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Balford HenryWednesday, July 10, 2013JAMAICA has amended the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression and Punishment) Act to bring the provisions more in line with the United States view on the issue.While the Jamaican Government has insisted that it has a state-of-the-art law since 2007, based on the Palermo Protocol — an international convention — the US, which is the country’s main assessors, had a broader view of human trafficking and pointed out certain deficiencies in the local Act.Amendments were approved by the House of Representatives yesterday to bring these “deficiencies”, which had caused Jamaica to be placed on the tier-two watch list of the United States in its ranking of the measures being undertaken by the Government to address human trafficking prior to June this year, after the Bill was tabled.The amendments made to the Act included expanding the definition of “exploitation” to include debt bondage, which is now recognised as a form of trafficking; increasing the penalties from 10 to 20 years; providing for the new offence of conspiracy, punishable by imprisonment of up to 20 years or both fine and imprisonment; outlining aggravating circumstances that the court may take into account in sentencing; and granting restitution to the victim within the same proceedings in which the person was convicted.Human trafficking is a considered modern-day form of slavery, involving victims who are typically forced, defrauded or coerced into various forms of exploitation. The Government has been tackling the problem through a number of initiatives, including the legislative amendment, public education and prosecution of people found involved in the crime of human trafficking.The Bill was piloted through the House of Representatives by Minister of National Security Peter Bunting. Contributors to the debate included the Opposition spokespersons on national security, and youth, sports, gender affairs, entertainment and culture.
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House approves changes to Trafficking in Persons Act
