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DE RUEHC #0533 1622251
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O 112218Z JUN 09
FM SECSTATE WASHDC
TO AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN IMMEDIATE 0000

UNCLAS STATE 060533 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KTIP ELAB KCRM KPAO KWMN PGOV PHUM PREL SMIG AC
SUBJECT: ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA -- 2009 TIP REPORT: PRESS 
GUIDANCE AND DEMARCHE 
 
REF: (A) STATE 59732 (B) STATE 005577 
 
¶1. This is an action cable; see paras 5 through 7 and 10. 
 
¶2. On June 16, 2009, at 10:00 a.m. EDT, the Secretary will 
release the 2009 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a 
press conference in the Department's press briefing room. 
This release will receive substantial coverage in domestic 
and foreign news outlets.  Until the time of the Secretary's 
June 16 press conference, any public release of the Report or 
country narratives contained therein is prohibited. 
 
¶3. The Department is hereby providing Post with advance press 
guidance to be used on June 16 or thereafter.  Also provided 
is demarche language to be used in informing the Government 
of Antigua and Barbuda of its tier ranking and the TIP 
Report's imminent release.  The text of the TIP Report 
country narrative is provided, both for use in informing the 
Government of Antigua and Barbuda and in any local media 
release by Post's public affairs section on June 16 or 
thereafter.  Drawing on information provided below in paras 8 
and 9, Post may provide the host government with the text of 
the TIP Report narrative no earlier than 1200 noon local time 
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA countries and OOB 
local time Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts.  Please 
note, however, that any public release of the Report's 
information should not/not precede the Secretary's release at 
10:00 am EDT on June 16. 
 
¶4. The entire TIP Report will be available on-line at 
www.state.gov/g/tip shortly after the Secretary's June 16 
release.  Hard copies of the Report will be pouched to posts 
in all countries appearing on the Report.  The Secretary's 
statement at the June 16 press event, and the statement of 
and fielding of media questions by G/TIP,s Director and 
Senior Advisor to the Secretary, Ambassador-at-Large Luis 
CdeBaca, will be available on the Department's website 
shortly after the June 16 event.  Ambassador de Baca will 
also hold a general briefing for officials of foreign 
embassies in Washington DC on June 17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
¶5. Action Request: No earlier than 12 noon local time on 
Monday June 15 for WHA, AF, EUR, and NEA posts and OOB local 
time on Tuesday June 16 for SCA and EAP posts, please inform 
the appropriate official in the Government of Antigua and 
Barbuda of the June 16 release of the 2009 TIP Report, 
drawing on the points in para 9 (at Post's discretion) and 
including the text of the country narrative provided in para 
¶8.  For countries where the State Department has lowered the 
tier ranking, it is particularly important to advise 
governments prior to the Report being released in Washington 
on June 16. 
 
¶6. Action Request continued:  Please note that, for those 
countries which will not receive an "action plan" with 
specific recommendations for improvement, posts should draw 
host governments' attention to the areas for improvement 
identified in the 2009 Report, especially highlighted in the 
"Recommendations" section of the second paragraph of the 
narrative text.  This engagement is important to establishing 
the framework in which the government's performance will be 
judged for the 2010 Report.  If posts have questions about 
which governments will receive an action plan, or how they 
may follow up on the recommendations in the 2009 Report, 
please contact G/TIP and the appropriate regional bureau. 
 
¶7. Action Request continued: On June 16, please be prepared 
to answer media inquiries on the Report's release using the 
press guidance provided in para 11.  If Post wishes, a local 
press statement may be released on or after 10:30 am EDT June 
16, drawing on the press guidance and the text of the TIP 
Report's country narrative provided in para 8. 
 
¶8. Begin Final Text of Antigua and Barbuda,s country 
narrative in the 2009 TIP Report: 
 
-------------------------------- 
Antigua and Barbuda (TIER 2) 
-------------------------------- 
 
Antigua and Barbuda is a destination country for women 
trafficked from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican 
Republic for the purposes of sexual exploitation; it may also 
be a destination country for women trafficked for the 
purposes of forced domestic servitude.  Well-financed 
businessmen from the Dominican Republic and Antiguan citizens 
acting as pimps and brothel owners traffic women into the 
four main, illegal brothels that operate in Antigua, as well 
as to private residences that operate as brothels.  Women 
voluntarily came to Antigua to engage in prostitution; 
brothel managers later confiscate their passports and 
threaten the women with deportation until they repay the 
brothel owner for travel and other expenses.  Some victims 
trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation had been 
given work permits as "entertainers" to legally enter the 
country.  Information on the full extent of the human 
trafficking problem in Antigua and Barbuda is not available; 
anecdotal reporting suggests, however, that no Antiguan 
citizens have been trafficked and the current number of 
foreign victims is comparatively small. 
 
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda does not fully comply 
with the minimum standards for the elimination of 
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do 
so.  Despite limited resources, competing priorities, and a 
relatively small number of victims, the government 
investigated identified incidences of trafficking, cooperated 
with other Caribbean governments on trafficking issues, 
ensured victims, access to social services, and conducted 
bilingual public awareness campaigns.  No trafficking 
offenders, however, have been arrested or prosecuted, and law 
enforcement agencies continue to treat victims as criminals. 
 
Recommendations for Antigua and Barbuda:  Develop and 
implement a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law; arrest, 
prosecute, and punish trafficking offenders; proactively 
identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, 
such as foreign women in prostitution and as domestic 
servants; and provide foreign victims legal alternatives to 
removal to countries where they may face hardship and 
retribution. 
 
Prosecution 
----------- 
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda did not make adequate 
progress in anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the 
last year.  It has no specific or comprehensive laws 
prohibiting trafficking in persons.  Trafficking offenders 
could be prosecuted under relevant provisions in immigration, 
prostitution, or labor laws, though there were no such 
reported efforts over the reporting period.     Penalties 
prescribed for trafficking offenses of five years, 
imprisonment are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with 
penalties for other serious crimes, such as rape.  Officials 
from the Ministry of Labor periodically inspect workplaces, 
and have reported no instances of forced labor of children or 
adults.  Government agencies received two reports of victims 
trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, yet made no 
efforts to proactively identify victims of trafficking among 
vulnerable populations, such as women in prostitution.  In 
the two cases reported to the Gender Affairs Directorate, two 
women were granted work permits as &entertainers8 and 
legally entered the country.  They were later forced into 
prostitution by their employers.  The Gender Affairs 
Directorate has requested a review of the immigration 
department to ascertain why officials issued work-permits to 
foreigners who were almost certain to engage in an illegal 
activity such as prostitution, whether forced or voluntary. 
Antigua and Barbuda contributes staff and other resources to 
the Regional Security Service (RSS), a coalition of top-level 
police, customs, immigration, military, and Coast Guard 
representatives from across the Caribbean addressing 
transnational crime, including human trafficking. 
 
Protection 
---------- 
The Government of Antigua and Barbuda has made strong efforts 
to offer victims medical, psychological, legal, and social 
services, although law enforcement agents frequently treat 
unidentified victims as criminals.  The Directorate of Gender 
Affairs receives funds to coordinate the work of the 
Anti-Trafficking in Persons Coalition and to provide legal, 
health, advocacy, and crisis services which all victims of 
trafficking, foreign or local, can access.  The Directorate 
established "Emergency Safe Havens," where the location of 
any victims of violence can be hidden from their victimizers, 
and recruited Spanish-speaking volunteers to assist with 
several cases of suspected abuse of foreign nationals.  Other 
NGOs provide services such as health screening and assistance 
in repatriation.  Some foreigners detained for immigration 
violations are likely trafficking victims.  There are no 
legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to 
countries where they would face hardship or retribution.  The 
government does not encourage victims to assist in the 
investigation and prosecution of trafficking crimes. 
 
Prevention 
---------- 
Despite limited resources and competing priorities, the 
Government of Antigua and Barbuda has demonstrated strong 
efforts to prevent trafficking and increase the public,s 
awareness of trafficking.  The government ran awareness 
campaigns, many in English and Spanish, in the form of 
anti-trafficking brochures and radio spots.  The National 
Coalition Against Trafficking in Persons is made up of the 
Ministries of Social Welfare, Social Transformation, Health, 
Labor and Gender Affairs, Immigration, and the Royal Antigua 
and Barbuda Police Force, as well 
as various civil society groups, NGOs, and community 
activists and advocates.  The Coalition, coordinated by the 
Directorate of Gender Affairs, meets at the end of every 
month to discuss suspected cases, formulate strategies to 
address them, and follow up with law enforcement to conduct 
investigations.  The Coalition,s national action plan 
focuses on educating immigrants, the general public, and 
front-line workers on human trafficking; establishes a 
spokesperson to represent the Coalition; combines outreach 
and protection efforts with the Gender Affairs crisis 
hotline; and creates a legislative review of anti-trafficking 
laws and statutory instruments in Antigua and Barbuda.  There 
have been no government programs to reduce demand for 
commercial sex during the reporting period.  The government 
cooperates with other Caribbean countries via the Gender 
Affairs Unit at the CARICOM Secretariat in Guyana, and 
contributes funds and personnel to the Advanced Passenger 
Information System, which allows law enforcement agencies to 
share information so suspected criminals, including human 
traffickers, will be investigated and detained at ports of 
entry.  Antigua and Barbuda has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP 
Protocol. 
 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
 
¶9. Post may wish to deliver the following points, which offer 
technical and legal background on the TIP Report process, to 
the host government as a non-paper with the above TIP Report 
country narrative: 
 
(begin non-paper) 
 
-- The U.S. Congress, through its passage of the 2000 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, as amended (TVPA), 
requires the Secretary of State to submit an annual Report to 
Congress.  The goal of this Report is to stimulate action and 
create partnerships around the world in the fight against 
modern-day slavery.  The USG approach to combating human 
trafficking follows the TVPA and the standards set forth in 
the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in 
Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementing the 
United Nations Convention against Transnational Organized 
Crime (commonly known as the "Palermo Protocol").  The TVPA 
and the Palermo Protocol recognize that this is a crime in 
which the victims, labor or services (including in the "sex 
industry") are obtained or maintained through force, fraud, 
or coercion, whether overt or through psychological 
manipulation.  While much attention has focused on 
international flows, both the TVPA and the Palermo Protocol 
focus on the exploitation of the victim, and do not require a 
showing that the victim was moved. 
 
-- Recent amendments to the TVPA removed the requirement that 
only countries with a "significant number" of trafficking 
victims be included in the Report. Beginning with the 2009 
TIP Report, countries determined to be a country of origin, 
transit, or destination for victims of severe forms of 
trafficking are included in the Report and assigned to one of 
three tiers.  Countries assessed as meeting the "minimum 
standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking" 
set forth in the TVPA are classified as Tier 1.  Countries 
assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, 
but making significant efforts to meet those minimum 
standards are classified as Tier 2.  Countries assessed as 
neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 
significant efforts to do so are classified as Tier 3. 
 
-- The TVPA also requires the Secretary of State to provide a 
"Special Watch List" to Congress later in the year. 
Anti-trafficking efforts of the countries on this list are to 
be evaluated again in an Interim Assessment that the 
Secretary of State must provide to Congress by February 1 of 
each year.  Countries are included on the "Special Watch 
List" if they move up in "tier" rankings in the annual TIP 
Report -- from 3 to 2 or from 2 to 1 ) or if they have been 
placed on the Tier 2 Watch List. 
 
-- Tier 2 Watch List consists of Tier 2 countries determined: 
(1) not to have made "increasing efforts" to combat human 
trafficking over the past year; (2) to be making significant 
efforts based on commitments of anti-trafficking reforms over 
the next year, or (3) to have a very significant number of 
trafficking victims or a significantly increasing victim 
population.  As indicated in reftel B, the TVPRA of 2008 
contains a provision requiring that a country that has been 
included on Tier 2 Watch List for two consecutive years after 
the date of enactment of the TVPRA of 2008 be ranked as Tier 
¶3.  Thus, any automatic downgrade to Tier 3 pursuant to this 
provision would take place, at the earliest, in the 2011 TIP 
Report (i.e., a country would have to be ranked Tier 2 Watch 
List in the 2009 and 2010 Reports before being subject to 
Tier 3 in the 2011 Report).  The new law allows for a waiver 
of this provision for up to two additional years upon a 
determination by the President that the country has developed 
and devoted sufficient resources to a written plan to make 
significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the 
minimum standards. 
 
-- Countries classified as Tier 3 may be subject to statutory 
restrictions for the subsequent fiscal year on 
non-humanitarian and non-trade-related foreign assistance 
and, in some circumstances, withholding of funding for 
participation by government officials or employees in 
educational and cultural exchange programs.   In addition, 
the President could instruct the U.S. executive directors to 
international financial institutions to oppose loans or other 
utilization of funds (other than for humanitarian, 
trade-related or certain types of development assistance) 
with respect to countries on Tier 3.  Countries classified as 
Tier 3 that take strong action within 90 days of the Report's 
release to show significant efforts against trafficking in 
persons, and thereby warrant a reassessment of their Tier 
classification, would avoid such sanctions.  Guidelines for 
such actions are in the DOS-crafted action plans to be shared 
by Posts with host governments. 
 
-- The 2009 TIP Report, issuing as it does in the midst of 
the global financial crisis, highlights high levels of 
trafficking for forced labor in many parts of the world and 
systemic contributing factors to this phenomenon:  fraudulent 
recruitment practices and excessive recruiting fees in 
workers, home countries; the lack of adequate labor 
protections in both sending and receiving countries; and the 
flawed design of some destination countries, "sponsorship 
systems" that do not give foreign workers adequate legal 
recourse when faced with conditions of forced labor.  As the 
May 2009 ILO Global Report on Forced Labor concluded, forced 
labor victims suffer approximately $20 billion in losses, and 
traffickers, profits are estimated at $31 billion.  The 
current global financial crisis threatens to increase the 
number of victims of forced labor and increase the associated 
"cost of coercion." 
 
-- The text of the TVPA and amendments can be found on 
website www.state.gov/g/tip. 
 
-- On June 16, 2009, the Secretary of State will release the 
ninth annual TIP Report in a public event at the State 
Department.  We are providing you an advance copy of your 
country's narrative in that report.  Please keep this 
information embargoed until 10:00 am Washington DC time June 
¶16.  The State Department will also hold a general briefing 
for officials of foreign embassies in Washington DC on June 
17 at 3:30 pm EDT. 
 
(end non-paper) 
 
¶10. Posts should make sure that the relevant country 
narrative is readily available on or though the Mission's web 
page in English and appropriate local language(s) as soon as 
possible after the TIP Report is released.  Funding for 
translation costs will be handled as it was for the Human 
Rights Report.  Posts needing financial assistance for 
translation costs should contact their regional bureau,s EX 
office. 
 
¶11. The following is press guidance provided for Post to use 
with local media. 
 
Q1.  Why is Antigua and Barbuda included in the Report this 
year?  Why was it given a ranking of Tier 2? 
 
¶A.  Antigua and Barbuda was placed on the TIP Report because 
there is evidence that it is a country of origin, transit, or 
destination for victims of severe forms of trafficking. 
Antigua and Barbuda was placed on Tier 2 because it does not 
fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination 
of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to 
do so.  Despite limited resources, competing priorities, and 
a relatively small number of victims, the Government of 
Antigua and Barbuda investigated identified incidences of 
trafficking, cooperated with other Caribbean governments on 
trafficking issues, ensured victims, access to social 
services, and conducted bi-lingual public awareness 
campaigns.  No trafficking offenders, however, have been 
arrested or prosecuted, and law enforcement agencies continue 
to treat victims as criminals. 
 
Q2.  What is the trafficking problem in Antigua and Barbuda? 
 
A: Antigua and Barbuda is a destination country for women 
trafficked from Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, and the Dominican 
Republic for the purposes of sexual exploitation; it may also 
be a destination country for women trafficked for the 
purposes of forced domestic servitude.  Well-financed 
businessmen from the Dominican Republic and Antiguan citizens 
acting as pimps and brothel owners traffic women into the 
four main, illegal brothels that operate in Antigua, and 
private residences that operate as brothels.  Women 
voluntarily came to Antigua to engage in prostitution; 
brothel managers later confiscate their passports and 
threaten the women with deportation until they repay the 
brothel owner for travel and other expenses. 
 
Q3.  How can Antigua and Barbuda improve its anti-trafficking 
efforts?? 
 
A:  The Government of Antigua and Barbuda could:  develop and 
implement a comprehensive anti-human trafficking law; arrest, 
prosecute, and punish trafficking offenders; proactively 
identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations 
such as foreign women in prostitution and as domestic 
servants; provide foreign victims legal alternatives to 
removal to countries where they may face hardship and 
retribution. 
 
¶12. The Department appreciates posts, assistance with the 
preceding action requests. 
CLINTON