Prime Minister Dr Keith Rowley wants the Judicial and Legal Services Commission (JLSC) to ensure vacancies within the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) are filled as soon as possible to assist in elevating T&T in the next US Department of State’s Report on the Trafficking of Persons offence.
He made the call during yesterday’s post-Cabinet news conference at the Office of the Prime Minister, St Clair. This after T&T remained in the Tier 2 level on the US Department of State Trafficking of Persons Report 2016, which was released on Wednesday.
That means T&T was not fully compliant with the requirements on policies, conviction rates and protection of human trafficking victims. National Security Minister Edmund Dillon confirmed the latest report saw T&T remaining in the Tier 2 Watch List.
Minutes later, Rowley said the “low level of convictions” would have influenced T&T’s current status in the report, adding T&T can expect an upgraded status when there are convictions for trafficking of persons.
However the PM said to achieve that “there are some upward linkages that need to be more effective.” He said the Office of the Attorney General would continue to engage in conversations at the Office of the DPP which had its own challenges.
He said that would continue “hopefully within the earshot of the Judicial and Legal Service Commission, whose job it was to ensure that the officers required to staff the DPP’s office were in those vacancies and the DPP’s office was able to provide the kind of back stopping support, directions and guidance to the Police Service.”
He also hoped “more importantly, the Police Service will be more diligent and effective in responding.”
Rowley said if the Government had not implemented those measures outlined by Dillon, T&T “would have more than likely been downgraded. However, we were able to hold our position and escape the threatened downgrade because of the actions we have taken.”
Earlier, Dillon said the Tier 2 list consisted of countries which were “not fully compliant but have taken significant efforts with respect to (the) trafficking of persons, punishment of offenders and protection of victims.”
He said since the People’s National Movement assumed office in September, “the Government has demonstrated renewed political will to combat human trafficking.”
He said they had increased funding for the Anti-Trafficking Unit and established a national task force against trafficking of persons and a task force steering committee, which was mandated to prepare a draft national plan of action on human trafficking, adding that the document “is currently before the national task force for consideration.”
During the period of review, Dillon said there were 53 human trafficking investigations and six victims were identified, while one T&T national was placed on 21 charges as a child sex trafficker and one local brothel owner and staff member were charged under the Trafficking of Persons Act.