Marshall: Downgrade based on US law, not global measures

Barbados is drawing up an action plan to overturn Washington’s decision to downgrade its efforts to fight human trafficking, Attorney General Dale Marshall indicated Thursday, a day after the US State Department accused the island of failing to prosecute cases or assist victims for a third consecutive year.

Marshall expects the plan will persuade the US State Department to reverse its latest downgrade of the country’s human trafficking record, which demoted the island from Tier 2 to the Tier 2 Watch List, in its 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report.

Washington claimed that Barbadian authorities had, for a third year, failed to prosecute cases or support victims, but the attorney general revealed that plans were already in motion to address the concerns.

“We have already started the work under our 2025/26 work plan, which we hope will see us being upgraded in the next round,” he said in a statement.

But the government’s chief legal adviser argued that the downgrade was rooted in US domestic law, not international standards.

“This is not based on any global standard,” Marshall explained. “But it is based on a US law called the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.”

He drew attention to the portion of the report which stated: “The government of Barbados does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Despite making significant efforts to do so, it did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. Therefore, Barbados was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List.”

In Bridgetown’s defence, Marshall insisted that authorities took the matter of human trafficking “very” seriously and had redoubled their efforts in recent years to confront the “important” issue.

He explained: “From our analysis, human trafficking is not a problem for Barbados as the number of instances which warrant investigations is quite small. We therefore continue to address it commensurate with the risk and commensurate with our means.”

But the AG also rejected Washington’s call for the establishment of specialised courts to handle trafficking cases. “This is not feasible for us,” he said. ”There is also a request to consider that we provide dedicated services to trafficking victims. putting such services in place where the number of cases is so small is better dealt with as and when instances arise.”

He noted that Barbados had previously been placed on the Tier 2 Watch List between 2011 and 2013 and again between 2019 and 2021.

While Tier 2 countries are regarded as making progress, those on the Watch List are flagged for declining efforts, failure to identify victims, or signs that trafficking is worsening.

Saint Lucia was also placed on the Watch List, while Cuba and Venezuela were classified as Tier 3. Haiti was designated a special case.

The TIP report said Barbados had missed a series of benchmarks, including failing to open trafficking investigations or prosecutions during the reporting period. The island has never secured a conviction under its anti-trafficking law.

It also said no victims were identified or assisted for the third consecutive year and that no training was provided to first responders.

The government, it added, also failed to draft or implement a new national action plan after the previous one expired in 2023.

While the report acknowledged continued screening of vulnerable populations and public awareness campaigns, these were deemed insufficient to maintain Barbados’ Tier 2 status.

The State Department also criticised provisions in the Trafficking in Persons Prevention Act that allow fines instead of imprisonment for sex trafficking, arguing that such penalties undermine the seriousness of the offence.

The downgrade follows US concerns about systemic weaknesses, including limited resources and training in the Sex Crimes and Trafficking Unit, court backlogs, and the absence of dedicated trafficking courts.

Washington also said Barbadian civil society groups reported that law enforcement continued to prioritise other high-profile crimes, leaving trafficking cases unresolved.

Experts cited further gaps in screening among at-risk groups such as migrant workers, women in commercial sex, and foreign nationals on overseas-funded construction sites.

emmanueljoseoph@barbadostoday.bb