By KHRISNA VIRIGIL

Tribune Staff Reporter

kvirgil@tribunemedia.net

THE Bahamas has been listed as a tier one country in the United States’ 2015 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, an improvement on its tier two ranking in 2014.

According to the newly released State Department report, the Bahamas government has fully complied with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

“The government successfully convicted one trafficker and sentenced two traffickers from previous convictions in 2014,” the 2015 TIP report read, “initiated three new prosecutions, adopted a four-year national anti-trafficking strategy and action plan, provided anti-trafficking training to officials, and continued to implement a victim-centred assistance protocol for identified trafficking victims.

“Victim identification among vulnerable populations in the country remained low, and the government identified no potential Bahamian victims.”

However, migrant workers who arrive in the country for domestic labour and children born to foreign parents who do not automatically receive Bahamian citizenship remain the group most vulnerable to trafficking.

This also includes girls exploited in prostitution,and foreign nationals in prostitution and exotic dancing. Traffickers lure victims, the report said, with false promises and fraudulent recruitment practices, and maintain victims in sex trafficking and forced labour by confiscating passports and restricting movements.

With the new tier one ranking, US Chargé d’Affaires Lisa Johnson commended the government for its efforts to strengthen anti-trafficking law enforcement, protect trafficking victims and inform the public and potential victims about trafficking. 

She said the US Embassy remained committed to assisting its Bahamian partners to further increase efforts to prosecute, convict and appropriately punish traffickers; identify and protect victims of sex and labour trafficking; and educate the public and government officials about human trafficking and its manifestations in the Bahamas.

Last night, the government welcomed the improved ranking, saying “the commitment of the Bahamas in fighting modern day slavery should not be in doubt.”

Despite the higher ranking, the report listed several recommendations to ensure trafficking in persons does not increase.

The 2015 report urged the government to increase efforts to prosecute, convict and appropriately punish traffickers, increase efforts to identify victims of sex and labour trafficking, especially among the young, by implementing victim identification and referral protocol among other things.

The report listed additional recommendations: “Provide all identified victims with adequate protection and assistance; continue to implement protocols to take potential trafficking victims to a safe location while conducting victim identification interviews, as victims often first appear as immigration or prostitution violators and are reluctant to disclose details of their exploitation in a detention or post-raid environment.

“Involve independent interpreters when conducting inspections of migrant worker labour sites, and conduct private interviews of workers; continue to build partnerships with NGOs (non-governmental organisations) to increase grassroots outreach with potential trafficking victims among vulnerable groups; and continue development of a nationwide public awareness campaign to educate the public and officials about human trafficking, as distinct from human smuggling, and its manifestations in the Bahamas,” the report said.

Last year’s TIP report praised the country’s first trafficking conviction while the Bahamas retained its tier Two ranking. The Bahamas was upgraded to tier two status having been listed as a tier two watch country since 2011.

The 2014 report highlighted anecdotal reports of non-migrant US and Chinese workers, who had their passports taken and access restricted, also adding that migrant workers, particularly Haitians, were vulnerable to involuntary servitude in the Bahamas.