PRESS RELEASE – THE Department of Home Affairs and National Security is encouraged that the island has been upgraded from the Trafficking in Persons Tier Two Watch List where it was placed last year, 2016, by the State Department of the United States of America.
On June 27, 2017, the Secretary of State within the State Department, Rex W. Tillerson, released the seventeenth annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The Secretary of State is mandated to submit an annual report to Congress. The goal of this report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around the world in the fight against modern slavery.
The Department of Home Affairs and National Security leads a Cabinet–approved national task force for the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons consisting of relevant agencies and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in implementing the national action plan.
The 2017 Trafficking In Persons Report assesses the anti-trafficking efforts of 187 governments, including the United States. Countries that fully meet the minimum standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 as amended are classified as Tier One.
Countries assessed as not fully meeting the minimum standards, but making significant efforts to meet them, are classified as Tier Two. Countries assessed as neither meeting the minimum standards nor making significant efforts to meet them are classified as Tier Three.
The title of this year’s TIP Report is “Enhancing Criminal Accountability and Addressing Challenges in Prosecution Efforts.”