Head of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit (ATIPU), Inspector Junior Simmons represented St. Vincent and the Grenadines at the African Caribbean and Pacific States (ACP-EU) Technical Seminar on Trafficking in Human Beings with special emphasis on Women and Children at the ACP Secretariat in Brussels, Belgium from June 19-20, 2018.
Over forty delegates from the Africa, Europe, the Pacific and the Caribbean participated in the seminar which was held under the framework of the ACP-EU Dialogue on Migration and Development.
The meeting aimed to focus on the main challenges and EU legal and policy framework to address trafficking in human beings, focusing on Women and Children; stepping up the fight against organised criminal networks; gender dimension of trafficking in human beings; main challenges and policies to tackle trafficking in human beings in Africa, Caribbean and Pacific regions; Rights of victims of human trafficking-better protection of children’s rights; and overview of the request for technical assistance received in the area of trafficking in human beings.
Inspector Simmons updated the seminar on the main challenges and policies to tackle human trafficking in the Caribbean and St. Vincent and the Grenadines in particular.
He reported on several national policies to treat with human trafficking: including the legislative framework – the Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act (2011), Immigration (Restriction) Amendment Act, (2017)
Institutional mechanisms – the National Taskforce against Trafficking in Persons, Inter-ministerial Working Group, a Memorandum of Understanding between nine stakeholders to combat human trafficking, Inter-agency and international cooperation, Victim care and Prosecution.
