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 (40) delegates from the Africa, Europe, the Pacific and the Caribbean participated in the seminar which was being held under the framework of the ACP-EU Dialogue on Migration and Development.
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. The ATIPU head reported on the following national policies to treat with human trafficking:
- 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 (NTFATIP), Inter-ministerial Working Group, MoU between nine stakeholders to combat human trafficking
- Capacity building and training
- Sensitization and awareness raising
- Information sharing
- Inter-agency cooperation
- International cooperation
- Victim care
- Prosecution