The U.S. government has given Belize 60 days to get off the trafficking in persons tier three watch-list. To do that the government has to show, in deeds, not words that it is serious about cracking down on human trafficking. Facing the prospect of sanction, yesterday Cabinet adopted a plan of action to address trafficking in persons.
Human Development CEO Anita Zetina is the new chair of the trafficking in persons committee and working with the Police Department's new point man on trafficking, Inspector Eugene Fuentes, she must show that authorities are determined to investigate and prosecute human trafficking within Belize which, in most cases, means cracking down on prostitution activities.
And even in times of austerity, Cabinet has committed to provide resources to0 mobilize a trafficking crackdown and to carry out a public awareness campaign. And while Belize scrambles to meet U.S. dictates, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs will ask the OAS to pursue a multilateral approach for assessing human trafficking activities.
