KINGSTON, Jamaica – Gillian Apfel, Vice Consul at the U.S. Embassy in Kingston, recently shared valuable information on U.S. legislation on Trafficking in Persons with members and guests of the Rotary Club of Kingston Downtown.
In her presentation, Ms. Apfel commended the constructive strides the Jamaican government has made in the fight against this form of modern-day slavery. The State Department has ranked Jamaica as a Tier Two country in its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which evaluates all nations on their commitment to meeting minimum standards to eliminate trafficking.
Gillian Apfel
As a Tier Two country, Jamaica is recognized as having made significant efforts to comply with these standards but is not yet complying with all.
Those standards include, 1) the adoption of legislation that makes trafficking in persons illegal and assesses the most stringent penalties commensurate with other severe crimes such as sexual assault; 2) the protection of victims; 3) the adoption of prevention programs, and 4) the commitment of the nation to vigorously pursue investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers.
