Jamaica rejects U.S. report on human trafficking

The report, released on Wednesday by the U.S. State Department, kept Jamaica on its Tier Two Watch List for a second straight year.

It said that the government failed to demonstrate evidence that it increased overall anti- trafficking efforts compared to the previous period.

According to the report, the ranking means that Jamaica does not comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however it is making significant efforts to do so.

The report labeled Jamaica as a source and destination country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labour.

It voiced concern that the government did not convict any traffickers for the sixth consecutive year, including officials complicit in human trafficking.

“While the Jamaican government identified more adult trafficking victims over the past year, it only identified one child victim compared with the high number of children vulnerable to both sex trafficking and forced labour,’’ it added.

The Jamaican government expressed deep disappointment in response, insisting that the country made positive steps to combat human trafficking in the past year.

It noted that the steps include naming a National Trafficking in Persons Rapporteur, raising public awareness, and concluding a trafficking case at the Supreme Court, among others.

“The negative inference therefore seems to be derived from conjecture rather than being evidence-based, which is a recurring feature of the Report,’’ the statement said.

Jamaican Justice Minister, Mark Golding, also said that significant work had been done since 2014 which the U.S. report did not fairly acknowledge and that his government was already in discussion with the U.S. over the report.

The minister said the report is important because of the assistance Jamaica gets from the U.S.

According to Golding, if the country remains on the Tier Two Watch list for a third straight year, it could trigger U.S. laws which would restrict certain assistance to Jamaica.