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Ja faces heavy US sanctions - Island gets tier 3 rating in Human Trafficking Report
published: Saturday | June 4, 2005
Andrea Downer, Gleaner Writer
Genevieve Cowger, media coordinator, United States Embassy Office of Public Affairs in Kingston. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor
JAMAICA COULD be banned from receiving non-humanitarian and non-trade related assistance from the United States as of October this year.
This following a tier 3 rating given to the island by the U.S. State Department in its annual Human Trafficking Report that was released yesterday.
Minister of Health, John Junor was predictably upset at the report, describing the findings as harsh.
"There is no overwhelming evidence to warrant that ranking, no tangible evidence. The issue needs to be revisited," Mr. Junor said.
He added that the document lacked the data required to substantiate Jamaica's placement.
COULD LAST FOR A YEAR
If implemented, the sanctions could last for a year. In addition, the United States could encourage international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks including the World Bank, to withhold similar assistance from Jamaica for the same period.
Last year, Jamaica was placed on a tier 2 Watch List, one rank above the lowest tier.
In arriving at its decision, the U.S. looked at the Jamaican Government's efforts to combat human trafficking by prosecuting persons involved in the trade; protecting child trafficking victims and preventing the activity over the past year.
The U.S. State Department said the Jamaican Government did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.
The U.S. defines trafficking in persons as a modern-day slavery and estimates that close to one million people, mostly women and children are trafficked across borders and within countries.
The report states that Jamaican officials failed to undertake any significant efforts to arrest and prosecute traffickers who target children. It also says the 2004 Child Care and Protection Act does not address the problem of human trafficking in sufficient depth.
Subsection 10 of the Act prohibits the sale or trafficking of any child and stipulates that anyone convicted for the offence faces a fine to be determined by the court and or a prison term not exceeding 10 years.
The report states that there were no reported trafficking-specific investigations, arrests, prosecutions, or convictions over the past year. It also says the Jamaican government has no formal policy for protecting child trafficking victims.
Jamaica's tier 3 rating puts it at the bottom of the pile with countries such as Cuba, Cambodia, Kuwait and Sudan.
Genevieve Cowger, Media Co-ordinator in the Office of Public Affairs at the United States Embassy in Kingston, said the aim of the sanctions is to spur action that will deter or eliminate human trafficking and is not intended to punish.
She said the four months before the sanctions became effective is a review period during which the U.S. President can waive the sanction under certain conditions.
And Betty-Ann Blaine, Convenor for children's advocacy group, Hear The Children's Cry, said she is disappointed that Jamaica has been downgraded. " I expected that we would have at least maintained our tier 2 Watch List status," she stated. She said most Jamaicans knew nothing about human trafficking and the one year since the passage of the child care law was not enough to change that lack of awareness.
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published: Saturday | June 4, 2005
Andrea Downer, Gleaner Writer
Genevieve Cowger, media coordinator, United States Embassy Office of Public Affairs in Kingston. - Andrew Smith/Photography Editor
JAMAICA COULD be banned from receiving non-humanitarian and non-trade related assistance from the United States as of October this year.
This following a tier 3 rating given to the island by the U.S. State Department in its annual Human Trafficking Report that was released yesterday.
Minister of Health, John Junor was predictably upset at the report, describing the findings as harsh.
"There is no overwhelming evidence to warrant that ranking, no tangible evidence. The issue needs to be revisited," Mr. Junor said.
He added that the document lacked the data required to substantiate Jamaica's placement.
COULD LAST FOR A YEAR
If implemented, the sanctions could last for a year. In addition, the United States could encourage international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and multilateral development banks including the World Bank, to withhold similar assistance from Jamaica for the same period.
Last year, Jamaica was placed on a tier 2 Watch List, one rank above the lowest tier.
In arriving at its decision, the U.S. looked at the Jamaican Government's efforts to combat human trafficking by prosecuting persons involved in the trade; protecting child trafficking victims and preventing the activity over the past year.
The U.S. State Department said the Jamaican Government did not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so.
The U.S. defines trafficking in persons as a modern-day slavery and estimates that close to one million people, mostly women and children are trafficked across borders and within countries.
The report states that Jamaican officials failed to undertake any significant efforts to arrest and prosecute traffickers who target children. It also says the 2004 Child Care and Protection Act does not address the problem of human trafficking in sufficient depth.
Subsection 10 of the Act prohibits the sale or trafficking of any child and stipulates that anyone convicted for the offence faces a fine to be determined by the court and or a prison term not exceeding 10 years.
The report states that there were no reported trafficking-specific investigations, arrests, prosecutions, or convictions over the past year. It also says the Jamaican government has no formal policy for protecting child trafficking victims.
Jamaica's tier 3 rating puts it at the bottom of the pile with countries such as Cuba, Cambodia, Kuwait and Sudan.
Genevieve Cowger, Media Co-ordinator in the Office of Public Affairs at the United States Embassy in Kingston, said the aim of the sanctions is to spur action that will deter or eliminate human trafficking and is not intended to punish.
She said the four months before the sanctions became effective is a review period during which the U.S. President can waive the sanction under certain conditions.
And Betty-Ann Blaine, Convenor for children's advocacy group, Hear The Children's Cry, said she is disappointed that Jamaica has been downgraded. " I expected that we would have at least maintained our tier 2 Watch List status," she stated. She said most Jamaicans knew nothing about human trafficking and the one year since the passage of the child care law was not enough to change that lack of awareness.
More Lead Stories
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