2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

H O N D U R A S
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particularly in terms of convicting and sentencing
human traffickers for their crimes. In the coming
year, the government should aggressively investigate
and arrest suspected traffickers, and make every
effort to move their cases through the criminal
justice system. The government also should expand
training for judges and magistrates who handle trafficking
cases, especially in remote areas, where the
bulk of trafficking occurs.
Prosecution
The government made limited law-enforcement
progress against traffickers over the last year. The
Government of Guyana prohibits all forms of trafficking
through its comprehensive Combating of
Trafficking in Persons Act, which became law in 2005.
This law prescribes punishment ranging from three
years to life imprisonment, penalties which are sufficiently
stringent and commensurate with those for
rape and other grave crimes. However, the government
has yet to obtain an anti-trafficking conviction. Six
criminal cases were opened against alleged traffickers
in 2006: two cases were dismissed, and
four are pending. This represents a modest
increase from 2005, when three prosecutions
were initiated. Prosecutors report that
rural magistrates remain unfamiliar with
the new trafficking law, and cases tried in
the capital move at a slow pace due to the
judicial backlog. In the coming year, the
government should intensify its efforts to
expedite cases against traffickers, as recently
emphasized by Guyana’s newly appointed Minister of
Human Services and Social Security; she has called for
speedy trials in trafficking cases, and urged police to
do more to encourage reporting of trafficking crimes.
Technical training should be expanded to reach officials
in rural areas. Guyanese law enforcement officials
worked with counterparts in neighboring countries to
share information on international trafficking cases
and to assist victims. There was reliable evidence of
some public complicity in trafficking by lower-level
officials, and a conspiracy charge was filed against a
police officer for such an offense in 2006.
Protection
The Government of Guyana made modest progress
in providing victim assistance during the reporting
period. It included limited NGO funding assistance
in its 2007 budget and provided training for police
and public officials on identifying trafficking victims.
In June 2006, six police officers and two officers
from the Counter-Trafficking Unit participated in an
anti-trafficking training program organized by IOM.
Victims’ rights are generally respected, and there
were no reports of victims being penalized for crimes
committed as a direct result of being trafficked.
Guyanese authorities encourage victims to assist in
the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers.
Prevention
The government sustained prevention efforts
during the reporting period. It continued awareness
campaigns via print and radio media and launched
a widespread anti-trafficking education effort before
the Cricket World Cup in April 2007.
HONDURAS (Tier 2 Watch List)
Honduras is a source and transit country for women
and children trafficked for the purpose of commercial
sexual exploitation. Many victims are Honduran
children trafficked from rural areas to urban and
tourist centers such as San Pedro Sula, the North
Caribbean coast, and the Bay Islands. Child sex
tourism is growing in the country. Honduran women
and children also are trafficked to Guatemala,
Mexico, and the United States. Most foreign victims
trafficked into Honduras for commercial sexual
exploitation come from neighboring countries;
some victims are economic migrants en route to the
United States who are victimized by traffickers.
The Government of Honduras does not fully comply
with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts
to do so. Honduras is placed on Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts
to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms
of providing increased assistance to victims. In
addition, the absolute number of trafficking victims
in the country is very significant. According to the
government and NGOs, an estimated 10,000 victims
have been trafficked in Honduras, mostly internally.
Many victims are children subject to commercial
sexual exploitation. Tourism in the country also is
likely to grow, with an increased number of cruise
ships arriving at the country’s Bay Islands; reliable
sources project a concomitant growth in the local sex
trade, particularly child sex tourism. In light of this
situation, and because Honduras’ new anti-trafficking
law is not yet fully enforced, the country’s lack