BARBADOS -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS GUIDANCE AND

UNCLAS STATE 060536

SIPDIS

E.O. 12958: N/A
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG BB
SUBJECT: BARBADOS -- 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 Barbados 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
Barbados 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 Barbados 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 Barbados,s country narrative in the
2009 TIP Report:

--------------
Barbados (TIER 2)
--------------

Barbados is a destination country for women from the
Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica trafficked for the
purpose of sexual exploitation; it is also a destination for
men from China, India, and Guyana trafficked for the purpose
of labor exploitation in construction and other sectors.
Reports from 2005 indicated that girls and women within
Barbados and from other Caribbean countries were trafficked
for the purpose of domestic servitude. Sex traffickers,
primarily pimps and brothel owners from Guyana, Trinidad and
Tobago, and Barbados, lure women through newspaper ads for
legitimate work in Barbados. Trafficked women tend to enter
the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers
later force victims to work in strip clubs, massage parlors,
some private residences, and &entertainment clubs" that
operate as brothels. Traffickers use threats of physical
harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts,
psychological abuse, and confinement to force men, women, and
reportedly some girls to also work in construction, the
garment industry, agriculture, or private households.

The Government of Barbados 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 drafted a protocol for
anti-trafficking actions, increased public awareness of
trafficking, and cooperated with other Caribbean governments
on trafficking issues. The government, however, did not
report any investigations of suspected cases of sex or labor
trafficking , nor did it prosecute any trafficking cases
during the year.


Recommendations for Barbados: Develop, enact, and implement
a comprehensive anti-trafficking law; proactively investigate
suspected human trafficking cases; prosecute and punish
trafficking offenders, including those who subject workers to
conditions of forced labor; implement procedures for law
enforcement officers to proactively identify trafficking
victims among vulnerable populations; develop a national plan
to identify, combat, and prevent trafficking; create and
implement a national trafficking public awareness and
prevention program.

Prosecution
--------------
The Barbados government made weak efforts to prosecute
trafficking offenders during the year, while facing resource
constraints and competing law enforcement priorities.
Barbados has no specific law prohibiting human trafficking,
but slavery and forced labor are constitutionally prohibited.
Existing statutes against sexual offenses and forced labor
could be used to prosecute some trafficking crimes.
Penalties for these offenses, which range from five to15
years, imprisonment, are sufficiently stringent and
commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious
crimes, such as rape. No trafficking offenders were
prosecuted during the year. Most law enforcement and
immigration officials do not have the appropriate training,
funding, and other necessary mechanisms to monitor and
investigate suspected cases of trafficking.

Protection
--------------
The Government of Barbados made moderate efforts to ensure
victims, access to protective services over the last year.
It funded several existing programs to assist victims of
other crimes which could be used to support trafficking
victims, such as shelters run by a local NGO and the
Salvation Army, and public counseling services for victims of
rape and child abuse. The government expressed its readiness
to refer victims of trafficking, once identified, to the
Bureau of Gender Affairs for support services, although no
victims were formally identified during the year. The
government,s Bureau of Gender Affairs collaborated with a
local NGO to sensitize government agencies on the difference
between smuggling and trafficking, the importance of
referring victims to services provided in collaboration with
NGOs, and the importance of implementing a
trafficking-specific protocol and legislation to better
target their efforts. Victims of trafficking (like victims
of other crimes) are not, in general, encouraged to
participate in investigations or prosecutions of trafficking
offenders. Trafficking victims could be prosecuted for
unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being
trafficked, as no existing legislation offers legal
protection specifically to victims of trafficking. Police
claim to have no option under current, relevant laws but to
treat foreign trafficking victims without valid legal
documentation as criminals and summarily deport them. UNHCR
provided suspected trafficking victims with medical
assistance and help with repatriation. There have been no
reported cases of Barbadians trafficked to foreign countries,
although the Bureau of Gender Affairs has specialized
services in place should such a case arise.

Prevention
--------------
The government made moderate efforts to raise the public,s
awareness of the risks and dangers of human trafficking in
Barbados. During the year the government hosted educational
workshops and ran press releases on human trafficking.
Although there is no formal mechanism for coordinating
government and NGO action on trafficking issues, the Bureau
of Gender Affairs worked with regional and local NGOs,
religious organizations, and community advocates to better
organize their anti-trafficking efforts and outreach. The
Bureau of Gender Affairs also disseminated the government,s
draft protocol for anti-trafficking action to various
official agencies. Expansion of the tourism industry is
fueling an increased demand for commercial sex in Barbados,
but the government made no noticeable efforts to reduce the
demand for commercial sex acts. Barbados has not ratified
the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

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



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 was Barbados included in the Report this year? Why
was it given a ranking of Tier 2?


A. Barbados 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 Barbados 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 drafted a protocol for anti-TIP
actions, increased public awareness of trafficking, and
cooperated with other Caribbean governments on trafficking
issues. The government, however, did not report any
investigations of suspected cases of sex or labor trafficking
, nor did it prosecute any trafficking cases during the year.

Q2. What is the nature of the trafficking problem in
Barbados?


A. Barbados is a destination country for women from the
Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Jamaica trafficked for the
purpose of sexual exploitation; it is also a destination for
men from China, India, and Guyana trafficked for the purpose
of labor exploitation in construction and other sectors.
Reports from 2005 indicate that girls and women within
Barbados and from other Caribbean countries were trafficked
for the purpose of domestic servitude. Sex traffickers,
primarily pimps and brothel owners from Guyana, Trinidad and
Tobago, and Barbados, lure women through newspaper ads for
legitimate work in Barbados. Trafficked women tend to enter
the country through legal means, usually by air; traffickers
later force victims to work in strip clubs, massage parlors,
some private residences and &entertainment clubs" which
operate as brothels. Traffickers use threats of physical
harm or deportation, debt bondage, false contracts,
psychological abuse, and confinement to force men, women, and
reportedly some girls to also work in construction, the
garment industry, agriculture, or private households.

Q3. How can Barbados show it is making progress in its
anti-trafficking efforts during the coming year?


A. The government could: develop, enact, and implement a
comprehensive anti-trafficking law; proactively investigate
suspected human trafficking cases; prosecute and punish
trafficking offenders, including those who subject workers to
conditions of forced labor; implement procedures for law
enforcement officers to proactively identify trafficking
victims among vulnerable populations; develop a national plan
to identify, combat, and prevent trafficking; create and
implement a national trafficking public awareness and
prevention program.


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