National Policy On Human Trafficking To Be Tabled In Parliament

The National Policy on Trafficking is expected to be tabled during this Parliamentary year, says Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of National Security and Peace, Hon. Dr. Horace Chang.

Dr. Chang made the announcement on Friday (July 31), during the Conversations on Trafficking forum hosted by the Office of the National Rapporteur on Trafficking in Person (ONRTIP) at the Courtyard by Marriott in Kingston under the theme ‘The Digital Trap: Understanding Cyber Trafficking’.

“The national policy should be ready soon. I think it’s practically ready. I think it’s going through a kind of editorialising now. I expect by the opening of Parliament next season, we should be able to table it,” Dr. Chang said.

He stated that the updated policy will put Jamaica “in a pretty strong position” to increase the country’s current tier two classification under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

Meanwhile, Minister Chang noted that cyber-trafficking has become a multi-billion-dollar global industry driven by organised crime.

“It’s a criminal organisation for money, in which human beings are being moved around to those who can afford to, for big money… They seek to envelope young girls in particular, but young boys as well, into this horrendous activity at an early stage in life and hurt them forever, literally,” he explained.

The Minister noted that while cyberspace offers significant benefits such as fostering entrepreneurship and helping local security forces leverage artificial intelligence (AI) for greater efficiency, it has also empowered criminals, making it increasingly difficult for law enforcement to apprehend them.

He emphasised, however, that more must be done locally to combat human trafficking.

“The effort will have to increase because the cyberspace will give you a much wider field to occupy. So, our police force has to be more sensitive, but not only more sensitive, we have to provide the equipment and then train them to identify and spot things quickly,” Dr. Chang maintained.

He stated that there have been some arrests of individuals involved in human trafficking but argued that more should be done to bring those involved to the forefront.

The Minister commended the work of the security force and specialised agents tasked with capturing those involved in the heinous activity.

He also expressed gratitude to the ministry’s technical staff and other agencies for their work in increasing sensitisation and public education surrounding human trafficking.

“Trafficking is a major threat to stability and the well-being of society, and in particular to our younger people,” Dr. Chang said.