trafficking in persons report (two tier 3 countries)

[Bacchus39]

http://www.cnn.com/interactive/2011/06/world/table.trafficking.report/

see map


actual report

http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2011/164233.htm

Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Venezuelan women and girls are found in conditions of sex trafficking within the country, lured from poor interior regions to urban and tourist centers, such as Caracas, Maracaibo, and Margarita Island. Victims are often recruited through false job offers. To a lesser extent, Brazilian women and Colombian women are subjected to forced prostitution in Venezuela. Some Venezuelan children are forced to work as street beggars or as domestic servants. Some Venezuelan women are transported from coastal areas by small boats to Caribbean islands, particularly Aruba, Curacao and Trinidad & Tobago, where they are subjected to forced prostitution. Organized crime is widely believed to be involved in sex trafficking in Venezuela. Venezuela is a transit country for men, women, and children from neighboring countries, such as Colombia, as well as a destination for migrants from China, who may be subjected to commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor in Venezuela.

The Government of Venezuela does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and has been placed on Tier 2 Watch for the last four consecutive years. Therefore, pursuant to Section 107 of the 2008 Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act, Venezuela is deemed not to be making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards and is placed on Tier 3. According to the public ministry’s website, the government investigated potential cases of suspected human trafficking and arrested at least 12 people for trafficking crimes during the reporting period; however, there was no further publicly available information regarding those cases. Authorities maintained public awareness initiatives but did not implement formal procedures for identifying trafficking victims or provide victims with specialized care or services. The government drafted a comprehensive bill that would prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, but did not enhance its interagency efforts to combat trafficking. The Government of Venezuela did not provide information on its efforts to combat human trafficking for this report, and there were no official statistics or comprehensive data on the extent and nature of the trafficking problem in Venezuela.

CUBA (Tier 3)

Cuba is a source country for adults and some children subjected to forced labor and sex trafficking. Some Cuban medical professionals assigned to work abroad have claimed that their passports were retained as a means of keeping them in a state of exploitation, thus preventing them from traveling freely. Prostitution of children reportedly occurs in Cuba as prostitution is not criminalized for anyone above 16 years old. The scope of trafficking within Cuba is particularly difficult to gauge due to the closed nature of the government and sparse non-governmental or independent reporting.

The Government of Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. The government did not publicize information about government measures to address human trafficking through prosecution, protection, or prevention efforts during the reporting period.

Recommendations for Cuba: Investigate reports of involuntary labor of Cuban citizens; in partnership with trafficking victim specialists, ensure adults and children have access to specialized trafficking victim protection and assistance; take measures to ensure identified sex and labor trafficking victims are not punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked; and publicize measures to address human trafficking through prosecution, protection, or prevention efforts.

[bemildred]

1. Bizarre: Iceland is tier 3 and Colombia is tier 1 and Mexico is tier 2.

It's like they threw darts, and then recolored the ones State has issues with.

[Bacchus39]

2. Iceland is tier 2, not sure what you are looking at n/t

l

[bemildred]

3. I was looking at the map, I thought it was the same color as Russia etc.

I suppose that's my colorblindness, since the table says it's two, not three.

[Bacchus39]

4. ok, still surprising though really. but I suggest reading the report for specific countries and

not just look at the map.

[bemildred]

5. I'm sorry, I have more important things to read than State Dept. twaddle.

They are full of shit morning, noon, and night, it's their job. I have no doubt that human trafficing, in the sense of forced prostitution, is a large global problem, but I doubt that the US Dept. of State gives a shit about the facts of the case, they are all about politics and expediency.

[Bacchus39]

6. Venezuela's endeavors against human trafficking deemed insufficient

http://english.eluniversal.com/2011/06/28/venezuelas-endeavors-against-human-trafficking-deemed-insufficient.shtml

Venezuela, Cuba, Iran, North Korea and Saudi Arabia are among the countries that do not make "significant efforts" to combat human trafficking, according to an annual report released on Monday by the US Department of State.

US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton released the "2011 Trafficking in Persons Report," where 184 countries are examined, including the United States. In the paper it is stated that as many as 27 million people might be living in slavery throughout the world, Efe reported.

The US Department of State estimated that 100,000 out of that total live in the United States, where they are taken under false promises of a better life.

"Trafficking is not just a problem of human bondage. It fuels the epidemic of gender-based violence," Clinton said. She added that human trafficking unfortunately hurts women and girls "disproportionately."