Organization of American States (OAS) and International Organization for Migration (IOM) Host Trafficking Forum on the Caribbean

Representatives of CARICOM member governments, regional Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and officials from several international organizations, met in Washington in mid March for two days to discuss strategies to counter the practice of trafficking in persons or ‘human trafficking’ as it is more often described.

The forum, which was jointly hosted by the United Nations-affiliated International Organization for Migration (IOM) and the Inter-American Commission of Women (CIM) of the Organization of American States (OAS), brought together for the first time, representatives from the region to address the scope and nature of trafficking in persons in the area, and to develop regional approaches to effectively prevent and combat trafficking.

A regional counter-trafficking project currently being implemented by IOM and the CIM in the Bahamas, Barbados, Guyana, Jamaica, the Netherlands Antilles, Saint Lucia and Suriname, was central to the discussions, with delegates focusing on current initiatives being implemented in the participating countries and assessing the gains made so far.

The IOM is also awarding up to seven small grants to national coalitions (government and non-governmental organizations), aimed at increasing local co-operation in combating trafficking in persons in their respective countries. Posters, brochures and radio public service announcements will be available at no cost to participating countries.

Ambassador Henry Illes, coordinator of the CARICOM Caucus of Ambassadors in Washington (CCA), outlined the region’s perspectives on the issue and called for urgent and concerted action to thwart this illicit trafficking in persons. He described human trafficking as a “form of modern day slavery”, and asserted that disregard for the rule of law and corruption had served to facilitate the global business of human trafficking.

The ambassador pointed out that there was a confidence gap in how the public often perceived agents of the State who served in the various security branches. “Many citizens mistrust their local law enforcement, customs as well as immigration personnel, believing that some of them are highly corrupt,” he said.

Research carried out in each of the countries has been used to develop a regional trafficking report and preliminary findings indicate that “human trafficking, migration, and migrant smuggling are distinct but interconnected issues. It is believed that human trafficking follows regular and irregular migration patterns in the Caribbean.” It has also been determined that human trafficking has served to actively facilitate the sex trade within the region.

Traffickers often prey on individuals who are poor, frequently unemployed or underemployed, and who may lack access to social safety nets, and predominantly women and children in the affected countries. Victims are often lured with false promises of good jobs and better lives, and are then forced to work under brutal and inhumane conditions.

While the conference dealt specifically with human trafficking in the Caribbean, it was also noted that trafficking in persons was a phenomenon that occurred even in advanced, industrialized countries in the hemisphere. The United States Department of Justice findings indicate that human trafficking in the United States provided labor for factories, farms, restaurants and homes. In addition, many women and children are forced into prostitution or other illicit sexual activity.

In a further demonstration of the universality of the problem, a recent study conducted by the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) estimates that 800 persons are trafficked into Canada annually and that an additional 1,500-2,200 persons are trafficked through Canada into the United States.

Apart from providing inexpensive labor, many of the women and children who are victims of trafficking are also often sexually exploited, the study noted.