US Ambassador urges Public- Private Sector collaboration to tackle mercury, fuel smuggling

– during workshop aimed at combatting transnational illegal mining

There are several problems being caused by transnational illegal mining and the smuggling of dangerous chemicals into Guyana, and United States Ambassador to Guyana Nicole Theriot has urged that the Public and Private Sectors collaborate to tackle these scourges.
The diplomat made these comments during a recent two-day workshop organized by the Organization of American States (OAS) with funding from the US Department of State and held at Cara Lodge in Quamina Street, Georgetown.
According to Theriot, the US remains committed to partnering with Guyana to address shared security challenges such as transnational crime. She noted that the US would continue to help Guyana build an effective criminal justice system in Guyana to better combat crime and illicit trafficking. It has not been lost on the ambassador that these crimes not only threaten Guyana’s stability and investment climate, but US national security as well. As such, she has urged the Government and Private Sector to collaborate.
“It is no secret that transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) exploit Guyana’s rich natural resources, such as its gold reserves, to advance their illicit activities, which have negative consequences for Guyana’s economy and development. Even more concerning, TCOs smuggle precursors – such as mercury, gasoline, and highly polluting chemicals – into Guyana,” she disclosed.
She described those precursors as having the ability to devastate Guyana’s pristine biodiversity and public health.
“Effectively addressing the transnational nature of the illegal gold trade and its international financing requires regional collaboration from both the Public and the Private Sectors,” Theriot has said.
Also attending the workshop were Natural Resources Minister Vickram Bharrat and Attorney-at-Law Prithima Kissoon of the Attorney General’s Chambers, who delivered remarks at the opening ceremony to an audience that included both Public and Private Sector stakeholders.
Earlier this year, Home Affairs Minister Robeson Benn had identified transnational crime as a significant challenge. He had noted that old crimes are being replaced by a new wave and the issue of transnational crime, with which the system is now faced.
“We have challenges with new forms of crime; new challenges. The Police have to deal with issues of transnational organised crime. The old crimes we are accustomed to doing, having to deal with the question of men and youth. It’s a big challenge. I would say, personally, we missed a big gap when we should have been in a better place,” Benn had posited.
In August of this year, Guyanese stakeholders associated with the control of weapons and ammunition had embarked on a course on Combating Trafficking in Arms and Ammunition (CTAM) at the Roraima Duke Lodge, Kingston Georgetown. Conducted in a collaboration between the Government of Guyana and the United Nations Regional Center for Peace, Disarmament and Development in Latin America and the Caribbean (UNLIREC), the three-day course was conducted to help build the capacity of states to tackle transnational crime and support implementation of international arms control commitments.

Another challenge has been eradicating the use of mercury in mining. Mercury, also known as quicksilver, is a highly toxic chemical used in mining to bind gold together. Exposure to mercury fumes affects the nervous and reproductive systems, and damages brain function.
Guyana signed on to the United Nations Minamata Convention on Mercury in 2013, and ratified the convention in 2014. Over the years, the Ministry of Natural Resources has partnered with the WWF and the Guyana Geology and Mines Commission (GGMC) to draft a National Action Plan (NAP) which would see a phased reduction of the use of mercury in the mining sector until its complete elimination by 2027 through the implementation of a phased mercury reduction strategy.
The NAP captures several objectives and strategies as outlined in the Minamata Convention. These include mercury-use reduction; increasing the viability of small- and medium-scale mining; management of mercury waste; environmental assessment; contaminated sites; public health aspects, and public information awareness and education.
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