Belize a Human Trafficking Nightmare!

Of course some good deeds have been reported under the council for trafficking in Belize but most are extraneous to the realities of victims and are extremely insufficient in evidence collection and case management and follow-ups to ensure prosecution under the Trafficking in Persons Act of Belize. Piggy backing on the hard work of regional partners and preexisting entities to bolster an image of doing and action is not acting! It’s simply being complacent and unresponsive. As the country plummets into territorial disputes and financial crisis, the ambiguous funding not allocated but sourced to address the many demands and injustices in human trafficking is a sign of the commitment of the government and their carefully unskilled selection of representatives identified by random selection of available technical resources, which is projected to have a higher negative impact on their national address. 

The secrecy of how the council operates is expected, as all Human Trafficking responses globally are not free from the fact of internal breaches but with ensuring integrity of offices, this can be easily steered into the right direction. 

The recent charges levied in the post 2018 reporting period may bolster the placement in the 2019 JTIP report but does not secure the necessary approaches and pressures the top down institution embodies. With a prosecution office that has some severe delayed responses to cases due to internal challenges with the police department and their evidence collection strategies, this would leave outsiders to think that there’s a critical point of disharmony and untimely address which challenges the prosecution of perpetuators who in Belize have a high rate of being let go or nonexistent perps in cases with just the victims left to experience the turmoil of experiencing the grave human rights violation, which is world renown as Human Trafficking. 

It is clear that Belize has a series of challenges to overcome and it is time its citizens demand transparent processes and social justice for persons who enter the country. Simply relying on their leaders and council is not a resolute solution to end human trafficking in its many forms. So as the country gears up to scribe their report for 2019 JTIP, flood their reporting office with letters of concern and demand that social justice be up-kept, holding those accountable to end trafficking in Belize and ensuring that Belize is a safer place for all its citizens.