TIP SUBMISSION - ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000132 SIPDIS SENSITIVE SIPDIS STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, AND WHA/CAR STATE PASS TO USAID/LAC/CAR-BOUNCY E.O. 12958: N/A TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF XL VC SUBJECT: TIP SUBMISSION - ST. VINCENT AND THE GRENADINES REF: STATE 2731 ¶1. (U) As requested in reftel, below are Post's responses to questions regarding St. Vincent and the Grenadines for the annual Trafficking in Persons Report. -------------- Para 27 - Overview -------------- ¶2. (SBU) ¶A. Is the country a country of origin, transit, and/or destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or children? There have been no reports that St. Vincent and the Grenadines is a country of origin, transit, or destination for trafficked men, women, or children; however, no investigations, studies, or surveys have been performed. Both government agencies and nongovernmental organizations were unable to report even anecdotal evidence or performed studies on the issue. ¶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). There are prostitutes in St. Vincent, but it is unknown if any of these women or any other sex workers, are victims of trafficking. There were reports of 16 to 18 year-old children participating in prostitution and pornography (age of consent in St. Vincent is 16). There are also anecdotes of children living away from home who are forced into a sexual relationship with their care-giver with the knowledge of their parents in exchange for "a better way of life." There have been no changes since the last TIP report. ¶C. Which government agencies are involved in anti-trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the lead? No agencies are directly involved with combating trafficking. ¶D. What are limitations on the government's ability to address this problem in practice? The government currently takes no initiative to face the problem as there are neither official reports nor anecdotal evidence that human trafficking exists in St. Vincent. ¶E. To what extent does the government monitor its anti-trafficking efforts? The government makes no efforts to monitor anti-trafficking. -------------- -------------- Para 28 - Investigations and Prosecutions of Traffickers -------------- -------------- ¶3. (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 anti-trafficking in persons laws. Traffickers could be prosecuted under immigration, prostitution, and/or labor laws. ¶B. What are the prescribed 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? The labor office has not heard any reports of such cases, but takes such matters seriously and is willing to work with immigration officials to resolve any such cases if they were to occur. According to the labor office, such cases might be resolved with or without criminal charges, depending on the magnitude of the offense. Slavery and forced labor are both constitutionally prohibited. ¶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 is generally 10 years to life imprisonment. ¶E. Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? 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, as is facilitating prostitution, such as pimping or running a brothel. A local NGO stated that efforts to enforce the law are too weak. ¶F. Has the government prosecuted any cases against human trafficking offenders? The government has not prosecuted any cases against traffickers. If the Labour Department heard reports of any such cases involving labor migrants, it would be willing to prosecute if necessary. ¶G. Does the government provide any specialized training for government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute instances of trafficking? No. ¶H. 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? Since no cases of trafficking have been detected in St. Vincent and the Grenadines, the government has never felt the need to cooperate in such investigations. ¶I. 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? N/A ¶J. Is there evidence of government involvement in or tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level? No. ¶K. 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 ¶L. N/A ¶M. 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? Although there have been rumors of child prostitution, the government has not prosecuted any cases. -------------- - Para 29 - Protection and Assistance to Victims -------------- - ¶4. (SBU) ¶A. Does the government assist trafficking victims, for example, by providing temporary to permanent residency status, or other relief from deportation? St. Vincent had no official reports of trafficking victims. ¶B. Does the country have victim care facilities which are accessible to trafficking victims? Yes, a local non-governmental organization, Marion House, has victim care services that could be accessed by trafficking victims. ¶C. Does the government provide funding or other forms of support to foreign or domestic NGOs and/or international organizations for services to trafficking victims? The government does provide some funding to Marion House, which could provide counseling services to trafficking victims. ¶D. Do the government's law enforcement, immigration, and social services personnel have a formal system of identifying victims of trafficking among high-risk persons with whom they come in contact? No. ¶E. N/A ¶F. Are the rights of victims respected? Are victims detained or jailed? 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? There are no known victims. ¶G. Does the government encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of trafficking? N/A ¶H. 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? In the event of a trafficking case, the government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has very limited resources for protecting victims. There is no government shelter, though Marion House offers counseling services. A home for abused children was recently opened by a local Roman Catholic charity, which could conceivably house victims of trafficking. ¶I. Does the government provide any specialized taining for government officials in identifying trafficking victims and in the provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the special needs of trafficked children? The government has cooperated in the past with IOM in providing specialized training in identifying and reaching out to potential victims. ¶J. Does the government provide assistance, such as medical aid, shelter, or financial help, to its nationals who are repatriated as victims of trafficking? N/A ¶K. 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 constraints should be noted, if applicable. Conversely, the lack of political will to address the problem should be noted as well. The St. Vincent and the Grenadines Human Rights Association (SVGHRA) will work with trafficking victims, if any are identified. The SVGHRA can provide legal services and limited aid. It is unknown what sort of cooperation they would receive from local authorities in assisting trafficking victims. Marion House can provide counseling services. St. Vincent has limited resources affecting the ability of the police officers, immigration officers, and social workers to study and combat trafficking. Regardless, St. Vincent has no recorded cases or anecdotal evidence of trafficking and so has little incentive to address the potential problem. -------------- Para 30 - Prevention -------------- ¶5. (SBU) ¶A. Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a problem in the country? No, since no cases of trafficking have ever been recorded in the country. ¶B. Are there, or have there been government-run anti-trafficking information or education campaigns conducted during the reporting period? There are no government-sponsored anti-trafficking campaigns. ¶C. What is the relationship between government officials, NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of civil society on the trafficking issue? There is a somewhat strained working relationship between government officials and NGOs on promoting human rights, and there are no collaborations on TIP issues. ¶D. Does the government monitor immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking? Do law enforcement agencies screen for potential trafficking victims along borders? No. ¶E. 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? There is no formal mechanism for collaboration across agencies or departments within the government on TIP issues. The government does not have a TIP working group or a public corruption task force. ¶F. 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? No. ¶G. What measures has the government taken during the reporting period to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts? None. ¶H. N/A ¶I. N/A OURISMAN