CARICOM IMPACS hosts human trafficking course

Earlier this week the Detention, Investigation and Prosecution of Trafficking in Persons course, hosted by the CARICOM Implemen-tation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS), got under way at the Barbados Defence Force (BDF) Headquarters.

The course, which features facilitators from the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), Interpol, the International Organisation for Migration (IOM) along with regional represen-tation, will seek to align Barbados with the international standards and requirements regarding the policing of human trafficking. Taking part in the course at the BDF are the Barbados Coast Guard, the Royal Barbados Police Force, Her Majesty’s Prison, the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions, the Office of the Attorney General as well as the Barbados Immigration Department and Customs.

Barbados is ranked by the United States Department of State as a Tier 2 country on the trafficking persons report from 2019. Tier 2 Countries are those whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), but are making signif-icant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. Executive Director (Ag.) of CARICOM IMPACS, Michael Jones, explained that the training was to work with the relevant authorities to improve the awareness of the issue with the goal of moving up to Tier 1.

“For the last couple of years, we would have been ranked on Tier 2. Essentially we want to do as best as we can to improve our rating in that regard. That is why you will see persons represented from the front line of prosecutions office, so that we can have a successful conviction of any of these instances if it presents its head,” explained Jones.

When asked about the seriousness of the issue, Jones responded that human trafficking and human smuggling was a scourge which had to be addressed, not just nationally but regionally.

“It is a scourge we have to address. While today is a national initiative, it is an issue we are going to have to address holistically, not only in terms of the representation you see here today but across the region. Because whether you identify it as an area of transit or source or destination, it then tells us that we need to work on this as a collaborative issue.”

The five-day course will discuss the legal framework of policing the problem of human trafficking, human rights, address the need for task forces to combat the problem, advance investigation techniques as well as the interview process of all parties involved. (AS)