NewsWhore
06-15-2010, 02:30 PM
The US State Department released its 10th Annual Trafficking in Persons Report on Monday. The report says that the Dominican government has not shown evidence of progress in prosecuting and punishing trafficking offenders including complicit officials; therefore, the Dominican Republic is placed on Tier 2 Watch List. The report acknowledges that the Dominican government has increased its efforts to educate the public about the dangers of trafficking, improved its assistance to victims, announced a national plan to combat trafficking and took some disciplinary action against lower-level officials suspected of complicity in trafficking activity.
Prosecutor General Radhames Jimenez Pena said the report was "unfair and mistaken" and did not correspond with efforts made by the local authorities. Frank Soto, assistant prosecutor in charge of the Department of Human Smuggling said that the report mixes people smuggling with people trafficking.
The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Dominican women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Panama, Slovenia, Suriname, Switzerland, Turkey, and Venezuela. A significant number of women, boys and girls are trafficked within the country for forced prostitution and domestic servitude. In some cases, parents push children into prostitution to help support the family.
Child sex tourism is a problem, particularly in coastal resort areas, with child sex tourists arriving year-round from various countries, particularly Spain, Italy, Germany, Canada, and the United States and reportedly numbering in the thousands.
Haitian nationals, including children, who voluntarily migrate illegally to the Dominican Republic, may subsequently be subjected to forced labor in the service, construction, and agriculture sectors.
The report states that, "lack of resources, corruption, and a generally weak rule of law limit the government's ability to address trafficking issues, and allegations of official complicity in trafficking continued".
The US Embassy stressed, as reported in Listin Diario, that the Dominican government has not sentenced anyone for trafficking since 2007. However, Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso insisted that the Dominican government is putting all its efforts into the struggle against human and drug trafficking, as reported in Listin Diario.
www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123136.htm (http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123136.htm)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Prosecutor General Radhames Jimenez Pena said the report was "unfair and mistaken" and did not correspond with efforts made by the local authorities. Frank Soto, assistant prosecutor in charge of the Department of Human Smuggling said that the report mixes people smuggling with people trafficking.
The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Dominican women are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation to Argentina, Australia, Brazil, Costa Rica, Cyprus, Panama, Haiti, Jamaica, the Netherlands, Panama, Slovenia, Suriname, Switzerland, Turkey, and Venezuela. A significant number of women, boys and girls are trafficked within the country for forced prostitution and domestic servitude. In some cases, parents push children into prostitution to help support the family.
Child sex tourism is a problem, particularly in coastal resort areas, with child sex tourists arriving year-round from various countries, particularly Spain, Italy, Germany, Canada, and the United States and reportedly numbering in the thousands.
Haitian nationals, including children, who voluntarily migrate illegally to the Dominican Republic, may subsequently be subjected to forced labor in the service, construction, and agriculture sectors.
The report states that, "lack of resources, corruption, and a generally weak rule of law limit the government's ability to address trafficking issues, and allegations of official complicity in trafficking continued".
The US Embassy stressed, as reported in Listin Diario, that the Dominican government has not sentenced anyone for trafficking since 2007. However, Foreign Relations Minister Carlos Morales Troncoso insisted that the Dominican government is putting all its efforts into the struggle against human and drug trafficking, as reported in Listin Diario.
www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123136.htm (http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2009/123136.htm)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)