OFFICIALS from the Department of Home Affairs represented the island at the Seventh Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking In Persons on February 5 and 6, 2024, in Washington D.C.
The meeting, convened at the OAS Headquarters, took place under the chairmanship of Cindy Dyer Ambassador-at-large, to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,of U.S. Department of State. This international forum not only explored priorities to prevent and combat Human Trafficking but also identified best practices in dealing with this heinous crime.
Plenary sessions discussed a number of issues including: the use of technology to recruit and exploit victims and to prevent human trafficking, the impact of environmental changes on vulnerability to trafficking in persons, money laundering as a vector of human trafficking and links between trafficking in persons and other forms of transnational organised crime.
Saint Lucia’s delegation comprised the Permanent Secretary in the Department of Home Affairs Dr. Elizabeth Bailey and Legal Consultant Ms. Charlotte Tessa Mangal. Dr. Bailey indicated that member states including Saint Lucia shared on the progress of their national Trafficking in persons programmes.
“Saint Lucia’s intervention at the meeting sought to provide insight in the work of the TIP Taskforce, role and function of all stakeholder organisations in dealing with trafficking cases and the coordination of efforts. Saint Lucia’s progressive steps in to amending the legislation to provide stricter penalties and the progress of cases currently before the Courts. Essentially, we sought to briefly capture national achievements in the areas of prevention, prosecution, and to also speak to the support services available for survivors of this crime whilst also indicating that there was need for support technical and otherwise,” Dr Bailey said.
Dr. Bailey noted that Saint Lucia will continue to partner with the Organization of American States (OAS) in strengthening mechanisms to combat the crime of Human Trafficking via a new project which will be launched in the first quarter of 2024. This project will be pivotal to contributing to the Prevention of Sexual Violence against Migrant Women and Girls in the Americas and the Caribbean region.
The 7th Meeting of National Authorities on Trafficking In Persons brought together 27 member states from the Americas and Caribbean region.