THE BAHAMAS -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE

UNCLAS STATE 060532

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG BF
SUBJECT: THE BAHAMAS -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE
AND DEMARCHE

REF: (A) STATE 59732 (B) STATE 005577


1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10.


2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a
press conference in the Department's press briefing room.
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic
and foreign news outlets. Until the time of the Secretary's
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or
country narratives contained therein is prohibited.


3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter. Also provided
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government
of The Bahamas of its tier ranking and the TIP Report's
imminent release. The text of the TIP Report country
narrative is provided, both for use in informing the
Government of The Bahamas and in any local media release by
Post's public affairs section on June 16 or thereafter.
Drawing on information provided below in paras 8 and 9, Post
may provide the host government with the text of the TIP
Report narrative no earlier than 1200 noon local time Monday
June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB local
time Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts. Please note,
however, that any public release of the Report's information
should not/not precede the Secretary's release at 10:00 am
EDT on June 16.


4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16
release. Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts
in all countries appearing on the Report. The Secretary's
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website
shortly after the June 16 event. Ambassador de Baca will
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT.


5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform
the appropriate official in the Government of The Bahamas of
the June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, drawing on the
points in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and including the
text of the country narrative provided in para 8. For
countries where the State Department has lowered the tier
ranking, it is particularly important to advise governments
prior to the Report being released in Washington on June 16.


6. Action Request continued: Please note that, for those
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the
narrative text. This engagement is important to establishing
the framework in which the government's performance will be
judged for the 2010 Report. If posts have questions about
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report,
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau.


7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the
press guidance provided in para 11. If Post wishes, a local
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP
Report's country narrative provided in para 8.


8. Begin Final Text of The Bahamas,s country narrative in
the 2009 TIP Report:

--------------
The Bahamas (TIER 2)
--------------

The Bahamas is a destination country for men and women
trafficked from Haiti and other Caribbean countries primarily
for the purpose of forced labor, and women from Jamaica and
other countries trafficked for the purpose of commercial
sexual exploitation. In situations that, for some workers,
may constitute forced labor, employers coerce migrant or
temporary workers -- legal and illegal -- to work longer
hours, at lower pay, and in conditions not permitted under
local labor law by changing the terms of contracts,
withholding travel documents, refusing transportation back
home, threatening to withdraw the employer-specific and
employer-held permits, or to turn the employee over to
immigration. For the past three years, The Bahamas was
included in the Report as a Special Case due to limited data.

The Government of The Bahamas does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During
the reporting period, the government enacted comprehensive
anti-trafficking legislation, added skilled personnel to
anti-trafficking agencies and offices, consulted with other
governments about trafficking issues and assistance, and
continued to train government personnel on trafficking
issues. The government did not, however, make noticeable
efforts to proactively identify victims among vulnerable
populations, such as foreign women and girls engaged in
illegal prostitution or women and girls intercepted at its
borders who may be attempting to enter The Bahamas to engage
in illegal prostitution.

Recommendations for The Bahamas: Take steps to identify
trafficking victims among migrants attempting to enter The
Bahamas illegally; investigate, prosecute, and punish
suspected human trafficking offenders; create and implement a
national trafficking public awareness and prevention program;
and allocate resources for the victim assistance measures
mandated by the new anti-trafficking law.

Prosecution
--------------
While the Government of The Bahamas made minimal efforts to
prosecute trafficking offenders, it lacked a comprehensive
anti-trafficking law for most of the reporting period, faced
relevant resource and capacity constraints, and confronted
multiple competing law enforcement priorities. The Government
of The Bahamas prohibited all forms of trafficking through
its Trafficking in Persons Prevention and Suppression Act of

2008. Although previously enacted laws prohibit
trafficking-related offenses, the government did not arrest
or prosecute any trafficking offenders during the reporting
period. The penalties for trafficking in persons in the 2008
Act, ranging from three years, to life imprisonment, are
sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties
prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The
Bahamian government provided law enforcement personnel with
anti-trafficking training, and some personnel participated in
training with NGOs and international organizations.
Historically, government personnel have conflated human
trafficking and human smuggling.

Protection
--------------
The Bahamian government showed minimal efforts to protect
victims of trafficking over the last year. The government
continued to rely on NGOs and international organizations for
the provision of services to victims. The Bahamas operates
no specialized trafficking shelters, although services to
victims of domestic violence would be offered to women and
child trafficking victims. No organizations currently
provide protective services for men. Agencies and officials
followed no formal procedures for screening or referring
victims to NGOs; potential victims are referred as they are
identified. The new anti-trafficking law requires ministers
responsible for national security and social services to
implement a plan to provide appropriate services to victims,
in cooperation with NGOs. Bahamian authorities encourage
victims to participate in investigations and prosecutions of
trafficking offenders. The newly enacted law requires
convicted traffickers to financially compensate their
victims. Although the government ensured that victims, once
identified, were not inappropriately penalized solely for
unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being
trafficked, some victims were not properly identified. Law
enforcement personnel generally deported foreign women found
working in the Bahamian sex industry without first attempting
to determine if any were victims of trafficking. The
Bahamas, new law includes provisions for victims' immunity
from prosecution, the protection of victims and witnesses
with special considerations for the age and extent of trauma
suffered by the victim, and relief from the removal of
foreign victims to countries where they may face hardship or
retribution regardless of their participation in the
investigation or prosecution of their traffickers.

Prevention
--------------
The government demonstrated limited efforts to prevent
trafficking over the reporting period. It strongly promoted
official awareness of, and coordination on, trafficking
issues within the country through mechanisms such as the
multi-agency Trafficking in Persons Working Group. The
government made no visible effort to reduce the demand for
commercial sex acts, and it did not engage in any other
awareness-raising efforts directed at Bahamian citizens.

--------------



9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report
country narrative:

(begin non-paper)

-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA),
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to
Congress. The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and
create partnerships around the world in the fight against
modern-day slavery. The USG approach to combating human
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol"). The TVPA
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud,
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological
manipulation. While much attention has focused on
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a
showing that the victim was moved.

-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin,
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of
three tiers. Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking"
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1. Countries
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards,
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum
standards are classified as Tier 2. Countries assessed as
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3.

-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year.
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of
each year. Countries are included on the "Special Watch
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List.

-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined:
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human

trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim
population. As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier

3. Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report). The new law allows for a waiver
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a
determination by the President that the country has developed
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the
minimum standards.

-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for
participation by government officials or employees in
educational and cultural exchange programs. In addition,
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian,
trade-related or certain types of development assistance)
with respect to countries on Tier 3. Countries classified as
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier
classification, would avoid such sanctions. Guidelines for
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared
by Posts with host governments.

-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon: fraudulent
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor. As the
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion. The
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated
"cost of coercion."

-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on
website www.state.gov/g/tip.

-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State
Department. We are providing you an advance copy of your
country's narrative in that report. Please keep this
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June

16. The State Department will also hold a general briefing
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June
17 at 3:30 pm EDT.

(end non-paper)


10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as
possible after the TIP Report is released. Funding for
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human
Rights Report. Posts needing financial assistance for
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX
office.


11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use
with local media.

Q1. Why is the Bahamas included in the Report this year?
Why was it given a ranking of Tier 2 Watch List?


A. The Bahamas was placed on the TIP Report because there is
evidence that it is a country of origin, transit, or
destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking. The
government of the Bahamas does not fully comply with the
minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;
however, it is making significant efforts to do so. During
the reporting period, the government enacted comprehensive
anti-trafficking legislation, added skilled personnel to
anti-trafficking agencies and offices, consulted with other
governments about trafficking issues and assistance, and
continued to train government personnel on trafficking
issues. The government did not, however, make noticeable
efforts to proactively identify victims among vulnerable
populations, such as foreign women and girls engaged in
illegal prostitution or women and girls intercepted at its
borders who may be attempting to enter The Bahamas to engage
in illegal prostitution.

Q2. What is the nature of the trafficking problem in The
Bahamas?


A. The Bahamas is a destination country for men and women
trafficked from Haiti and other Caribbean countries primarily
for the purpose of forced labor, and women from Jamaica and
other countries trafficked for the purposes of commercial
sexual exploitation. In situations that, for some workers,
may constitute forced labor, employers coerce migrant or
temporary workers -- legal and illegal -- to work longer
hours, at lower pay, and in conditions not permitted under
local labor law by changing the terms of contracts,
withholding travel documents, refusing transportation back
home, threatening to withdraw the employer-specific and
employer-held permits, or to turn the employee over to
immigration.

Q3. How can The Bahamas advance its anti-trafficking efforts?


A. The government could take steps to identify trafficking
victims among migrants attempting to enter The Bahamas
illegally; investigate, prosecute, and punish suspected human
trafficking offenses; create and implement a national
trafficking public awareness and prevention program; and
allocate resources for the victim assistance measures
mandated by the new anti-trafficking law


12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the
preceding action requests.
CLINTON