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Belize Fails Trafficking In Persons Test, Again
Tue, June 27, 2017
The US State Department has issued its 2017 Trafficking in Persons Report - and just like the last two years, the Americans say Belize is the worst trafficking offender in Central America, and comparable only to Haiti and Suriname in the Caribbean.

According to the report - which was released yesterday - "Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor."

It adds that in tourist areas, mainly US tourists seeking child sex "exploit child sex trafficking victims." It adds that "Sex trafficking and forced labor of Belizean and foreign women and girls, primarily from Central America, occur in bars, nightclubs, brothels, and domestic service."

And, for the US, the main thing is that government is not doing anything about the problem - and more than that, the report refers 5 times to, quote, "Trafficking-related complicity by government officials, including those at high levels." And, because of all that, for the second year in a row Belize is listed in the lowest tier, that's Tier 3. The report states, quote, "The Government of Belize does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so."

Belize is the only Central American Country with this dismal ranking, and joins Haiti and Suriname as the only three Caribbean countries in Tier three.

The Report says that to get out of tier three, Belize would have to implement a number of measures, including identifying victims of sex and labor trafficking, and ensuring that trafficking victims are not "re-victimized for crimes committed as a direct result of trafficking."

The report notes that law enforcement that begin any new trafficking prosecutions in 2016, and only identified 6 persons suspected of being involved in trafficking. The report calls the effort in prosecution, "inadequate." The report notes with displeasure that quote, "government did not investigate or prosecute any public officials for alleged complicity in human trafficking-related offenses, despite reports of a significant level of official complicity."

The report adds that off-duty police officers often provide security for sex trade establishments, "which may have inhibited victims from coming forward and officers from investigating allegations of trafficking in the sex trade- particularly if made against their employers." It laments, quote, "Many women and girls, potentially including trafficking victims, were arrested, jailed, or deported for immigration violations."

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