US State Department says more effort needed to stop human trafficking in the Caribbean.

In its 2007 Trafficking in Persons report, the State Department said Belize, Cuba, Guyana and Jamaica need to do more to combat human trafficking.

Last year Belize was harshly criticised by the US for not taking steps to end human trafficking, however, this year’s report says Belmopan has made significant progress.

It credited the Said Musa government for increasing anti-trafficking training for law enforcement officials, and also improved protection services for victims.

	The Belizean government has been creditted with making progress to eliminate human trafficking

"In February 2007 the government took a critical step to confront official trafficking-related corruption by arresting two police officers for human smuggling," the report said.

Despite this progress, Washington said more needs to be done for the government to advance its anti-trafficking goals.

The report also recommended that the Said Musa administration consider increasing penalties for sex trafficking and stepping up law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers.

Some progress

Jamaica has received a tier two rating, which means it is making strides towards eliminating the practice.

The State Department report highlighted the Trafficking in Persons Act, which was passed by the Jamaica parliament earlier this year.

Under the new law which took effect on 1 March, perpetrators face up to 10 years imprisonment if found guilty of human trafficking.

However, according to the US State Department, Kingston still needs to increase efforts to identify and investigate human trafficking and punish those involved.

The [Guyana] government should aggressively investigate and arrest suspected traffickers   US State Department

Guyana remains under scrutiny and has been placed on the tier 2 watch list, for what Washington says is the country’s failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to fight trafficking in persons over the past year.

"The [Guyana] government should aggressively investigate and arrest suspected traffickers and make every effort to move their cases through the criminal justice system," the report said.

It also recommended more training for judges and magistrates who handle such cases, particularly in remote areas, where the bulk of trafficking is said to occur.

In the case of Cuba, the US says the extent of trafficking is hard to gauge, due to the closed nature of the government.

However the report said Havana is a major destination for sex tourism, particularly child sex tourism.

"Cuba’s thriving sex trade caters to thousands of European, Canadian and Latin American tourists every year, and involves large numbers of Cuban girls and boys, some as young as 12," the report said.

It further stated that Cuba is not making substantial efforts to comply with the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking.

The document concluded that the government should publicly acknowledge the problem, and make efforts to prosecute and punish traffickers, especially for sex crimes.