US embassy cable - 03NASSAU577

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 NASSAU 000577 
 
SIPDIS 
 
SENSITIVE BUT UNCLASSIFIED 
 
STATE FOR G/TIP, G, INL, DRL, PRM, IWI, WHA/PCC 
 
STATE FOR USAID 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KCRM, PHUM, KWMN, SMIG, KFRD, ASEC, PREF, ELAB, BF, Human Rights 
SUBJECT: BAHAMAS - THRID ANNUAL TRAFFICKING IN 
PERSONS (TIP) REPORT 
 
REF: A) STATE 22225 
 
OVERVIEW 
-------- 
 
1.  The Bahamas, although rife with alien and drug 
smuggling, has no indications of being a country of 
origin, transit, or destination for international 
trafficking in men, women, or children.  Post 
discussed this issue with governmental sources 
including the Foreign Ministry, The Department of 
Labor, the Royal Bahamian Police Force, the 
Department of Social Services and the Department of 
Immigration, as well as NGOs such as the Red Cross, 
Amnesty International and NOWAB, the national 
women's rights organization.    None had any 
evidence of trafficking in persons as defined by 
reftel A.  Post believes these sources to be highly 
credible, as we have worked closely with them in the 
past and they have provided accurate information. 
 
PREVENTION 
---------- 
 
2.  Should anti-trafficking of persons become an 
issue in The Bahamas, The Royal Bahamian Police 
Force, the Departments of Immigration and Labor and 
the Attorney General's Office would all be involved. 
The Bahamas has not instituted any anti-trafficking 
information or education programs because 
trafficking in persons has not become a significant 
problem.  To its credit, the government promotes 
women's rights and Bahamian women play a prominent 
role in government and private businesses.  Bahamian 
children, required by law to remain in school until 
the age of 16, generally adhere to this rule and 
therefore are not as vulnerable to human traffickers 
who prey on inactive young children. 
 
3. National finances are limited, but the Bahamian 
government would be willing and able to support 
prevention programs if trafficking in person in 
persons was identified as a significant problem. 
Since neither the NGO community nor the government 
has recognized trafficking as a significant issue, 
little to no interaction on this issue exists 
between them.  However, the government and the NGO 
community have a cordial and cooperativeon 
relationship on other issues. 
 
4. The Bahamas, comprised of more than 700 islands 
covering more than 700 miles, is as an extremely 
porous nation.  With multiple ports of entry - 
formal and informal -- The Bahamas faces a chronic 
border control problem.  For centuries smugglers of 
all types have used the island nations.  Illegal 
immigration and drug trafficking are significant 
problems in the Bahamas.  The government devotes 
serious effort, given limited resources to 
detecting, monitoring and interdicting illegal 
immigrants and works cooperatively with American 
anti-drug forces to interdict narco-traffickers. 
 
 
INVESTIGATION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKERS 
-------------------------------------------- 
 
5.  The Bahamas does not have a law specifically 
prohibiting trafficking in persons.  However, 
traffickers can be prosecuted under Title XIX of the 
penal code - Crimes Against Females, and of 
Kidnapping and Abduction - for attempts to procure 
any female by threats of intimidation, false 
pretenses or by administering drugs.  There are also 
provisions against forcibly taking or detaining a 
female or abduction of females.  Similar laws apply 
to child abduction cases.  Prison terms range from 
two years to life in prison, depending on the crime 
committed.  The penalties for rape or forcible 
sexual assault range from a minimum of seven years 
to a maximum of life imprisonment.  Taken together, 
these laws are adequate to cover the full scope of 
trafficking in persons, if necessary. 
 
6.  In June 2001, the government ratified ILO 
Convention 182 Concerning the Profession and 
Immediate Action for the Elimination of the Worst 
Forms of Child Labor.  The CGOB is a party to the 
Rights of the Child Convention, but not the Sale of 
Children Protocol.  The CGOB is not a party of the 
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish 
Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and 
Children, supplementingation the UN Convention 
Against Transnational Organized Crime. 
 
PROECTION AND ASSISTANCE TO VICTIMS 
----------------------------------- 
 
7.  The Bahamian government does not provide funds 
to NGOs to protect and assist trafficked person 
because there is no little if any evidence of human 
trafficking.  Analogously, the government does not 
provide specialized training for government 
officials in the provision of assistance to 
trafficked victims, nor does it emphasize the issue 
with its consulates and embassies abroad.  Children 
frequently are amongst those illegal immigrants who 
are detained in The Bahamas, including unaccompanied 
minors.  The Department of Immigration has 
procedures in place to protect these children and to 
deal with their specials needs. 
 
Blankenship