The Government of Jamaica has taken issue with the US State Department's 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report which has kept the country on a Tier 2 Watch List.
The State Department is reporting that not enough attention has been paid to clamping down on human trafficking in Jamaica, and this has influenced the rating. This is being challenged by the Government.
Among other things, the report claims that despite court proceedings against some alleged human traffickers, the government did not demonstrate evidence of increasing anti-trafficking efforts, when compared to the previous reporting period. It notes that, for the sixth consecutive year, no trafficker was convicted, claiming that those not not convicted included officials complicit in human trafficking.
The report says, while the government identified more Jamaican adult trafficking victims than in the previous reporting period, it only identified one child victim, compared with the high number of children vulnerable to both sex trafficking and forced labour.
In its response, the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) has declared that the report does not fairly represent the vigourous anti-trafficking efforts undertaken by the Jamaican Government during the reporting period. The OPM adds that the negative aspersions cast by the report, did not appear to be based on any evidence.
It also promised that, after further analysis is done on the report, it will issue a more comprehensive response to the charges.
The report on Jamaica contains troubling assertions by the US State Department. It says Jamaica is both a source and destination country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour. This trafficking reportedly occurs on streets, night clubs, bars, massage parlors, and private homes, including some in resort towns.
The State Department also asserts that communities vulnerable to sex trafficking and forced labour include Jamaica’s poverty-stricken areas ruled by criminal dons, who remain effectively outside of the government’s control. It also asserts that Jamaican police officers may be complicit in prostitution rings, some of which are alleged to recruit children and coerce adults into the sex trade.
The reports alleges that the Government does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but acknowledges that it is making significant efforts to do so. It notes that last year, the government made substantive efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking, and named a National Trafficking in Persons Rapporteur, the first such appointment in the region. However, it concluded that, in general, the government did not demonstrate evidence of overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts and so Jamaica was placed on Tier 2 of the Watch List.
Alongside the criticism, the State Department has made several recommendations it argues will improve Jamaica's standing in tackling human trafficking. It wants the government to develop a comprehensive national action plan with adequate funding.
Jamaica is also being urged to implement standard operating procedures to guide police, child welfare officials and health workers in identifying local and foreign victims of forced labour and sex trafficking. The procedures would also include standards for shelter and trafficking victim care, designed to move victims toward self-sufficiency.
The State Department also wants authority and support for the newly appointed National Rapporteur on Trafficking, so that efforts to raise awareness may be more successful.
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