VZCZCXRO4126
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHWN #0386/01 0602043
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 012043Z MAR 06
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 2010
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE PRIORITY

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 04 BRIDGETOWN 000386 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR G/TIP AND WHA/CAR 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM ELAB KFRD ASEC KWMN PHUM PREF SMIG BB XL
SUBJECT: TIP SUBMISSION - BARBADOS 
 
REF: STATE 3836 
 
¶1. (U) As requested in reftel, below are Post's responses to 
questions regarding Barbados for the annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report. 
 
Paragraph 21 - Overview 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. (SBU) 
 
-- A) Is the country a country of origin, transit, or 
destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or 
children?  Evidence suggests that Barbados is a destination 
for trafficking, and may be a source and transit country for 
trafficking as well.  The country has a growing sex tourism 
industry with a number of strip clubs and brothels, many of 
which are staffed by women from the Dominican Republic and 
other Caribbean islands.  There have been anecdotal reports 
that women have been trafficked internationally and minors 
have been trafficked internally to work in the sex industry. 
 
 
-- B) Please provide a general overview of the trafficking 
situation in the country and any changes since the last TIP 
Report.  In June 2005, the International Organization for 
Migration (IOM) released its Exploratory Assessment of 
Trafficking in Persons in the Caribbean Region, identifying 
Barbados as one of several countries in the region to which 
people were trafficked.  The IOM report suggested that 
persons were primarily trafficked to Barbados to be 
commercial sex workers and domestic workers, but showed 
evidence to support that persons are being trafficked to work 
in the booming construction industry as well.  The report 
criticized the government for deporting illegal migrants and 
laborers without investigating whether or not they were 
victims of trafficking.  In November, the government deported 
14 individuals who had been trafficked to Barbados from 
India.  According to press reports, the unskilled laborers 
said they arrived in Barbados in October to work for Larsen 
and Toubro Limited, an India-based construction company with 
a high-profile contract to redevelop the Barbados national 
cricket stadium in preparation for Cricket World Cup 2007. 
The migrants claimed they paid an employment agency in New 
Delhi US$4,500 each to get them the jobs and provide all 
necessary legal documents including passports, visas, and 
work permits.  They stated that Larson and Toubro Limited 
supplied their airline tickets and that two individuals 
involved with the construction project facilitated their 
clearance through Barbados Immigration.  These same 
individuals took the migrants' passports, claiming work 
permits had been acquired when in fact they had not.  The 
workers walked off the job in November to protest their low 
pay (approximately US$5 per day), poor living conditions, and 
the inadequate food provided by their employer.  They were 
deported several days later amid a flurry of news reports and 
criticism of the government from the Barbados Workers Union 
and private attorneys for punishing the victims and not those 
who trafficked them.  In a February 22 newspaper report, a 
spokesman related to the construction project, which will be 
bringing in 37 artisans and skilled laborers from India over 
the next month, made excuses for the actions of Larson and 
Toubro Limited, justifying the debt bondage of the original 
laborers.  An investigation is currently underway, but 
prosecution will be difficult in the absence of testimony 
from the deported victims.  (Note:  Recent news reports 
confirm that a civil and criminal lawsuit claiming US$2 
million in compensation for the deported 14 will be filed in 
the high courts by mid-March.  End Note.) 
 
-- C) What are the limitations on the government's ability to 
address this problem in practice?  The government has very 
limited resources with which to address trafficking. 
Understaffed law enforcement agencies have no training in 
exploring the links between illegal prostitution and 
potential trafficking.  The legal system is equally strapped 
with a huge caseload and not enough prosecutors to handle the 
backlog. 
 
-- D) To what extent does the government systematically 
monitor its anti-trafficking efforts?  The government has no 
system to monitor anti-trafficking efforts.  Officials 
monitor illegal immigration, but are still in the beginning 
stages of addressing trafficking issues in Barbados. 
 
Paragraph 22 ) Prevention 
------------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) 
 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000386  002 OF 004 
 
 
-- A) Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a 
problem?  The highly publicized plight of the 14 Indian 
laborers has brought the issue of trafficking to the 
forefront and government is beginning to acknowledge that a 
limited amount of trafficking may be occurring. 
 
-- B) Which government agencies are involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts?  The Office of Gender Affairs in 
the Ministry of Social Transformation has been the lead 
contact for IOM anti-trafficking seminars and training. 
 
-- C) Are there or have there been government-run 
anti-trafficking information or education campaigns?  Yes. 
In fall of 2005, the Business and Professional Women's 
Association, an NGO affiliated with the Bureau of Gender 
Affairs, conducted three education/sensitization sessions to 
assess awareness and understanding of trafficking in Barbados. 
 
-- D) Does the government support other programs to prevent 
trafficking?  No. 
 
-- E) Is the government able to support prevention programs? 
No, the government does not have the resources to carry out 
programs other than the training mentioned above and basic 
law enforcement efforts. 
 
-- F) What is the relationship between the government, NGOs, 
and civil society on the trafficking issue?  NGOs and civil 
society are involved with the government in the Barbadian 
Coalition, a group of 15 governmental and non-governmental 
organizations committed to combating trafficking in persons, 
which received a small grant from IOM to conduct a campaign 
to raise community awareness and understanding of the nature 
and dynamics of trafficking. 
 
-- G) Does it monitor immigration and emigration patterns for 
evidence of trafficking?  Do law enforcement agencies screen 
for potential trafficking victims along borders?  No. 
 
-- H) Is there a mechanism for coordination and communication 
between various agencies, internal, international, and 
multilateral on trafficking related matters, such as a 
multi-agency working group or a task force?  The Barbadian 
Coalition is the only mechanism for communicating between 
agencies at this time.  It is still developing programs to 
educate and sensitize key players, such as law enforcement 
and vulnerable communities, who are not necessarily party to 
the Coalition. 
 
-- I) Does the government participate in multinational or 
international working groups to combat trafficking?  Yes. 
Government representatives have received trafficking related 
training from IOM. 
 
-- J) Does the government have a national plan of action to 
address trafficking?  No. 
 
Paragraph 23 - Investigations and Prosecution of Traffickers 
--------------------------------------------- --------------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) 
 
-- A) Does the country have a law specifically prohibiting 
trafficking in persons-*both trafficking for sexual 
exploitation and trafficking for non-sexual purposes?  No, 
traffickers could potentially be charged with labor 
violations, immigration violations, or violations of the laws 
against pimping and pandering.  There have been no 
trafficking cases prosecuted.  Current laws are inadequate to 
cover the full scope of trafficking in persons. 
 
-- B) What are the penalties for traffickers of people for 
sexual or labor exploitation?  There are no specific 
penalties for traffickers of people for sexual or labor 
exploitation.  They could, however, face penalties for 
immigration or labor violations that include criminal 
sanctions. 
 
-- C) What are the penalties for rape and sexual assault? 
The penalty for rape is up to life imprisonment.  The penalty 
for sexual assault is up to five years in prison. 
 
-- D) Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized?  No, 
prostitution and pimping are illegal. 
 
-- E) Has the government prosecuted any cases against 
traffickers?  No. 
 
-- F) Is there any information or reports of who is behind 
the trafficking?  In the case of the 14 Indian laborers, the 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000386  003 OF 004 
 
 
government knows the companies involved and is reportedly 
investigating.  However, while the government was embarrassed 
regionally by the incident, it also has a vested interest in 
maintaining the pace of construction, already behind schedule 
for the March 2007 Cricket World Cup events.  Thus, it is 
unlikely that any substantive investigation or legal action 
will be launched until the construction project is finished. 
 
-- G) Does the government actively investigate cases of 
trafficking?  Officials are investigating the high-profile 
case mentioned above; however, education on trafficking is 
still in the beginning stages, so reports of trafficking are 
very limited. 
 
-- H) Does the government provide any specialized training 
for government officials in how to recognize, investigate, 
and prosecute instances of trafficking?  No. 
 
-- I) Does the government cooperate with other governments in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases?  No 
such cases have arisen. 
 
-- J) Does the government extradite persons who are charged 
with trafficking in other countries?  No such cases have been 
reported. 
 
-- K) Is there evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level? 
There were two isolated anecdotal cases reported, one 
involving an Immigration official who apparently allowed 
illegal Guyanese laborers in the country as long as they 
worked on his house for free on the weekends, and another of 
a police officer who brought in young women to work as 
prostitutes, keeping their passports as collateral. 
 
-- L) If government officials are involved in trafficking, 
what steps has the government taken to end such 
participation?  The police officer was dismissed and the 
Immigration official is under investigation under the Corrupt 
Practices Act. 
 
-- M) If the country has an identified child sex tourism 
problem, how many foreign pedophiles has the government 
prosecuted?  While it is believed that minors may be engaging 
in prostitution, there is no evidence of child sex tourism. 
 
-- N) Has the government signed, ratified and/or taken steps 
to implement the following international instruments: 
 
a) ILO Convention 182 on worst forms of child labor. 
Ratified. 
 
b) ILO Convention 29 and 105 on forced or compulsory labor. 
Ratified. 
 
c) Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of 
Children.  Did not sign or ratify. 
 
d) The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. 
Signed. 
 
Paragraph 24 - Protection and Assistance to Victims 
--------------------------------------------- ------ 
 
¶5. (SBU) 
 
-- A) Does the government assist victims?  The government has 
no facilities to assist victims.  As the case of the 14 
Indian laborers shows, victims are normally deported for 
immigration violations. 
 
-- B) Does the government provide funding or other forms of 
support to foreign and domestic NGOs for services to victims? 
 No. 
 
-- C) Is there a screening and referral process in place?  No. 
 
-- D) Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims 
also treated as criminals?  Victims are treated as criminals 
and deported. 
 
-- E) Does the government encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking?  No, but the 
high-profile coverage of the 14 Indian laborers' case may 
change that. 
 
-- F) What kind of protection is the government able to 
provide for victims and witnesses?  The government has a 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000386  004 OF 004 
 
 
shelter for victims of domestic violence that could 
potentially be used to protect victims of trafficking.  The 
victim or witness could also be detained for their own 
protection. 
 
-- G) Does the government provide any specialized training 
for government officials in recognizing trafficking?  No, the 
government does not provide training.  IOM began conducting 
seminars and training in 2004 that were attended by 
government officials from a variety of social welfare and law 
enforcement agencies. 
 
-- H) Does the government provide assistance to its 
repatriated nationals who are victims of trafficking?  There 
has only been one anecdotal case of a Barbados national being 
trafficked to work in the tourism industry in Colorado.  It 
has not been determined if this was an actual trafficking 
case, and the individual's family financed the repatriation. 
 
-- I) Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work 
with trafficking victims?  IOM is working in Barbados with 
the Bureau of Gender Affairs and the Business and 
Professional Women's Association to educate the public on 
trafficking in persons. 
KRAMER