TIP SUBMISSION - ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 05 BRIDGETOWN 000265

SIPDIS

SENSITIVE
SIPDIS

STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, AND WHA/CAR
STATE PASS TO USAID/LAC/CAR-RILEY

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF AC XL
SUBJECT: TIP SUBMISSION - ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA

REF: 06 STATE 202745


1. (U) As requested in reftel, below are Post's responses to
questions regarding Antigua and Barbuda for the annual
Trafficking in Persons Report.

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Para 27 - Overview
--------------


2. (SBU)


A. Is the country a country of origin, transit, or
destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or
children?

Antigua and Barbuda is a destination point for victims of
Trafficking in Persons (TIP) from the Dominican Republic,
Guyana, and Jamaica.


B. Please provide a general overview of the trafficking
situation in the country and any changes since the last TIP
Report (e.g., changes in direction).

According a UNHCR source, there are three main brothels that
operate in Antigua. He reports that women are recruited in
the Dominican Republic to work as maids in Antigua. When the
women arrive, their travel documents are taken and they are
forced to work as prostitutes in the brothels. Increasingly,
however, English-speaking women from Guyana and Jamaica are
being recruited.


C. What are limitations on the government's ability to
address this problem in practice?

The government does not have the will to combat the problem.
The brothel/nightclub owners pay a lot of money in taxes and
generally the government looks the other way. The brothels
are periodically raided when the government comes under
pressure from church groups; women without documentation are
deported for immigration violations.


D. To what extent does the government monitor its
anti-trafficking efforts?

There are no anti-trafficking efforts.

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Para 28 - Prevention
--------------


3. (SBU)


A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a
problem in the country?

No.


B. Which government agencies are involved in
anti-trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the
lead?

There are no laws against TIP. The Immigration Department
generally takes the lead.


C. Are there, or have there been government-run
anti-trafficking information or education campaigns?

There are no government campaigns against TIP.


D. Does the government support other programs to prevent
trafficking?

The Welfare Department offers assistance to woman and
children.


E. What is the relationship between government officials,
NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of
civil society on the trafficking issue?

The government appears generally unconcerned with working
with other organizations to combat TIP. The government
respondents provided no evidence of such cooperation.


F. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration

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patterns for evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement
agencies screen for potential trafficking victims along
borders?

There is some monitoring and screening of criminal activity
in general, but not specific to TIP.


G. Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication
between various agencies, internal, international, and
multilateral on trafficking-related matters, such as a
multi-agency working group or a task force? Does the
government have a trafficking in persons working group or a
single point of contact? Does the government have a public
corruption task force?

The government does not consider this a problem; there is no
coordination among government organs on the issue of
combating TIP.


H. Does the government have a national plan of action to
address trafficking in persons? If so, which agencies were
involved in developing it? Were NGOs consulted in the
process? What steps has the government taken to disseminate
the action plan?

There is no national plan on combating TIP issues.

-------------- --------------
Para 29 - Investigations and Prosecutions of Traffickers
-------------- --------------


4. (SBU)


A. Does the country have a law specifically prohibiting
trafficking in persons--both for sexual and non-sexual
purposes (e.g., forced labor)? If so, please specifically
cite the name of the law and its date of enactment. Does the
law(s) cover both internal and external (transnational) forms
of trafficking? If not, under what other laws can
traffickers be prosecuted?

There are no laws against trafficking in persons. Violators
could be prosecuted under immigration, prostitution, or labor
laws. Under the Immigration and Passport Act, if an
immigration officer suspects that a person is coming into the
country to behave in the manner of a prostitute the officer
has the authority to refuse entry.


B. What are the penalties for trafficking people for sexual
exploitation?

There are no specific laws against trafficking people for
sexual exploitation.


C. Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses: What are the
prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for labor
exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor and involuntary
servitude? Do the government's laws provide for criminal
punishment--i.e., jail time--for labor recruiters in labor
source countries who engage in recruitment of laborers using
knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers that result in
workers being exploited in the destination country? For
employers or labor agents in labor destination countries who
confiscate workers' passports or travel documents, switch
contracts without the worker's consent as a means to keep the
worker in a state of service, or withhold payment of salaries
as means of keeping the worker in a state of service? If
law(s) prescribe criminal punishments for these offenses,
what are the actual punishments imposed on persons convicted
of these offenses?

There are no specific penalties for traffickers of people for
labor exploitation. They could, however, face penalties for
immigration and labor violations. Immigration violations
could lead to deportation of both victim and trafficker.


D. What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible
sexual assault? How do they compare to the prescribed and
imposed penalties for crimes of trafficking for commercial
sexual exploitation?

The penalty for rape ranges from 10 years to life
imprisonment.


E. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized?

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Specifically, are the activities of the prostitute
criminalized? Are the activities of the brothel
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers criminalized?
Are these laws enforced?

Prostitution is illegal under Antiguan law; in practice the
authorities often look the other way.


F. Has the government prosecuted any cases against
traffickers?

No.


G. Is there any information or reports of who is behind the
trafficking? For example, are the traffickers freelance
operators, small crime groups, and/or large international
organized crime syndicates? Currently, the traffickers are
well financed businessmen from the Dominican Republic.


H. Does the government actively investigate cases of
trafficking? (Again, the focus should be on trafficking
cases versus migrant smuggling cases.)

The government does not focus on trafficking cases.
Smuggling cases, which involve economic migrants from Haiti,
are receiving increased attention from the government.


I. Does the government provide any specialized training for
government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and
prosecute instances of trafficking?

No. However, in February 2007, officials from the MFA and
Immigration Department took part in International
Organization for Migration (IOM) and UN-sponsored training.


J. Does the government cooperate with other governments in
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases? If
possible, can post provide the number of cooperative
international investigations on trafficking?

There are currently no collaborative efforts.


K. Does the government extradite persons who are charged
with trafficking in other countries? If so, can post provide
the number of traffickers extradited? Does the
government extradite its own nationals charged with such
offenses?

There have been no requests for extradition.


L. Is there evidence of government involvement in or
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level?

None.


M. If government officials are involved in trafficking, what
steps has the government taken to end such participation?
Have any government officials been prosecuted for involvement
in trafficking or trafficking-related corruption? Have any
been convicted? What sentence(s) was imposed? Please
provide specific numbers, if available.

N/A.


N. If the country has an identified child sex tourism
problem (as source or destination),how many foreign
pedophiles has the government prosecuted or
deported/extradited to their country of origin?

There have been no reports of child sex tourism in Antigua.


O. Has the government signed, ratified, and/or taken steps
to implement the following international instruments? Please
provide the date of signature/ratification if
appropriate.

a. ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of
Child Labor:

Ratified September 2002.

b. ILO Convention 29 and 105 on Forced or Compulsory Labor:

Ratified February 1983.

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c. The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of
the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution,
and Child Pornography:

Ratified April 30, 2002.

d. The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking
in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime:

Not a party to the Protocol.

-------------- -
Para 30 - Protection and Assistance to Victims
-------------- -


5. (SBU)


A. Does the government assist victims, for example, by
providing temporary to permanent residency status, relief
from deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and
psychological services?

Victims are generally arrested or detained for immigration
violations and are expeditiously deported.


B. Does the government provide funding or other forms of
support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims?

The government does not assist victims, however several NGOs
provide services such as health screening and assistance in
repatriation.


C. Do the government's law enforcement and social services
personnel have a formal system of identifying victims of
trafficking among high-risk persons with whom they come in
contact?

No, the government does no screening for potential TIP
victims.


D. Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims
treated as criminals? Are victims detained, jailed, or
deported? If detained or jailed, for how long? Are victims
fined? Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws,
such as those governing immigration or prostitution?

Victims are generally treated as criminals and are
expeditiously deported.


E. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking?

No.


F. What kind of protection is the government able to provide
for victims and witnesses? Does it provide these protections
in practice? What type of shelter or services does the
government provide?

The government runs a shelter for victims of domestic abuse
that could be used to assist victims of trafficking.


G. Does the government provide any specialized training for
government officials in recognizing trafficking and in the
provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the
special needs of trafficked children?

Members of the MFA and Immigration Department participated in
an IMO-sponsored anti-trafficking conference in the Dominican
Republic in February 2007.


H. Does the government provide assistance, such as medical
aid, shelter, or financial help, to its repatriated nationals
who are victims of trafficking?

No.


I. Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work
with trafficking victims? What type of services do they
provide? What sort of cooperation do they receive from local
authorities? NOTE: If post reports that a government is
incapable of assisting and protecting TIP victims, then post
should explain thoroughly. Funding, personnel, and training

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constraints should be noted, if applicable. Conversely, the
lack of political will to address the problem should be noted
as well.

The Red Cross and the UNHCR provide medical assistance and
help with repatriation.
OURISMAN