Conclusion
The anti-trafficking Acts of Belize, Guyana and Jamaica reflect mostly a reaction to external pressure and therefore do not represent a thought- through and effective response to the issue of trafficking of humans in its Caribbean context.
Transplanting existing international conventions and standards without an assessment of the implications on the domestic level may prove to be problematic. The anti-trafficking statutes of the Caribbean, as they are presently, have incorporated wholesale the United States policy and the general international standard with its shortfalls and misguided policy. It would be prudent for the rest of the region, and even these three countries, to conduct an assessment of the human trafficking reality in the Caribbean before attempting to develop a campaign to combat the phenomenon. If that approach is adopted, legislation can be specifically tailored to meet the specific needs of the Caribbean and there will be no need for untimely revision.There is clearly a more functional mode of facilitating an interaction between international conventions and standards and domestic law than the latter being cloned from the former. International treaties and standards often embody compromises between many different states, including between the various views expressed during their negotiations. These instruments embody standards that can offer guidance to a state in enacting its own legislation but should not be, in all cases, accepted by a state without reservations or modifications. International conventions and standards often conform to the specifications of world powers and First World, developed countries. Caribbean countries should be more proactive in advocating for provisions that are more advantageous for developing states. This, however, cannot be done without an assessment of the relevant issue in its Caribbean context.
It is only when the Caribbean realities are understood that effective bargaining can take place on the international level. Caribbean governments should also be ready to express reservations to international provisions which have negative implications for the states they are called to govern. Caribbean countries must develop an attitude of prescribing for our particular needs while continuing to meet international obligations.A major inadequacy of the US TVPA and the international predecessors to anti-trafficking statutes is the law enforcement regime that is created without sufficient regard to human rights or labour rights standards. This is despite the fact that human rights activists have played a pivotal role in the negotiation of these instruments. Regretfully, Caribbean legislatures have adopted precisely the approach that will prove inadequate to combat human trafficking in the most comprehensive way. The modus operandi suggested by Professor Elizabeth Bruch is one which would undoubtedly create a better mechanism for successfully tackling the international plague of human trafficking. She suggests that the best solution would be to draw on the strengths of three approaches in formulating a system to combat trafficking.[763] The law enforcement approach provides the advantage of prosecuting offenders and therefore deterring the commission of the crime and bringing justice to victims of the crime. In employing this approach without regard for the human rights of the victims however, there is a failure to recognize a victim as a rights holder and the provision of protection hinges on how �innocent’ or �not’ an individual is perceived to be.[764] Incorporating a human rights approach would have the benefit of guaranteeing protection to all individuals in need of it, without discrimination on the basis of that individual’s choice of activities, for example prostitution. Adopting elements of the labour rights approach would enhance anti-trafficking campaigns by extending protection to individuals in their course of work.
Such an approach would complement the GAATW bifurcation of the offence of �trafficking’ from that of exploiting an individual in �forced labour or slavery-like conditions.’ The exploitative employer is just as criminally motivated as the individual who recruits by force, to ultimately benefit the former, and should be similarly dealt with by the law.The most important point to note is that all anti-trafficking campaigns will come to nought unless greater emphasis is placed on addressing the surrounding circumstances that operate as catalysts in the increase of human trafficking. Anti-trafficking legislation in its nakedness will do little to remedy the situation. The decrepit state of the economy, rampant poverty, social and gender inequalities, and high levels of unemployment amongst the youth are all factors which must be tackled if legislation is to have any impact in stemming the tide of human trafficking. Ironically, in their attempt to satisfy the Minimum Standards prescribed by the United States, Caribbean legislatures have failed to copy perhaps the most important provision made in the US TVPA—section 106. This section provides for the prevention of trafficking through economic alternatives and opportunities for potential victims. Offering skills training, job counselling, programmes to promote women’s participation in economic decision making and to keep children in school are the provisions that should have been adopted from the TVPA.
It is not just the threat, coercion or violence of another — the trafficker — that forces an individual into a state of victimization. The prevailing economic and social conditions left unremedied by the governments of Caribbean nations exert even more force than any individual could. In that sense, Caribbean governments are just as guilty in creating and perpetuating the cycle of human trafficking. For human trafficking to be successfully combated, we must hack at the root of the tree and not merely at its branches.