VZCZCXRO2487
PP RUEHGR
DE RUEHWN #0263/01 0602240
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
P 012240Z MAR 07
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC PRIORITY 4290
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE
RUEAHLC/DEPT OF HOMELAND SECURITY WASHINGTON DC
RUEAWJA/DEPT OF JUSTICE WASHDC
RUEATRS/DEPT OF TREASURY WASHDC
RUEHC/DEPT OF LABOR WASHDC

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 06 BRIDGETOWN 000263 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, AND WHA/CAR 
STATE PASS TO USAID/LAC/CAR-RILEY 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM PHUM KWMN ELAB SMIG ASEC KFRD PREF ST XL
SUBJECT: TIP SUBMISSION - ST. LUCIA 
 
REF: 06 STATE 202745 
 
¶1.  (U) As requested in reftel, below are Post's responses to 
questions regarding St. Lucia for the annual Trafficking in 
Persons Report. 
 
------------------ 
Para 27 - Overview 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) 
 
¶A.  Is the country a country of origin, transit, or 
destination for internationally trafficked men, women, or 
children? 
 
Although no official numbers are available, St. Lucia does 
not appear to be a significant country of origin, transit, or 
destination for internationally trafficked persons.  Limited 
trafficking may exist around the increased sex trade, but 
there is only limited anecdotal evidence.  To date, no 
government agency or nongovernmental organization has 
performed an official study or survey of trafficking. 
Judging from the limited anecdotal evidence, St. Lucia 
appears to be the destination for the few cases of 
trafficking that may exist. 
 
¶B.  Please provide a general overview of the trafficking 
situation in the country and any changes since the last TIP 
Report (e.g., changes in direction). 
 
Evidence of trafficking in St. Lucia continues to be 
anecdotal and mostly tied to the sex trade.  There are also 
anecdotes of children living away from home who are forced 
into a sexual relationship with their caregiver with the 
knowledge of their parents in exchange for "a better way of 
life."  These cases are underreported.  Since last year, 
however, the government organized an anti-trafficking 
coalition comprising the Gender Relations Division of the 
Ministry of Social Transformation, Human Services, Family 
Affairs, Youth, and Sports; the Police Department; 
Immigration Department, which is part of the national police 
force; the Ministry of External Affairs, International 
Finance Services, Information, and Broadcasting; Human 
Services and Family Affairs Division of the Ministry of 
Social Transformation, Human Services, Family Affairs, Youth, 
and Sports; the Family Court; the Upton Gardens Girls Center; 
the St. Lucia Crisis Center; and Caribbean Association for 
Feminist Research and Action (CAFRA).  The coalition has 
begun developing a local response protocol in the event a 
victim is discovered and a questionnaire to assess the extent 
of trafficking in St. Lucia.  St. Lucia delegates have 
participated in the Caribbean Regional Meeting on 
Counter-trafficking Strategies Workshop, the Human 
Trafficking Investigation Course, and the Direct Assistance 
Training, all organized by IOM in 2006. 
 
¶C.  What are limitations on the government's ability to 
address this problem in practice? 
 
The government has limited resources with which to address 
trafficking.  The lead agency on the issue, the Gender 
Relations Division, has limited staff and resources at its 
disposal.  The police force also has limited resources to 
devote to tackling illegal prostitution and potential 
trafficking.  All organizations that are members of the 
anti-trafficking coalition also suffer from a lack of 
experience and training in handling these issues. 
 
¶D.  To what extent does the government monitor its 
anti-trafficking efforts? 
 
Throughout the year, the government had no mechanism through 
which it could monitor anti-trafficking efforts, but 
developed a survey designed to measure trafficking that it 
was close to launching. 
 
-------------------- 
Para 28 - Prevention 
-------------------- 
 
¶3. (SBU) 
 
¶A.  Does the government acknowledge that trafficking is a 
problem in the country? 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000263  002 OF 006 
 
 
 
The government is beginning to recognize that trafficking 
exists in isolated incidents and has started taking strides 
to counter it.  The government also recognizes that the 
problem may increase while hosting Cricket World Cup in 2007 
and so is striving to implement preemptive measures to help 
cope with the potential increase in the problem. 
 
¶B.  Which government agencies are involved in 
anti-trafficking efforts and which agency, if any, has the 
lead? 
 
The Gender Relations Division, Police Department, Immigration 
Department, Ministry of External Affairs, Human Services and 
Family Affairs Division, and the Family Court are the 
government agencies involved with anti-trafficking efforts. 
The Gender Relations Division takes the lead on all 
trafficking cases, even those, unrelated to gender-based 
crimes, such as trafficking for labor purposes. 
 
¶C.  Are there, or have there been government-run 
anti-trafficking information or education campaigns? 
 
Although there has not been any campaigns targeting 
trafficking specifically, the government disseminated 
anti-trafficking materials when running campaigns on similar 
issues, such as gender-based violence.  The government also 
developed various public service announcements that will run 
soon. 
 
¶D.  Does the government support other programs to prevent 
trafficking? 
 
The government financially sponsors the Upton Gardens Girls 
Center, a quasi-official home for school-aged girls who are 
victims of various domestic and social problems or 
perpetrators of crime.  At the home, girls receive both 
scholastic and life-skills education.  Through the Gender 
Affairs Division, the government also sponsors various 
outreach programs to support the rights of women.  The 
government also sponsors universal secondary education. 
 
¶E.  What is the relationship between government officials, 
NGOs, other relevant organizations and other elements of 
civil society on the trafficking issue? 
 
The government created an anti-trafficking coalition that 
consists of the Gender Relations Division, Police Department, 
Immigration Department, Ministry of External Affairs, Human 
Services and Family Affairs Division, the Family Court, the 
Upton Gardens Girls Center, the St. Lucia Crisis Center, and 
CAFRA. 
 
¶F.  Does the government monitor immigration and emigration 
patterns for evidence of trafficking?  Do law enforcement 
agencies screen for potential trafficking victims along 
borders? 
 
When researching potential incidents, the government will 
refer to immigration patterns as evidence.  However, there is 
no preemptive monitoring of emigration patterns with the 
intent of pinpointing potential trafficking problems. 
 
¶G.  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?  Does the 
government have a trafficking in persons working group or a 
single point of contact?  Does the government have a public 
corruption task force? 
 
The government created an anti-trafficking coalition 
consisting of various government agencies and NGOs.  The 
government also has a close relationship with the 
International Organization for Migration. 
 
¶H.  Does the government have a national plan of action to 
address trafficking in persons?  If so, which agencies were 
involved in developing it?  Were NGOs consulted in the 
process?  What steps has the government taken to disseminate 
the action plan? 
 
The anti-trafficking coalition has created a plan of action, 
but it is still being developed. 
 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000263  003 OF 006 
 
 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
Para 29 - Investigations and Prosecutions of Traffickers 
--------------------------------------------- ----------- 
 
¶4. (SBU) 
 
¶A.  Does the country have a law specifically prohibiting 
trafficking in person--both for sexual and non-sexual 
purposes (e.g., forced labor)?  If so, please specifically 
cite the name of the law and its date of enactment.  Does the 
law(s) cover both internal and external (transnational) forms 
of trafficking?  If not, under what other laws can 
traffickers be prosecuted? 
 
No, traffickers could potentially be charged under laws 
prohibiting slavery, forced labor, forced imprisonment, 
kidnapping, or enticement for immoral purposes.  No 
trafficking cases have been prosecuted. 
 
¶B.  What are the penalties for trafficking people for sexual 
exploitation? 
 
There are no specific laws against trafficking people for 
sexual exploitation. 
 
¶C.  Punishment of Labor Trafficking Offenses:  What are the 
prescribed and imposed penalties for trafficking for labor 
exploitation, such as forced or bonded labor and involuntary 
servitude?  Do the government's laws provide for criminal 
punishment--i.e., jail time--for labor recruiters in labor 
source countries who engage in recruitment of laborers using 
knowingly fraudulent or deceptive offers that result in 
workers being exploited in the destination country?  For 
employers or labor agents in labor destination countries who 
confiscate workers' passports or travel documents, switch 
contracts without the worker's consent as a means to keep the 
worker in a state of service, or withhold payment of salaries 
as means of keeping the worker in a state of service?  If 
law(s) prescribe criminal punishments for these offenses, 
what are the actual punishments imposed on persons convicted 
of these offenses? 
 
The government takes labor offenses, such as confiscation of 
passports, very seriously.  However, the government has only 
experienced one such case over the last year.  In that case, 
the employer claimed he was holding his employees' passports 
for safekeeping and returned them at the request of the labor 
office. 
 
¶D.  What are the prescribed penalties for rape or forcible 
sexual assault?  How do they compare to the prescribed and 
imposed penalties for crimes of trafficking for commercial 
sexual exploitation? 
 
The penalty for rape is 14 years to life imprisonment. 
 
¶E.  Is prostitution legalized or decriminalized? 
Specifically, are the activities of the prostitute 
criminalized?  Are the activities of the brothel 
owner/operator, clients, pimps, and enforcers criminalized? 
Are these laws enforced? 
 
Prostitution, as well as pimping, running a brothel, or other 
related activities, is illegal.  The police force does not 
have the resources to sufficiently enforce these laws. 
 
¶F.  Has the government prosecuted any cases against 
traffickers? 
 
The only case of a labor offense mirroring trafficking was 
resolved through the labor office. 
 
¶G.  Is there any information or reports of who is behind the 
trafficking?  For example, are the traffickers freelance 
operators, small crime groups, and/or large international 
organized crime syndicates? 
 
Because the only evidence of trafficking at this time is 
anecdotal, there is no information or reports as to who is 
behind any potential trafficking. 
 
¶H.  Does the government actively investigate cases of 
trafficking?  (Again, the focus should be on trafficking 
cases versus migrant smuggling cases.) 
 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000263  004 OF 006 
 
 
The government does not yet specifically investigate 
trafficking cases, but has begun to receive training on this. 
 For general investigations, there are no laws prohibiting 
undercover or covert operations and both are actively 
utilized.  The police force has only recently obtained the 
equipment for electronic surveillance. 
 
¶I.  Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in how to recognize, investigate, and 
prosecute instances of trafficking? 
 
No. 
 
¶J.  Does the government cooperate with other governments in 
the investigation and prosecution of trafficking cases?  If 
possible, can post provide the number of cooperative 
international investigations on trafficking? 
 
No. 
 
¶K.  Does the government extradite persons who are charged 
with trafficking in other countries?  If so, can post provide 
the number of traffickers extradited?  Does the government 
extradite its own nationals charged with such offenses? 
 
N/A 
 
¶L.  Is there evidence of government involvement in or 
tolerance of trafficking, on a local or institutional level? 
 
Although there are no official reports, anecdotal evidence 
suggests that some police officers support prostitution and 
pimping activities.  There is no evidence at this time 
whether sex workers protected by police officers are victims 
of trafficking. 
 
¶M.  If government officials are involved in trafficking, what 
steps has the government taken to end such participation? 
Have any government officials been prosecuted for involvement 
in trafficking or trafficking-related corruption?  Have any 
been convicted?  What sentence(s) was imposed?  Please 
provide specific numbers, if available. 
 
Although there were no reports of government officials 
involved with trafficking, there was one police officer who 
was under investigation for involvement with prostitution. 
At year's end, the officer was still under investigation, but 
had also retired from the police force. 
 
¶N.  If the country has an identified child sex tourism 
problem (as source or destination), how many foreign 
pedophiles has the government prosecuted or 
deported/extradited to their country of origin? 
 
There is no evidence of child sex tourism at this time. 
 
¶O.  Has the government signed, ratified, and/or taken steps 
to implement the following international instruments? Please 
provide the date of signature/ratification if appropriate. 
 
a.  ILO Convention 182 concerning the Prohibition and 
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst Forms of 
Child Labor: 
 
Ratified on June 12, 2000. 
 
b.  ILO Convention 29 and 105 on Forced or Compulsory Labor: 
 
Ratified on May 14, 1980. 
 
c.  The Optional Protocol to the Convention on the Rights of 
the Child (CRC) on the Sale of Children, Child Prostitution, 
and Child Pornography: 
 
Ratified the Convention on June 16, 1993, but has not signed 
the Protocol. 
 
d.  The Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking 
in Persons, especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime: 
 
Signed the Convention on September 26, 2001, but has not 
ratified the Convention or signed the Protocol. 
 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000263  005 OF 006 
 
 
Para 30 - Protection and Assistance to Victims 
--------------------------------------------- - 
 
¶5. (SBU) 
 
¶A.  Does the government assist victims, for example, by 
providing temporary to permanent residency status, relief 
from deportation, shelter and access to legal, medical and 
psychological services? 
 
The Gender Relations Division ran the Women's Support Center, 
a shelter for women who are victims of domestic or social 
crimes.  Although it has not been used for trafficking 
victims yet, the Gender Relations Division plans on using the 
shelter for this purpose if any victims are discovered. 
 
¶B.  Does the government provide funding or other forms of 
support to foreign or domestic NGOs for services to victims? 
 
Although the government does not provide funding to domestic 
NGOs specifically to service trafficking victims, it supports 
the St. Lucia Crisis Center and Upton Gardens Girls Center, 
both organizations that could assist trafficking victims. 
 
¶C.  Do the government's law enforcement and social services 
personnel have a formal system of identifying victims of 
trafficking among high-risk persons with whom they come in 
contact? 
 
There is no system of identifying victims or a referral 
process currently in place.  There is a hotline, however, 
established to help victims of domestic violence that could 
also respond to victims of trafficking.  The anti-trafficking 
coalition is also currently developing methods through which 
it hopes to identify victims. 
 
¶D.  Are the rights of victims respected, or are victims 
treated as criminals?  Are victims detained, jailed, or 
deported?  If detained or jailed, for how long?  Are victims 
fined?  Are victims prosecuted for violations of other laws, 
such as those governing immigration or prostitution? 
 
There are no known victims, but the anti-trafficking 
coalition is establishing a protocol through which the rights 
of victims would be respected. 
 
¶E.  Does the government encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking? 
 
N/A 
 
¶F.  What kind of protection is the government able to provide 
for victims and witnesses?  Does it provide these protections 
in practice?  What type of shelter or services does the 
government provide? 
 
The Gender Relations Division ran the Women's Support Center, 
a shelter for women who are victims of domestic or social 
crimes.  Although it has not been used for trafficking 
victims yet, the Gender Relations Division plans on using the 
shelter for this purpose if any victims are discovered. 
Children could be placed in foster care or in juvenile 
shelters, such as the Upton Gardens Girls Center. 
 
¶G.  Does the government provide any specialized training for 
government officials in recognizing trafficking and in the 
provision of assistance to trafficked victims, including the 
special needs of trafficked children? 
 
In developing its survey questionnaire, the government 
consulted with and provided training to various 
professionals, such as police, teachers, and nurses.  The 
government also hosted an IOM training session which led to 
the developing of the response protocol. 
 
¶H.  Does the government provide assistance, such as medical 
aid, shelter, or financial help, to its repatriated nationals 
who are victims of trafficking? 
 
N/A 
 
¶I.  Which international organizations or NGOs, if any, work 
with trafficking victims?  What type of services do they 
provide?  What sort of cooperation do they receive from local 
authorities?  NOTE:  If post reports that a government is 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000263  006 OF 006 
 
 
incapable of assisting and protecting TIP victims, then post 
should explain thoroughly.  Funding, personnel, and training 
constraints should be noted, if applicable. Conversely, the 
lack of political will to address the problem should be noted 
as well. 
 
The government has worked with IOM, which has provided 
training and assisted in developing standards and action 
plans.  Although the government suffers from lack of funding 
and personnel issues, it does not appear to have a problem 
with political will. 
OURISMAN