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HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN CARIBBEAN COUNTRIES THE FOCUS OF OAS MEETING

Human trafficking in The Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Lucia and Suriname is center stage at the Organization of American States (OAS), where an important conference opened Monday morning with government officials and experts discussing counter-trafficking strategies and unveiling a ground-breaking study entitled, “Exploratory Assessment of Trafficking in Persons in the Caribbean Region.”

The historic meeting is a joint initiative of the OAS’ Inter-American Commission of Women and the International Organization for Migration (IOM), and was called to assess progress and plan the follow-up to a research and training project on human trafficking in the seven Caribbean countries cited. The three-day conference marks the first time representatives from across the region are gathering to specifically address the question of trafficking in persons and to seek to develop a regional strategic approach to preventing and combating the problem.

Monday’s session, on the scope and nature of the problem in the Caribbean, opened with Ambassador Henry Illes, Suriname’s Permanent Representative to the OAS and Coordinator of the Caucus of Caribbean Community (CARICOM) Ambassadors, among those to outline their perspectives on the question. Branding human trafficking as a “form of modern day slavery,” Illes cited the connection to corruption as central to what he called “the global business of human trafficking.”

He said, “Many citizens mistrust their local law enforcement, customs as well as immigration personnel, believing that some of them are highly corrupt.” He also quoted from research conducted by non-governmental organizations, and called for the establishment of national, regional and hemispheric programs to combat corruption especially in relation to trafficking in human beings, noting further how corruption, facilitated by the technological and financial capacity of organized crime, can cripple local law enforcement and immigration entities.

Carmen Lomellin, the Executive Secretary of CIM, said that the OAS women’s agency has increasingly focused on human trafficking and has been engaged in extensive research and capacity-building activities, including an initial pilot program in Central America and the Dominican Republic, which confirmed the existence of human trafficking in the Americas.

“This conference is opportune,” Lomellin said, “for the trafficking of women and children for sexual exploitation has the same dramatic turnover as drug trafficking and the sale of arms.” Explaining one factor, Lomellin noted how “economic conditions in our region have deteriorated for the most vulnerable populations.”

Richard Danziger, Head of Counter-trafficking Services for the IOM, said in his opening remarks, that only through close partnerships between government agencies and non-governmental agencies can there be progress in combating trafficking. “It is very important that at the center of our approach to fighting against this crime we look at the human rights of the victims. Trafficking is a security issue. Trafficking is a development issue. It’s all about poverty.”

In her welcoming remarks to the delegates, Kelly Ryan, Deputy US Assistant Secretary of State for Population, Refugees and Migration, underscored how US officials in recent years have consistently “made it abundantly clear that we in the United States—our government and our people—find trafficking abhorrent and we are acting to stop it.”

Following those remarks, an extensive and in-depth explanation of the Caribbean Regional Research Report was delivered by Ashley Garrett, IOM Project Manager for Trafficking in Persons.

Reference: E-045/05