2007 Trafficking in Persons Report - Center for Women Policy Studies

N I C A R A G U A
158
Reform Act for offenses relating to prostitution of
persons less than 18 years of age. In addition, three
brothel operators and one client were prosecuted
and convicted for the use of persons under age 18
in prostitution. One brothel owner was sentenced
to 21 months’ imprisonment; another brothel
owner was sentenced to 300 hours of community
service, and his secretary to 180 hours of community
service; the client was sentenced to one to two
years’ imprisonment. These penalties
were inadequate. There is no evidence of
public officials’ complicity in trafficking
in New Zealand.
Protection
The Government of New Zealand continues
to ensure that short-term shelter,
witness protection, medical services, and
repatriation assistance are available to
victims of trafficking. The government
solicits the cooperation of victims as long as it
does not jeopardize the success of proceedings.
The government reports that a system is in place
to evaluate victim status on a case-by-case basis.
Temporary permits, including limited purpose
permits, can be provided to victims of trafficking in
individual cases. There were no reports of trafficked
victims who were jailed, fined, or deported. There
are several services available for minors involved in
or at risk of commercial sexual exploitation. New
Zealand funds protection programs in Indonesia,
the Philippines, and the UN Inter-Agency Project
(UNIAP) on trafficking in the Mekong Sub-region.
Prevention
The Government of New Zealand demonstrated
sustained efforts to prevent trafficking in persons.
The government remained active in several regional
and international efforts to prevent, monitor, and
control trafficking. The government assists with
initiatives undertaken by ECPAT to educate travel
agents about legislation and awareness of child
sex tourism. The government’s foreign assistance
agency, NZAID, continued providing substantial
resources to source countries and international
organizations for capacity building, prevention, and
services for victims of trafficking.
NICARAGUA (Tier 2)
Nicaragua is principally a source country for women
and children trafficked internally and across borders
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation.
Exploitation of minors in prostitution is believed to
be the most prevalent form of internal trafficking.
Some Nicaraguan victims are trafficked to neighboring
countries such as Guatemala, El Salvador, Costa
Rica, Mexico, and the United States; El Salvador and
Guatemala are the primary foreign destinations for
young Nicaraguan women and girls trafficked for
sexual exploitation. Young men from border areas in
southern Nicaragua also are trafficked to Costa Rica
for labor exploitation; some Nicaraguan children
are trafficked internally for forced labor as domestic
servants. The government acknowledges that human
trafficking for sexual exploitation and child sex
tourism are significant problems; both phenomena
appear to be growing in Nicaragua, especially in
border towns and tourist destinations.
The Government of Nicaragua does not fully comply
with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts
to do so. During the reporting period, the government
took strong steps to prevent human trafficking
by sponsoring high-profile media and education
campaigns, and expanding anti-trafficking training
for police personnel nationwide. In the coming
year, Nicaragua should intensify its law enforcement
efforts to prosecute, convict, and sentence
human traffickers, especially in light of an increasing
number of victims trafficked within the country. The
government should also make every effort to bring
its new anti-trafficking law into force, and continue
to work closely with NGOs to improve victim
services. Any identified acts of public complicity with
human trafficking should be vigorously investigated,
and any such corrupt officials should be prosecuted
and punished to the full extent of the law.
Prosecution
The Government of Nicaragua increased efforts to
investigate human trafficking during the reporting
period, although its progress in bringing traffickers
to justice remained uneven. Nicaragua does not
prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, though
it criminalizes trafficking for the purpose of sexual
exploitation through Article 203 of its criminal
code, which prescribes punishments of three to five
years’ imprisonment, penalties which are sufficiently
stringent. In April 2006, the National Assembly
passed a bill, which will be codified as Article 182
of the Nicaraguan penal code, to prohibit trafficking
in persons for the purpose of sexual exploitation,
in addition to other sex-related crimes such as
child pornography and the sexual exploitation of
minors younger than 18. However, these new laws
are not yet in force because they must be passed by
the Legislature as part of a larger package of penal
code reforms. Nicaragua’s proposed anti-traffick-