By Sherrica Thompson
Staff Writer
#TrinidadandTobago, October 29, 2022 – The U.S. Embassy and the Government of Trinidad and Tobago, with support from the United States Agency for International Development Eastern and Southern Caribbean (USAID/ESC), launched a programme that will help in the fight against Trinidad’s human trafficking crisis.
The CariSECURE 2.0 – Strengthening Evidence-Based Decision Making for Citizen Security in the Caribbean – was launched on October 11 and will be implemented by the United Nations Development Program.
CariSECURE 2.0 is a regional US$13 million program across six Caribbean countries, including Trinidad and Tobago.
The programme is designed to improve how government and non-government partners collect, analyze, manage, and use crime and violence data to improve policymaking and citizen security programs.
“In Trinidad and Tobago, CariSECURE 2.0 will focus on addressing trafficking in persons (TIP), more commonly known as human trafficking. In coordination with the Ministry of National Security, the program will support the Government of Trinidad and Tobago’s response to TIP and address its adverse impact on young people,” the US Embassy said.
Adding that: “CariSECURE 2.0 will bolster capacity within the Government of Trinidad and Tobago to identify, screen, investigate, and effectively prosecute cases. The program will also build capacity regarding the availability and use of standardized, timely, disaggregated, and reliable TIP data. By strengthening both the data and processes to prosecute human trafficking cases, the CariSECURE 2.0 program’s assistance will help reduce the incidence of trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago.”
Speaking at the formal launch, U.S. Embassy Chargé d’Affaires Shante Moore said, “This program matters. Our obligation as democratic governments, both in the United States and Trinidad and Tobago, is to work in partnership with our fellow citizens to tackle the biggest problems they face, including crime, youth violence, and human trafficking.”
Acting Regional Representative of USAID/ESC David Billings added: “We simply must ensure that those who have offended are prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law, and those who have been hurt, receive care and assistance so they can heal and envision a brighter future.”
Human trafficking is a serious crisis that Trinidad and Tobago is currently facing and the launch of CariSECURE 2.0 will be very useful in tackling the issue.
In June, the Borgen Project reported that between 2017 and 2020, the Counter Trafficking Unit in Trinidad investigated about 125 cases of human trafficking, with the majority of these being sex trafficking.
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