Direct Request (CEACR) - adopted 2021, published 110th ILC session (2022)

Forced Labour Convention, 1930 (No. 29) - Barbados (Ratification: 1967)

Article 1(1), 2(1) and 25 of the Convention. Trafficking in persons. Legal and institutional framework. The Committee takes note of the adoption of the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act, 2016, indicated in the Government’s report, which under section 3 criminalizes trafficking in persons, for both sexual and labour exploitation, and provides for penal sanctions of a fine or imprisonment for the perpetrators, or both. The Committee also notes that section 27(1) of the Act provides for the establishment of a National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons. The functions of the Task Force include the formulation of policies to prevent trafficking in persons, the provision of assistance and protection to the victims, and the development and implementation of a National Action Plan. The Committee further notes, from the website of the Government Information Service, that the Barbados National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking 2021–2023 was approved by the Cabinet and that one element of the Plan is to prepare a study to determine the nature and extent of trafficking in the country, which shall guide the development of targeted interventions.

In relation to the protection of victims, the Committee notes that section 15 of the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act provides for a number of measures to protect victims during the investigation and prosecution of offences relating to trafficking in persons. Section 18 of the Act also provides for additional measures of assistance to victims of trafficking who are not nationals of Barbados such as appropriate housing, legal assistance, provision of safe shelter and assistance to cover living expenses.

The Committee notes with interest the adoption of the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act as well as the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking 2021 – 2023, which provide the country with an institutional and legal framework for the prevention and repression of trafficking in persons, as well as for the protection of and assistance to victims.

The Committee requests the Government to provide information on the measures adopted within the framework of the National Action Plan to Combat Human Trafficking 2021–2023, including information on the outcome of the study on the nature and extent of trafficking. Please also provide information on the activities of the National Task Force Against Trafficking in Persons. In addition, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the application in practice of sections 15 and 18 of the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act, including information on the number of victims who have received assistance and the type of assistance provided.

Law enforcement. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that there have been no convictions under the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act. The Committee observes that, in its 2017 concluding observations, the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) notes that Barbados remains both a source and destination country for women, who are subjected to trafficking for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labour, as a result of high unemployment, increasing levels of poverty and the weak implementation of anti-trafficking legislation (CEDAW/C/BRB/CO/5-8, paragraph 25). Therefore, the Committee requests the Government to take the necessary measures to ensure that cases of trafficking in persons are properly identified and prosecuted, and that effective and dissuasive sanctions are imposed on perpetrators. In this regard, the Committee requests the Government to provide information on the number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions applied under section 3 of the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act.