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News : Bahamas Information Services Updates Last Updated: Feb 13, 2017 - 1:45:37 AM


Trafficking in Persons Workshop Held in The Bahamas
By Matt Maura, BIS
May 18, 2016 - 4:00:53 PM

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NASSAU, The Bahamas – The Government of The Bahamas’ decision to intensify the country’s efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute persons involved in Trafficking in Persons (TIP) continues to pay dividends for local law enforcement and national security officials.

The Government’s anti-trafficking in person’s response rests upon four main pillars: investigation and prosecutions; protection and assistance to victims and potential victims; prevention; and partnerships.

The investigation of TIP cases is led and coordinated by members of the Royal Bahamas Police Force who “work closely” with a specialized team of prosecutors from the Office of the Attorney General.

Minister of National Security the Hon. Dr. Bernard J. Nottage said at the Opening of the TIP Seminar, May 18, the Government’s response in combating the “scourge” of Trafficking in Persons since 2012 “has been deliberate, consistent and extensive.” He addressed seminar participants at the Paul Farquharson Conference Centre, Police Headquarters.

“Until recently, there was the generally-held notion that Trafficking in Persons did not exist as a problem in The Bahamas as it was confused with the large and conspicuous migrant smuggling problem in the country,” Dr. Nottage said.

“The Government, through the National Task Force (National Trafficking in Persons Task Force) has intensified its efforts to identify, investigate and prosecute trafficking in persons cases. The investigation of these cases is led and coordinated by the Royal Bahamas Police Force working closely with the specialized team of prosecutors in the Office of the Attorney General,” Dr. Nottage added.

Their efforts have borne fruit. Statistics show that during the period January 2015 to April 2016, 55 persons were interviewed as possible victims of Trafficking in Persons. Of the 55, 48 were adult females and 7 were adult males. Investigators also interviewed one female juvenile. Eleven of the persons interviewed, including the juvenile, were identified as victims of Trafficking in Persons.

Similar success has also been achieved in the prosecution of persons involved in trafficking in persons as since January 2015, five persons – including one female – were prosecuted in Magistrate’s Court with offences under the Trafficking in Persons Act and the Sexual Offences Act. These matters are ongoing before the courts.

Additionally, prosecutions have continued against three alleged traffickers in cases brought forward from the previous year.

“It is worth noting that this is the first time that a case is being prosecuted that involves a child victim,” Dr. Nottage said.

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TOP LEFT: Minister of National Security, the Hon. Dr. Bernard J. Nottage and Ms. Neda Brown, Acting Charge d' Affaires, United States Embassy, Nassau, at the TIP Workshop.TOP RIGHT: Minister of National Security, the Hon. Dr. Bernard Nottage (left) shares a quick word with Albert Moskowitz, Group Expert, the Warnath Group, Washington, D.C., and Sheila Berman, Senior Advisor on Law and Policy, Warnath Group; BOTTOM: Officials from the Department of Social Services' Child Protection Committee, Child Protection Unit and Child Care Facilities Unit, Ministry of Social Services and Community Development. (BIS Photos/Derek Smith)

Dr. Nottage stated, as he launched two days of workshops, research shows that the crime of Trafficking in Persons is a major problem that affects virtually every global country either as a source, transit point or destination.

The Workshop is conducted by officials from the United States of America’s Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, Washington, D.C. in conjunction with the Ministry of National Security.

“It is estimated that each year, hundreds of thousands of men, women and children become victims of traffickers who violate their human rights and dignity by exploiting them and forcing them to work under inhumane conditions or engage in commercial sexual activity for the financial gain of another,” Dr. Nottage said.

Statistics provided by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) in its 2014 Global Report on Trafficking in Persons, indicate that 49 per cent of detected victims of trafficking in persons are adult women, while 33 per cent of detected victims are children. The statistics further show that 72 per cent of convicted traffickers are men, and 28 per cent women.

“Trafficking in Persons is a transnational crime that often involves domestic offenders and limited geographical reach,” Dr. Nottage said. “Most victims are foreign nationals in the country where they are identified as victims. However, many trafficking cases involve limited geographical movement, as they tend to take place within the region and often between bordering countries.

“Domestic trafficking, is also widely detected and for one in three trafficking cases, the exploitation takes place in the victim’s home country.”

Dr. Nottage said the geography of The Bahamas renders the country vulnerable to Trafficking in Persons both as a transit and destination country.

He said the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention and Suppression) Act (TIP Act) 2008, plays a pivotal role in the Government’s anti-trafficking in persons response. The Act not only provides for specific responses to be carried out by the Minister of National Security, but also provides specific roles for the Minister of Social Services and Community Development, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and Immigration.

To ensure the implementation of the provisions of the Act, the Government established both an Inter-Ministry Committee on Trafficking in Persons and a National Trafficking in Persons Task Force.

The Inter-Ministry Committee comprises senior government officials from a cross-section of disciplines in the various government ministries and agencies concerned with matters related to Trafficking in Persons and serves primarily as a coordinating body for policy matters relative to Trafficking in Persons.

The National Trafficking in Persons Task Force, on the other hand, comprises persons from a range of government ministries and agencies (police, prosecutions, immigration, health, social services, labour and education and training), non-governmental organizations (NGOs), civil organizations such as the Bahamas Red Cross Society and The Crisis Centre and local, faith-based organizations (FBOs) that have the expertise necessary to provide the kind of assistance required of victims of Trafficking in Persons and potential victims.

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