The US Department of State has once again urged Government to crack down on officials suspected of being involved in human trafficking.
The assertion came days after government and opposition politicians pointed fingers at each other over a 2022 Trafficking in Persons report issued by the US which suggested government officials were complicit.
“The US Department of State urges the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to investigate fully and transparently any official suspected of complicity in human trafficking, and to seek conviction and sufficiently stringent punishment of any official found to be complicit,” a spokesman from the US Embassy in Port of Spain said.
The spokesperson did not identify specific individuals to be investigated.
“The Department of State urges officials to uphold the rule of law and increase victim protection efforts.”
The US Department of State released the report on July 19, 2022, at the behest of its Bureau for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.
The office uses information from the US Embassy, government and public officials, survivors of human trafficking, non-governmental and international organisations, published reports, news articles, academic studies, consultations with authorities, along with other sources.
TT, along with countries in regions around the globe, gets a data-call request from the embassy every November. The request describes the annual reporting requirements for human trafficking and child soldiering for the report, which includes a detailed questionnaire where host governments can provide input. Relevant TT ministries, through the Ministry of National Security, provide input and data about its efforts to counter trafficking by the end of the reporting period on March 31.
“The 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report covered government efforts undertaken during the reporting period from April 1, 2021, through March 31, 2022,” the spokesman said.
Embassy: Million$ spent to combat human trafficking in region in 2022
The embassy spokesman said there were three main programmes through which the US Embassy and Department of State were co-ordinating counter-trafficking in TT.
The cost of the projects with a specific focus on countering the trafficking of people in TT came up to about US$5.2 million. One of the three projects, the USAID Heal-Empower-Rise Counter Trafficking in Person Project, cost US$950,000.
In that project, the embassy partners with the Office of the Prime Minister – Gender and Child Affairs Ministry, and the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services with the objective of strengthening and expanding support services to victims of trafficking.
The project retrofits select state-run or state-supported residential homes that provide housing to victims of trafficking by installing infrastructural upgrades, equipment and resources to create spaces for medical services, counselling and academic and vocational training for trafficking victims. The project also pro
