VZCZCXYZ0000
RR RUEHWEB

DE RUEHWN #0529/01 2432106
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 312106Z AUG 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO SECSTATE WASHDC 7726

UNCLAS BRIDGETOWN 000529 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR AND G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958:  N/A 
TAGS: KTIP PHUM EAID PREL XL
SUBJECT: St. Vincent Eager to Cooperate on Anti-TIP Measures 
 
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Summary 
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¶1. The Office to Counter Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) consultant's 
August 24-27 meetings with Vincentian government (GOSVG) and NGO 
representatives revealed receptiveness to further anti-TIP 
cooperation, from expanded legislation beyond the Organization for 
Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) model currently under review, to 
police training and public awareness campaigns.  Despite the GOSVG's 
negative reaction to G/TIP's watch-list ranking, government 
interlocutors, including Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves, vowed to 
cooperate with the USG in an effort to take a proactive approach to 
tackling TIP, to include developing measures to ensure that proper 
mechanisms are in place to respond to reports of trafficking.  End 
Summary. 
 
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Moving Forward, Quickly 
----------------------- 
 
¶2. G/TIP consultant and PolOff's three-hour meeting with PM Ralph 
Gonsalves resulted in a positive affirmation that, while the GOSVG 
was taken aback by the Tier 2 Watchlist ranking in the 2008 TIP 
Report, the government is willing to cooperate fully on any anti-TIP 
activities deemed productive by the USG.  Gonsalves did not hide his 
frustration regarding the Report's ranking, questioning the 
Department's investigation techniques and bashing the USG for 
publicizing its findings without prior consultation with the GOSVG. 
He further recounted repeatedly his discussions, following the 
Report's release, with the Charge d'Affaires and A/S Shannon, 
referring also to his letter to the Secretary which he circulated 
throughout the UN General Assembly.  Beyond his apparent angst, 
however, the PM, who was accompanied by his National Security 
Advisor and former party leader, Sir Vincent Beache, said the GOSVG 
was ready to move forward with any technical and other assistance 
that could be provided.  The PM was especially open to the idea of 
tailoring and expanding current laws to deal with TIP, to ensure 
proper mechanisms would be in place should any cases of TIP arise. 
 
 
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No Reports, but Possibilities 
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¶3. All other government interlocutors, including the Police 
Commissioner's office, Public Prosecutor, Immigration department, 
and most NGOs, claimed that no evidence of TIP had ever formally 
surfaced in St. Vincent, nor had any cases been brought to the 
attention of the GOSVG.  Despite the absence of TIP cases, all 
agreed that a better understanding of the definition of trafficking 
is needed, and that future public discussions could benefit that 
understanding -- in fact, most of the contacts we met with were 
unaware of definitions of TIP beyond transnational prostitution. 
NGO and GOSVG representatives alike also believed that preventative 
measures should be put in place to thwart potential future TIP 
activities.  The Ministry of National Mobilization went so far as to 
read aloud its official four-point position, reiterating its 
willingness to take a proactive approach and cooperate with other 
countries to fight TIP effectively. 
 
¶4. As G/TIP consultant and PolOff clarified the broader definition 
of TIP to include domestic charges, and the potentiality of cases 
due to the lack of proper legislation and awareness, police and 
intelligence officials began to identify possible cases.  In 
particular, one officer noted, a recent drug raid revealed that 
minors may have been forced into the production of cannabis, using 
impoverished teenagers to cart electric generators and fuel to 
production sites in the island's mountainous interior.  The Police 
Commissioner was quick to point out, however, that such claims could 
have been made by defendants hoping to avoid prosecution by claiming 
they had been trafficked.  According to the Police Commissioner's 
office, no further investigations or interviews were conducted in 
that case to ascertain whether the minors were actually victims of 
TIP -- and no prosecutions were undertaken. 
 
¶5. Separately, the Human Rights Association (HRA) NGO claimed that 
women from other countries (most notably Costa Rica) had been 
brought into St. Vincent under false pretences to work in the sex 
industry there.  The NGO also alleged that the women had their 
passports seized.  Additionally, HRA maintained that cases of 
parents exploiting their own children for sex as a means of income 
had been seen in the courts, but were brought to court as rape 
charges vice trafficking cases.  Although these allegations were not 
corroborated by the Attorney General's Chambers, police, or 
Immigration, HRA did vow to tabulate cases brought to court for USG 
review.  Given such supposed occurrences, HRA agreed that more TIP 
awareness was needed and advised that, should training occur, the 
OECS Secretariat and Judicial Education Institute -- both located in 
nearby St. Lucia -- should be included.  In-country seminars, held 
as town halls and on the radio, and police training were other 
possible areas highlighted by the NGO. 
 
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Reviewing Legislation 
--------------------- 
 
¶6. Legislative Consultant to the Attorney General Peter Purseglove 
(a UK national who works under contract for the GOSVG) said that the 
Attorney General's Chambers is currently reviewing the OECS model 
legislation on Human Trafficking, in addition to the UN's 
Transnational Crime Convention (aka Palermo Protocol).  He seemed 
confident that the Palermo Protocol would be ratified by the end of 
¶2009.  Purseglove believed that further tailoring of the OECS model 
to St. Vincent's situation would be required, and appeared amenable 
to future cooperation with the USG on the drafting of TIP-specific 
legislation.  Public Prosecutions Director R. Colin Williams agreed 
separately that legislation has to be dynamic, and was certain that 
the GOSVG as a whole would concur.  In an earlier meeting, Acting 
Chief Immigration Officer Beverly Walker alluded to the importance 
of having anti-TIP legislation harmonized throughout the region, to 
ensure that those deported by St. Vincent would not be able to evade 
prosecution elsewhere. 
 
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Comment: Receptivity Abounds 
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¶7. Each meeting confirmed that anti-TIP cooperation would be 
welcomed by the GOSVG and NGOs alike.  All hoped that such 
cooperation could be quickly forthcoming, and that the USG would do 
more to help guide its anti-TIP-related contacts on what actions 
should be taken should cases emerge.  On the basis of these 
discussions, there are a number of areas for cooperation that appear 
ripe for exploration, from police training and legislation drafting, 
to education and public awareness.  Post will follow up on the 
claims made by the Human Rights Association and include, as 
appropriate, its findings within the 2009 Report.  End Comment.