostitution.


Restitution.

5. (1) Whoever knowingly transports or conspires to
transport, or attempts to transport or assists another person
engaged in transporting any person in Guyana or across an
international border for the purpose of exploiting that
person’s prostitution commits an offence and shall be liable
on summary conviction to be punished in accordance with
subsection (2).
(2) Persons convicted of the crime of transporting a
person for the purpose of exploiting that person's prostitution
shall be liable to a fine of not less than five hundred thousand
dollars and not more than one million dollars and shall be
imprisoned for not more than three years, but the presence of
any one of the following aggravating factors resulting from
acts of the defendant can permit a longer sentence up to a
maximum of five years together with forfeiture of the
conveyance used for transporting the victim—
(a) transporting two or more persons at
the same time;
(b) permanent or life-threatening bodily
injury to a person transported;
(c) transportation of one or more
children; or
(d) transporting as part of the activity of
an organized criminal group.
6. (1) Where a defendant is convicted of trafficking in
persons under this Act, the court shall order the defendant to
pay restitution to the victim.
(2) Restitution shall compensate the victim for—
(a) of medical and psychological
treatment;

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Forfeiture.

(b) costs of physical and occupational
therapy and rehabilitation;
(c) costs of necessary transportation,
temporary housing, and child care;
(d) lost income;
(e) attorney’s fees and other cost such as
victim advocate fees;
(f) compensation for emotional distress,
pain and suffering; and
(g) any other losses suffered by the
victim.
(3) Restitution shall be paid to the victim promptly
upon the conviction of the defendant, with the proceeds from
the property forfeiture under section 7 applied first to
payment of restitution. The return of the victim to the victim’s
home country, normal place of residence in Guyana, or other
absence of victim from the jurisdiction shall not prejudice the
victims’ right to receive restitution.
7. All property, including but not limited to money,
valuables and other movable and immovable property, of
persons convicted of the crime of trafficking in persons under
this Act that was used or intended to be used, or was
obtained in the course of the crime, or benefits gained from
the proceeds of the crime, shall be forfeited to the State.
Overseas assets of persons convicted of trafficking in persons
shall also be subject to forfeiture to the extent they can be
retrieved by Government:
Provided that if the court, is satisfied beyond any
reasonable doubt that—
(a) the person who was the owner of the
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Sentencing
guidelines.

conveyance; and
(b) in the case of an aircraft or ship, every
person who was a responsible officer
thereof,
when it was made use of for the purpose of trafficking in
persons, was not concerned in or privy to such use, the
conveyance shall be restored to the owner thereof by the court
on application of the owner and this proviso shall mutatis
mutandis apply to a forfeiture of a conveyance under section
5(2).
8. (1) As factually appropriate, the following
adjustments to the sentence of a person convicted on
indictment of the crime of trafficking in persons may apply—
(a) if the convicted person used,
threatened use, or caused another to
use or threaten use of a dangerous
weapon, two years may be added to
the sentence;
(b) if a trafficked person suffers a serious
bodily injury, or if the convicted
person commits a sexual assault
against a trafficked person, five years
may be added to the sentence;
(c) if the trafficked person had not
attained the age of eighteen years, five
years may be added to the sentence;
(d) if, in the course of trafficking or
subsequent exploitation, the convicted
person recklessly caused a trafficked
person to be exposed to a life
threatening illness, or if the convicted
person intentionally caused a
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trafficked person to become addicted
to any drug or medication, five years
may be added to the sentence;
(e) if a trafficked person suffers a
permanent or life threatening injury,
ten years may be added to the
sentence;
(f) if the trafficking was part of the
activity of an organized criminal
group three years may be added to
the sentence; or
(g) if trafficking was part of the activity of
an organized criminal group and the
convicted person organized the group
or directed its activities, five years
may be added to the sentence;
(h) if the trafficking occurred as the result
of abuse of power or position of
authority, including but not limited to
a parent or guardian, teacher,
children’s club leader, or any other
person who has been entrusted with
the care or supervision of the child,
four years may be added to the
sentence.
(2) In this section—
“dangerous weapon” means—
(i) an instrument capable of
inflicting death or serious
bodily injury; or
(ii) an object that is not an
instrument capable of inflicting
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death or serious bodily injury
but (I) closely resembles such
an instrument; or (II) is used in
such a way that it creates the
Impression that the object is an
instrument capable of inflicting
death or serious bodily injury;
“life-threatening illness” means any illness that involves a
substantial risk of death, and includes Human Immuno-
Deficiency Virus infection and tuberculosis;
“organised criminal group” means a structured group of
three or more persons, existing for a period of time and
acting in concert with the aim of committing one or more
offences established under this section in order to obtain,
directly or indirectly, a financial or other material benefit;
“permanent or life-threatening bodily injury” mean injury
involving a substantial risk of death; loss or substantial
impairment of the function of a bodily member, organ or
mental faculty that is likely to be permanent; or an
obvious disfigurement that is likely to be permanent.
Maltreatment to a life-threatening degree, such as by
denial of food or medical care that results in substantial
impairment of function, constitutes life-threatening
bodily injury;
“serious bodily injury” means injury involving extreme
physical pain or the protracted impairment of a function
of a bodily member, organ or mental faculty; or requiring
medical intervention such as surgery, hospitalisation, or
physical rehabilitation;
“sexual assault” means causing another to engage in a sexual
act by using force against that person, threatening or
placing that person in fear that any person will be
subjected to death, serious bodily injury, or kidnapping,
and engaging in a sexual act with an incapacitated
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Consent or past
sexual
behaviour
history of
victim is
irrelevant.

Legal age of
consent to sex
not a defence in
trafficking.
Victim
immunity from
prosecution.
Extradition.

Protection for
the safety of the
victims.
person, or a person who cannot express consent or with a
minor that constitutes statutory rape.
9. (1) In a prosecution for trafficking in persons under
section 3, the alleged consent of a person to the intended or
realized exploitation is irrelevant once any of the means or
circumstances set forth in section 2(k) is established.
(2) In a prosecution for trafficking in persons
under section 3, evidence of a victim's past sexual behaviour
is irrelevant and inadmissible for the purpose of proving that
the victim engaged in other sexual behavior, or to prove the
victim’s sexual predisposition.
10. Age of consent to sex or legal age of marriage shall
not be used as a defence to trafficking in persons.
11. A victim of trafficking is not criminally liable for
any migration-related offence, prostitution, or any other
criminal offence that was a direct result of being trafficked.
12. A person charged with trafficking in persons shall
be extradited on substantially the same terms and to
substantially the same extent as a person charged with other
serious crimes.
PART III
ASSISTANCE AND PROTECTION FOR VICTIMS
13. Investigative, prosecutorial, and other appropriate
authorities shall take all steps necessary to identify victims of
trafficking. Once victims are identified, these authorities shall
provide reasonable protection to victims of trafficking to
prevent recapture by the traffickers and their associates,
secure the victim and the victim's family if they reside in
Guyana from threats, reprisals or intimidation by the
traffickers and their associates, and ensure the victim has an
opportunity to consult with a victim’s advocate or other
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Witness
protection.
Protection for
the privacy of
victims.

Information for
victims.
appropriate person to develop a safety plan.
14. Victims of trafficking who are witnesses or
potential witnesses may be eligible for applicable witness
relocation and protection programmes for victims of
organized criminal activity or other serious offences, if it is
determined that an offence involving a crime of violence
directed at the witness or potential witness is likely to be
committed. The programmes may include—
(a) relocation;
(b) new identity, documents establishing
identity;
(c) new residence;
(d) employment work permits;
(e) protection of confidentiality of
identity and location.
15. (1) In a prosecution for trafficking in persons
under this Act or unlawful use of documents under section 4,
the identity of the victim and the victim's family should be
kept confidential by ensuring that names and identifying
information of the victim and victim’s family are not released
to the public, including by the defendant.
(2) A hearing under this section shall be held in
camera if the court so orders.
(3) A person who commits a breach of the
confidentiality enjoined by this section shall be guilty of an
offence and shall on summary conviction be fined one
hundred thousand dollars.
16. The Minister of Home Affairs shall inform victims
of trafficking, in a language they can understand, of their
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Opportunity
for presentation
of victim’s
views and
concepts.

Support for
victims.

legal rights and the progress of relevant court and
administrative proceedings, as appropriate, including but not
limited to prosecution of the criminal offenders, proceedings
for the return of the victims to their country of citizenship or
lawful residence, and procedures for seeking legal
immigration status under section 19.
17. The court shall provide an opportunity to a victim
of trafficking, if the victim desires it, to present the victim's
views and concerns at appropriate stages of criminal
proceedings against traffickers, in a manner not prejudicial to
the rights of the defendant. An interpreter who speaks a
language the victim understands shall be made available to
the victim during the course of legal proceedings.
18. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs in conjunction
with the Minister of Labour, Human Services and Social
Security shall develop plans, in consultation with non-
governmental organizations and other representatives of civil
society, for the provision of appropriate services, from
governmental and non-governmental sources, for victims of
trafficking and dependent children accompanying the
victims, including—
(a) appropriate housing, taking into
account the person's status as a victim
of crime and including safe conditions
for sleeping, food and personal
hygiene;
(b) psychological counselling in a
language the victim can understand;
(c) medical assistance in a language the
victim can understand;
(d) other medical assistance as
appropriate;

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(e) employment, educational, and
training opportunities; and
(f) legal assistance or legal information in
a language the victim understands.
(2) Victims of trafficking may be eligible to work
and to receive proof of work authorisation.
(3) Victims of trafficking and their accompanying
dependent children may be entitled to receive social benefits
for the duration of their stay in Guyana as may be determined
by the Minister responsible for social security.
(4) Residence in shelters or other facilities
established under this section may be voluntary, and victims
may decline to stay in shelters.
(5) Victims may have the option to communicate
with and receive visits from family, friends and attorneys-at-
law.
(6) In the absence of exigent circumstances, victims
of trafficking, once identified as such, shall not be housed in
prisons or other detention facilities for accused or convicted
criminals. Child victims of trafficking, once identified as such,
shall not be housed in prisons or other detention facilities for
accused or convicted criminals under any circumstances.
(7) The authorities mentioned under subsection (1)
shall take into account the age, gender and special needs of
victims and accompanying dependent children in formulating
plans to provide services to them and in delivering such
services.
(8) Plans developed in accordance with subsection
(1) shall be submitted for approval to the Cabinet and the said
authorities shall also undertake periodic reviews of the plans
and their implementation to ensure compliance with the
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Information
status of
victims.

c. 14:02

Assistance for
citizens
permanently
resident victims
abroad.
requirements of this section and to ensure that all victims are
treated with respect for their human rights and dignity.
19. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs may provide
victims of trafficking and accompanying dependent children
with appropriate visas or other required authorisation to
permit them to remain in Guyana for the duration of the
criminal prosecution against the traffickers, provided that the
victim is willing to comply with the reasonable requests, if
any, to assist in the investigation or prosecution of the
traffickers.
(2) Victims of trafficking may be eligible for
residence in Guyana in the manner prescribed in the
Immigration Act, provided they have complied with
reasonable requests, if any, for assistance in the investigation
or prosecution of acts of trafficking. Dependent children
accompanying the victim also shall be eligible for resident
status in Guyana in the manner prescribed in the said Act.
(3) A victim’s spouse and children, and in the case
of child victims, the parents or guardian, and the victim's
siblings, may be eligible to join the victim in Guyana as part
of the victim’s initial application for residence under the
preceding subsections.
20. (1) The Minister of Foreign Affairs, through
Guyana's diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad,
where practicable, shall offer assistance to citizens of or
persons holding permanent residency in another country and
who are victims of trafficking in persons located abroad,
including but not limited to—
(a) assistance in understanding the laws
of the foreign country to which they
have been trafficked, including their
rights as victims, options for reporting
the crime, and opportunities for
seeking restitution or other benefits
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that are available under the laws of
that country;
(b) assistance in obtaining emergency
services, including but not limited to
medical care and counselling;
(c) at the request of either the victim or
the appropriate authorities in the
other country, replacement or
provision of passports and other
travel documents necessary for the
victim to return to Guyana without
undue or unreasonable delay;
(d) material assistance in returning to
their last place of residence in Guyana
in the same manner provided for
other citizens or persons with right of
permanent residency who become
stranded abroad when the country to
which the victim was trafficked does
not provide such assistance.
(2) The Minister of Foreign Affairs, through
Guyana’s diplomatic missions and consular offices abroad,
shall publish and disseminate information on the rights of
victims of trafficking under the laws of Guyana and the
country or countries for which the diplomatic mission has
responsibility both to the appropriate authorities in that
country and to possible victims of trafficking who are citizens
of Guyana. In the case of diplomatic missions and consular
offices of countries of destination of trafficking victims, such
information shall be provided to appropriate authorities and
to potential trafficking victims who are citizens or lawful
residents of the country for which the mission or office has
responsibility.
(3) Diplomatic missions of Guyana abroad shall
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Verification of
citizenship,
permanent
resident status
and age.



Return of
victims to
country of
citizenship
permanently
residence.
appoint an officer to be responsible for implementing and
supervising plans ensuring the provision of services required
under this section.
(4) The Minister of Foreign Affairs in cooperation
with other appropriate authorities shall develop plans as are
reasonably convenient for the safe, orderly return without
undue or unreasonable delay of citizens or persons holding
permanent residency in Guyana.
21. (1) Upon request by the appropriate authority
representative of another State, the Minister of Home Affairs
shall, without undue or unreasonable delay, verify whether a
person who is a victim of trafficking in persons is a citizen, or
national of, or holds permanent residency in Guyana.
(2) Upon request by the appropriate authority or
representative of another State, the Minister of Home Affairs
shall, without undue or unreasonable delay, verify –
(i) the age of a person who is a victim
of trafficking in persons and who is
suspected of being a minor; and
(ii) whether the victim is a citizen,
national of, holds permanent
residency in Guyana, or any other
immigration status the victim may
have in Guyana.
(3) The Minister of Home Affairs shall designate an
appropriate officer to respond to inquiries mentioned in
subsections (1) and (2).
22. (1) The Ministers of Home Affairs and Foreign
Affairs in conjunction with other appropriate authorities shall
develop plans for the safe return of victims to their place of
residence, country of citizenship or a country in which they
hold permanent residency. Where possible, the Ministers of
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Victims unable
to prove
citizenship
status through
normal means.

Home Affairs and Foreign Affairs shall work closely with
international organizations and non-governmental
organizations in this process.
(2) Plans developed under subsection (1) shall take
into account the right of victims to seek temporary or
permanent residence under the provisions of section 19 and
other rights guaranteed under other applicable laws.
23. (1) Victims of trafficking abroad who claim to be
citizens or persons holding permanent residency in Guyana,
but whose identity cannot be verified through ordinary
means, can establish their right to return to Guyana by
demonstrating significant connections to this country through
such factors as—
(a) place of birth;
(b) presence of family members;
(c) presence of friends;
(d) significant knowledge of specific
geographical areas or
neighbourhoods;
(e) long-term residence in this
country; or
(f) any other means.
(2) This list of factors in subsection (1) is not
exhaustive, and not every factor is required to make the
determination. Determinations under this section are to be
made with due concern for compassion and justice to victims.
The fact that the victim would not be eligible for citizenship
based on the showing made under this section shall not be a
bar to re-entry.
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Services for
returned
victims of
trafficking.

Appropriate
implementation
for child
victims.
(3) Diplomatic missions abroad shall assign a
specific diplomat to make determinations under this section.
Victims may appeal an adverse determination to the Minister
of Legal Affairs.
(4) Where the Minister of Legal Affairs determines
an individual is eligible to re-enter Guyana under this section,
the diplomatic mission abroad shall issue a certificate of
identity, permitting re-entry.
24. Victims of trafficking who return from abroad
shall have access to educational and training programmes
provided by any governmental or private entity without
being differentiated from other participants on the basis of
having been trafficked.
25. The assistance in this Part shall be provided to
trafficking victims who are children in a manner that is in the
children’s best interests and appropriate to children’s
situation. Child trafficking victims shall be provided with
appropriate services, which may include understanding of
their rights, privacy, housing, care and age-appropriate
support and rights specified in this Part. Special programmes
shall be developed to accommodate child witnesses
including—
(a) testimony of a minor conducted
outside court setting or by video;
(b) all testimony and court proceedings
take place with a parent, legal
guardian, foster parent or social
worker present;
(c) whenever safe and possible, children
shall be reunited with family
members in Guyana;

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Responsibility
of
transportation
companies or
individuals.

Liability of
transportation
companies or
individuals.


(d) special mental and physical medical
care tailored to children’s needs;
(e) upon return to Guyana, child victims
of trafficking shall be guaranteed
education which at least matches the
general standard of education in
Guyana.
PART IV
MISUSE OF TRANSPORTATION
26. (1) Transportation companies or individuals who
transport persons shall verify that every passenger possesses
the necessary travel documents, including passports and
visas, to enter the destination country and any transit
countries.
(2) The requirement in subsection (1) applies both
to staff selling or issuing tickets, boarding passes or similar
travel documents and to staff collecting or checking tickets
prior to or subsequent to boarding.
(3) Companies and persons who fail to comply
with any of the requirements of this section may be
sanctioned by the revocation of licences to operate, after a
hearing before the competent authority.
27. When a transportation company or individual
knowingly transports victims of trafficking, that company or
individual shall be liable for costs associated with providing
accommodation and meals for the victim and any
accompanying dependent children for the duration of the
victim’s stay in facilities designated under section 18 and shall
bear the costs of their transportation to a port of entry of the
country of which the victim is a citizen or in which the victim
holds a normal place of residence in Guyana.

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24 Cap. 10:06 Combating of Trafficking in Persons
L.R.O. 1/2012
Role of
Government.

Measures to
ensure the
safety of
children
travelling
unattended
across
individual
borders.
28. The Government shall take steps to educate
citizens about sex tourism. It shall warn citizens that traveling
to another country to engage in sex with a minor or a
trafficked person may be a crime in the destination country or
in the home country, or may constitute child abuse. These
steps shall include—
(a) cooperating with airline industry,
hotel industry, taxi industry, and
others to jointly produce educational
materials alerting them to evidence of
sex tourism by their customers and
warning them against facilitating such
behaviours;
(b) warning citizens and employees in
the industries mentioned in section 29
that a crime may be committed when
someone engages in sex with a minor,
sex tourism, or frequents a brothel
holding trafficked women and
children;
(c) giving up to date information about
the links between the Human
Immuno Deficiency Virus/Acquired
Immune Deficiency Syndrome and
other Sexually Transmitted Diseases
and trafficking.
29. (1) Operators or crews of commercial vehicles,
including airplanes, trains, buses and boats shall hold the
travel documents of children under sixteen years of age
travelling within or into Guyana without a parent, guardian,
or other responsible adult from the time the child boards the
vehicle and shall surrender the documents upon arrival to the
appropriate immigration authority or other authority.
(2) At every destination point or port of entry, the
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Combating of Trafficking in Persons Cap. 10:06 25
L.R.O. 1/2012

National Task
Force
prevention of
trafficking.
immigration authority or other authority shall, if practicable,
provide officers to meet children under sixteen years of age
travelling without a parent, guardian or other responsible
adult, receive the child’s travel documents from the operator
of the commercial vehicle, and assist the child in passing
through immigration and customs inspections. The officer
shall surrender the child only to a parent, guardian, or other
responsible adult upon presentation of appropriate
identifying documents, and shall obtain a receipt indicating
final destination, purpose of travel, and identification and
address information of the receiving adult.
(3) Operators or owners of commercial vehicles
delivering children under sixteen years of age travelling
without a parent, guardian or other responsible adult within
or into Guyana commit an offence and shall on summary
conviction pay a fine of fifty thousand dollars for every such
child that arrives without necessary travel documents.
PART V
PREVENTION OF TRAFFICKING
30. (1) The President shall establish an inter agency
task force to develop and implement a National Plan for the
Prevention of Trafficking in Persons. Such a task force should
include all aspects of trafficking including sex trafficking and
labour trafficking.
(2) The President shall appoint the members of the
task force, which shall include the Ministers of Legal Affairs,
Foreign Affairs, Labour, Human Services and Social Security,
Amerindian Affairs, Home Affairs, other appropriate high-
level government officials including officials with
responsibility for law enforcement, immigration, and human
and social services and appropriate non-governmental
organizations.
(3) The task force shall carry out the following
activities either directly or via one or more of the constituent
LAWS OF GUYANA
26 Cap. 10:06 Combating of Trafficking in Persons
L.R.O. 1/2012
ministries as appropriate—
(a) develop the National Plan for the
Prevention of Trafficking in Persons;
(b) co-ordinate the implementation of the
Plan;
(c) co-ordinate the collection and sharing
of trafficking data among government
agencies. All data collected shall the
respect the privacy of victims of
trafficking;
(d) co-ordinate the sharing of information
between agencies for the purposes of
determining whether individuals
crossing or attempting to across the
international border of Guyana with
travel documents belonging to other
persons or without travel documents
are perpetrators of victims of
trafficking in persons; and detecting
criminal groups engaged in
trafficking;
(e) identify and engage in efforts to
facilitate cooperation with foreign
countries, particularly those which are
a significant source of victims, transit
location, or destination of victims.
This cooperation shall aim to
strengthen bilateral, multilateral, local
and regional capacities to assist
trafficking victims, prevent
trafficking, prosecute traffickers, and
assist in the appropriate reintegration
of victims of trafficking;

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Combating of Trafficking in Persons Cap. 10:06 27
L.R.O. 1/2012
Date of
collection and
discrimination.
(f) establish policies to enable Guyana
Government to work with non-
governmental organizations and other
elements of civil society to prevent
trafficking and provide assistance to
victims.
31. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs shall collect and
periodically publish statistical data on trafficking,
(2) The Minister of Home Affairs shall elicit the
cooperation and assistance of government agencies, non-
governmental organizations, and other elements of civil
society as appropriate to assist in the data collection required
under sub-section (1).
(3) The Minister of Home Affairs shall make the
best efforts to collect information relevant of tracking
progress on trafficking, including but not limited to—
(a) number of arrests, prosecutions, and
successful convictions of traffickers
and those committing trafficking
related crimes (pimping, pandering,
procuring, maintaining a brothel, visa
fraud, document fraud, and other
crimes related to trafficking);
(b) statistics on the number of victims,
including age, method of recruitment
and other relevant information;
(c) trafficking routes and patterns
(country of origin, transit countries);
(d) method of transportation (car, boat,
plane, on foot);
(e) border crossing without legal travel
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28 Cap. 10:06 Combating of Trafficking in Persons
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Training.



Public
awareness.

documents.
32. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs shall provide
training for law enforcement, immigration, and other relevant
officials in addressing trafficking in persons.
(2) Such training shall focus on—
(a) methods use in identifying victims of
trafficking;
(b) methods for prosecuting traffickers;
(c) methods for protecting the rights of
victims, taking into account the need
to consider human rights and special
needs of women and children victims,
and that victims should be treated as
victims rather than criminals; and
(d) methods for promoting the safety of
victims, including, for example, the
training of police and immigration
officers to recognise victims of
trafficking quickly.
(3) The Minister of Home Affairs shall seek the
input and Participation of other Ministries, appropriate non-
governmental organizations and other organizations in the
preparation and presentation of training called for in this
section.
33. (1) The Minister of Education in cooperation with
other appropriate governmental agencies and appropriate
non-governmental organizations shall prepare public
awareness programmes designed to educate potential victims
of trafficking in persons and their families of the risk of
victimization. Such public awareness programmes shall
include but shall not be limited to—
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Combating of Trafficking in Persons Cap. 10:06 29
L.R.O. 1/2012
(a) information about the risk of
becoming a victim, including
information about common
recruitment techniques, use of debt
bondage, and other coercive tactics,
risk of maltreatment, rape, exposure
of Human Immuno Deficiency Virus/
Acquired Immune Deficiency
Syndrome and other sexually
transmitted diseases, and
psychological harm related to the
victimization in trafficking cases; and
(b) information about potential victims’
rights in Guyana and in major
destination countries and under
international law, as well as methods
for reporting suspected recruitment
activities.
(2) For trafficked persons the Minister of Labour,
Human Services, and Social Security in cooperation with the
other appropriate governmental agencies and appropriate
non-governmental organizations shall prepare and
disseminate educational materials designed to inform victims
of trafficking in Guyana of their rights, the measures in place
to ensure their safety, recovery, and safe return to their home
countries or places of residence in Guyana, and how to
contact appropriate law enforcement authorities. Such
materials shall include, as appropriate, pamphlets, brochures,
posters, advertisements in mass media, and any other
methods appropriate for reaching victims of trafficking.
(3) The Minister of Labour, Human Services and
Social Security in cooperation with other appropriate
governmental agencies and appropriate non-governmental
organizations shall prepare and disseminate public awareness
materials designed to discourage the demand that foster the
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30 Cap. 10:06 Combating of Trafficking in Persons
L.R.O. 1/2012
Exclusion of
persons
implicated in
trafficking.

exploitation of persons, especially women and children, and
that leads to trafficking—
(a) such materials may include
information on impact of trafficking
on individual victims, aggregate
information on trafficking world-wide
and domestically, as well as warnings
of the potential for criminal
consequences for taking part in
trafficking. Such materials may
include, as appropriate, pamphlets,
brochures, posters, advertisements in
mass media, and any appropriate
methods.
(b) materials described in this section
may include information on the
impact of trafficking on individual
victims. However, any information on
the experiences of individual victims
shall preserve the privacy of the
victim and the victim's family.
(4) All public awareness programmes established
under this section shall be evaluated periodically to ensure
their effectiveness.
34. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs shall periodically
identify, in a public report, every person who is a trafficker of
persons, or who had knowingly assisted or conspired with
another to traffic in persons.
(2) Persons identified in reports under sub-section (1),
or whom an overseas consular official knows or has reason to
believe is a trafficker of persons, or who has knowingly
assisted or conspired with a trafficker to traffic in persons,
shall not receive an entrance or transit visa.

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Combating of Trafficking in Persons Cap. 10:06 31
L.R.O. 1/2012
Border
inspection.
Applicability of
labour
standards.


Integrity of
travel and
identity
documents.
(3) The visas of persons identified in reports under
subsection (1) shall be revoked.
35. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs shall implement
policies to screen persons entering or leaving the country to
determine if they are victims of trafficking in persons.
(2) Such screening shall be undertaken with
consideration for the right of individuals to travel, and shall
not result in undue invasion of the individual’s privacy or
undue restriction of the individual’s freedom of movement.
36. (1) Standards for working conditions specified in
36(1). Standards for working conditions specified in legal
right to work in this country.
(2) The Minister responsible for Labour shall
investigate complaints of unlawful working conditions
without regard to the immigration status of complainants and
without regard to the nature of the work or services involved.
PART VI
SECURITY AND CONTROL OF DOCUMENTS
37. (1) The Minister of Home Affairs shall appoint a
committee to monitor the quality of travel and identity
documents issued by the Ministry of Home Affairs to ensure
that they comply with International Civil Aviation
Organization standards and that they cannot easily be
misused and cannot readily be falsified or unlawfully altered,
replicated, or issued.
(2) The task of the committee shall include, but not
be limited to—
(a) monitoring technical developments in
the field of anti-counterfeiting in
order to recommend improvements to
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32 Cap. 10:06 Combating of Trafficking in Persons
L.R.O. 1/2012
Verification of
legitimacy and
validity of
documents.
such documents as they develop;
(b) monitoring the issuance of travel
documents abroad, with attention to
patterns of abuse such as
misrepresentation, corruption and
fraud;
(c) monitoring the issuance of travel
documents domestically, with
attention to patterns of abuse such as
misrepresentation, corruption and
fraud; and
(d) forwarding examples of abuse
described in the paragraphs (b) and
(c) to the appropriate authorities for
investigation.
38. (1) Upon request by the appropriate authority or
representative of another State, the Minister of Home Affairs
shall verify within a reasonable time the legitimacy and
validity of travel or identity documents issued or purported
to have been issued by such authority and suspected of being
used for trafficking in persons.
(2) The Minister of Home Affairs shall assign an
appropriate officer to respond to inquiries mentioned in sub-
section (1) or to establish procedures for responding to such
inquiries in a regular and timely fashion.
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