Belize remains on Tier Three in respect of human trafficking

Belize remains on Tier Three in respect of human trafficking. A report by the State Department knocks the government for not fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of the scourge and goes further to say that there were no efforts to prosecute government employees complicit in trafficking. The report was issued at the end of June but went under the radar. It does, however, recognize that some steps were taken including the identification of seventeen potential trafficking cases and nine new cases.  But it notes that there were no new investigations or prosecution of any public official despite allegations of significant level of official complicity. On the prosecution side, the report states that G.O.B. maintained minimal anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Despite legislation in place, implementation has remained problematic. In the case of  The 2013 Commercial Sexual  Exploitation of Children (Prohibition) Act, it  criminalizes the facilitation of prostitution of children younger than eighteen years but does not prohibit adults from engaging in sexual activity with sixteen and seventeen year olds in exchange for remuneration, gifts or other benefits. No new convictions took place despite a new specialized police anti-trafficking unit and authorities uncovered few trafficking cases. G.O.B. also did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of its employees who collude in trafficking offenses. The report makes a number of recommendations including implementation of the laws by vigorously investigating and prosecuting suspected sex and labour traffickers and imposing penalties on the violators.