Human Trafficking Legislation in the Commonwealth Caribbean: Effective or Effected?
| Author | Kamille Adair |
| Pages | 148-175 |
the Commonwealth Caribbean:
Effective or Effected?
Kamille Adair
1. Introduction
phenomenon. But the issue has increasingly impinged on the conscience
of governments and policymakers for various reasons. Smuggling in
human beings has expanded from ‘[a] small-scale cross border activity
affecting a handful of countries’ into a global multimillion-dollar activity.1
Although information concerning the actual number of persons affected by
people are smuggled across borders annually, with about 80 per cent of
transnational victims being women and girls and up to 50 per cent being
minors.2
agendas throughout the region and attempts have been made by
Caribbean governments in recent years to combat smuggling in persons
within and across national borders. This has resulted in the introduction
(Prohibition) Act 2003-18.
Persons Act 2005-2
Suppression and Punishment) Act 2007-1. These statutes outlaw human
in the crime, and provide extensive protection for and assistance to the
The sudden introduction of these statutes in Belize, Guyana and
a reaction to external pressures. The exercise of United States hegemony,
1.
2. US Department of State, (Washington DC 2008), 7
state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/> accessed 30 Jul 2010.
149
through its blacklisting and sanctioning process under the US Victims
3 is the single most
powerful stimulant in effecting the introduction of statutory regimes
and the Convention against Transnational Crime, both adopted in 2000.4
There was no meaningful assessment of the phenomenon of human
making. Further, the interaction between the domestic legislative process
and international standards in these countries resulted in statutes
that are not tailored for the Caribbean region. Rather, they embody
carbon copies of the international standards, with their peculiarities and
2. The Impact of the United States’ Minimum
Standards and Tier System
Through domestic legislation and national policy, the United States
exerted severe pressure on the three Caribbean countries to enact anti-
and Violence Protection Act (TVPA) 2000 did not itself provide a model
for lawmaking. The TVPA states that it ‘is the policy of the United States
not to provide non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance to
any government that: (1) does not comply with Minimum Standards for
bring itself into compliance with such standards.’5
A. The Minimum Standards
The Minimum Standards for countries of origin, transit or destination,
or OTD Countries as they are called in the Act, are outlined in section
108 of the TVPA. Section 108(a) provides that:
1. The government of the country should prohibit severe forms of
3.
4.
Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (adopted
15 Nov 2000, entered into force 25 Dec 2003) 2237 UNTS 319 (‘Palermo Protocol’), United Nations
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime (adopted 15 Nov 2000, entered into force 29
Sep 2003) 2225 UNTS 209.
5. TVPA (n 3) s 110.
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