Ministry of Amerindian Affairs - Statement on US Department of State Report 2010 on Trafficking in Persons

The US Department of State Report 2010 on Trafficking in Persons cites Guyana as remaining on tier #2 watch list and further represents that "Guyana is a source country for men, women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically conditions of forced prostitution and forced labor.” This position proffered in the report becomes specific with regards to indigenous women as highlighted; "Groups particularly vulnerable to human trafficking in Guyana include Amerindian females, foreign women (such as Brazilians) in prostitution, and children". The report does not present substantiated data but from all appearances is based on anecdotal and speculative opinions. Whatever investigations or study of the issue of trafficking in persons and indigenous women most definitely were done through stereotyped lenses and this is highly objectionable. Therefore the credibility of the report is questionable.

The Ministry of Amerindian Affairs; the focal Ministry on indigenous development issues provides services that address the widest possible range of social issues faced by Amerindians. The Ministry finds the references in the report on indigenous women as a particularly vulnerable group to trafficking in persons and forced prostitution as being inconsistent and contrary to what obtains in our country.