The government of the United States of America says it is “encouraged” by Trinidad and Tobago’s first human trafficking conviction.
Last week, Minister of National Security Fitzgerald Hinds revealed that the country had convicted Anthony Michael Smith of human trafficking.
Smith, who was accused of forcing a 16-year-old local girl into prostitution, became the first person to be convicted of the offence in the country.
However, Smith absconded during the trial after breaking free of his electronic monitoring bracelet and remains on the run. While Hinds admitted this was an unfortunate scenario, he said he hoped the US would recognise T&T’s efforts at eradicating human trafficking.
The US Department of State had put this country on its Tier 2 Watch List in its 2022 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, due to a lack of human trafficking convictions.
Contacted for comment on this latest development yesterday, a US Embassy spokesperson said, “The US government is encouraged by Trinidad and Tobago’s first human trafficking conviction. We appreciate the efforts of the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, civil society, survivors, and family members involved in this case, as we continue to work together to combat human trafficking, which is modern slavery.”
The US Embassy was also asked for a comment on Smith’s escape from law enforcement, but that was not answered.
How the US perceives this country’s first-ever human trafficking conviction seems to be of particular importance to Hinds, who, on making the announcement of Smith’s conviction last week, said he hoped this would have some impact on the Tier 2 status T&T has been tagged with.
At the start of the media briefing, Hinds said, “One of the issues that has been responsible for that ranking was the suggestion that we have not yet had a successful prosecution, meaning full scale trial, conviction or outcome for the period we have been assessed and as you would know, we introduced the Trafficking in Persons Act in this republic back in 2012. Under that law, we have established the Counter Trafficking Unit.”
Hinds went on to say that while he’s unsure what impact this one case will have on T&T’s rating, he believed, “this really settles that score and of course we have more cases in the pipeline, and we expect to see more and more of these going forward”.
In fact, Hinds concluded the briefing by saying, “Most of all, it (the media conference) was intended to say to our international partners that Trinidad and Tobago is doing all that we can, contributing to the world effort, in dealing with this usually transnational crime that is now called human trafficking.”
The TIP 2022 report on Trinidad and Tobago said, “The Government of Trinidad and Tobago does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. These efforts included increasing investigations and prosecutions, identifying more victims, and expanding training to a broader range of stakeholders. However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity. The government has never convicted a trafficker under its 2011 anti-trafficking law.”
However, the report also stated, “Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action, and the government did not take action against senior government officials alleged in 2020 to be involved in human trafficking.”