VZCZCXRO3977
RR RUEHGR
DE RUEHWN #0686/01 3021835
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
R 291835Z OCT 09
FM AMEMBASSY BRIDGETOWN
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC 7940
INFO RUCNCOM/EC CARICOM COLLECTIVE

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 BRIDGETOWN 000686 
 
SENSITIVE 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR WHA/CAR; 
DEPT ALSO FOR INL; G/TIP 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: PHUM KCRM KTIP KWMN PGOV SMIG XL
SUBJECT: 2009 TIP REPORT INTERIM ASSESSMENT: ST. VINCENT 
AND THE GRENADINES 
 
REF: A. STATE 110433 
     ¶B. BRIDGETOWN 529 
 
¶1. (SBU) Since being placed on the Tier 2 Watchlist, the 
Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines (GOSVG) has 
worked cooperatively with the Embassy to ensure that the 
country addresses the perceived weaknesses that landed it on 
that list.  Prime Minister Ralph Gonsalves spoke to the 
Charge and Assistant Secretary Shannon and wrote to the 
Secretary immediately following the release of the TIP 
Report, questioning the factual basis and conclusions of the 
report, but also affirming a willingness to work with the USG 
to strengthen his government's ability to prevent TIP.  In 
this regard, the GOSVG has requested assistance from G/TIP on 
areas of concern to that office.  In August, a G/TIP 
consultant and poloff met with GOSVG officials and local NGO 
representatives in St. Vincent, and found all interlocutors 
to be receptive on the possibility of receiving USG 
assistance for, inter alia, police training, legislative 
drafting and public awareness campaigns (Ref B). 
 
------------------ 
Interim Assessment 
------------------ 
 
¶2. (SBU) Responses below are keyed to questions in Ref A: 
 
 
A:  Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the 
Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has made in 
developing and implementing a comprehensive anti-trafficking 
law: 
 
The St. Vincent and the Grenadines (SVG) Attorney General's 
Chamber's legislative consultant, Peter Purseglove, told the 
G/TIP consultant and poloff in an August meeting that the 
GOSVG is open to developing a comprehensive anti-trafficking 
law to build upon the trafficking-related laws already in 
place.  The GOSVG hopes to ratify the Palermo Protocol by the 
end of 2009, he added.  In separate meetings with the G/TIP 
consultant and poloff, PM Gonsalves and Director of Public 
Prosecutions R. Colin Williams both requested assistance from 
the USG to draft appropriate and adequate legislation. 
 
B:  Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the 
Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has made in 
investigating allegations of the commercial sexual 
exploitation of children: 
 
The SVG Ministry of Mobilization and Social Development, as 
well as police officials and the Director of Public 
Prosecutions, claimed that allegations made to date had 
proven to be baseless, as no cases had been brought to the 
police or other government bodies.  Vincentian-based NGOs 
concurred with this assessment.  Nevertheless, government and 
NGO entities alike thought that public awareness campaigns 
and police training would be useful -- in addition to 
instituting a comprehensive anti-trafficking law -- to thwart 
potential future cases. 
 
C:  Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the 
Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has made in 
utilizing existing legal statutes to prosecute cases of women 
or children forced into commercial sexual exploitation: 
 
Police officials were aware of only one such case during the 
August visit with the G/TIP consultant.  That case involved 
the possible forced labor of minor(s) in cannabis 
production.  Police officials speculated that the minor(s) in 
question may have purported to be exploited to avoid being 
charged with drug-related offenses, a proposition we believe 
is plausible.  More recently, the Director of Public 
Prosecutions and police officials contacted the Embassy's 
Political/Economic Section and LEGATT, respectively and 
separately, to proactively inform the Embassy of an incident 
in which a number of women (mainly from the Dominican 
Republic) had attempted to exit SVG bound for the British 
Virgin Islands without SVG entry stamps in their passports. 
That incident, along with a request for assistance in 
conducting a thorough investigation, was relayed to G/TIP 
immediately, noting that such cases exemplify the need to 
move forward with training, technical and other assistance to 
help SVG deal with potential TIP-related issues.  LEGATT is 
unable to assist in the case due to the absence of a U.S. 
connection to either the suspect or the alleged victims; 
G/TIP has provided a toll-free number for victims, 
assistance to relay to the GOSVG.  The GOSVG is unlikely to 
be able to successfully investigate this case without 
 
BRIDGETOWN 00000686  002 OF 002 
 
 
substantial law enforcement assistance from the U.S. or 
another competent partner. 
 
D:  Please summarize the progress, or lack thereof, the 
Government of St. Vincent and the Grenadines has made in 
providing protective services to children rescued from 
commercial sexual exploitation: 
 
SVG has two centers for at-risk children that cater to boys 
and girls separately.  One such center, the Liberty Lodge 
Training Center for At-risk Boys, is currently receiving 
USAID assistance, and is in the process of applying for an 
Embassy grant to refurbish its deteriorating facilities. 
Both the Liberty Lodge and the Guadeloupe Center for At-risk 
Girls fall under the purview of the SVG Ministry of 
Mobilization and Social Development and receive GOSVG 
funding.  There are also local Catholic and Anglican Church 
groups that provide ad hoc assistance. 
 
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Comment 
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¶3.  (SBU) The GOSVG has responded vigorously to the Tier II 
Watchlisting, and has made the most senior levels of the 
government available to us.  They have indicated a 
willingness to draft adequate counter-TIP legislation and 
have made serious efforts both to investigate TIP allegations 
and improve assistance to TIP victims.  However, the 
Government lacks the resources to make significant progress 
alone.  The Embassy is currently awaiting a response from 
G/TIP to the findings of the G/TIP contractor,s report, as 
well as to the GOSVG,s requests for legislative drafting 
assistance and investigative assistance on potential G/TIP 
cases that may be uncovered in the future. 
HARDT