Trafficking in Persons Report - 2007
DOMINICAN REPUBLIC (Tier 2 Watch List)
The Dominican Republic is a source, transit, and
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Dominican
women and children are trafficked for sexual exploitation to Western
Europe, Australia, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, the Caribbean, Panama,
and Suriname. A significant number of women and children also are
trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation and forced labor.
Some Dominican-born children are trafficked into forced labor and
organized begging rings. Some Haitians, including children, are
trafficked to the Dominican Republic for forced labor in agriculture and
construction sectors; many live in squalid shantytowns known as "bateyes."
Venezuelans and Colombians also are reportedly trafficked to the country
for sexual exploitation and forced labor. Some Chinese nationals have
been smuggled to the Dominican Republic, allegedly with the assistance
of high-level Dominican consular and immigration officials, and
subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude while waiting to make
their way to the United States.
The Government of the Dominican Republic does
not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The
Dominican Republic is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to
show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking,
particularly in terms of providing increased assistance to victims and
undertaking vigorous actions to counter official complicity with
trafficking activity. Although the Office of the Public Prosecutor made
strong efforts to prosecute trafficking offenders last year, the
government should increase anti-trafficking law enforcement personnel
and capacity, and step up efforts to root out aggressively any official
complicity with human trafficking, especially among senior-level
officials. The Dominican Republic should provide greater legal
protections for trafficking victims, and increase anti-trafficking
prevention efforts and resources for agencies and organizations
providing shelters and social services. More attention should be
directed to identifying and assisting Haitian trafficking victims.
Prosecution
The Government of the Dominican Republic made
efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes during the
reporting period. The Dominican Republic prohibits all forms of
trafficking through its comprehensive anti-trafficking law, Law 137-03,
which prescribes penalties of up to 20 years, imprisonment. These
penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those
prescribed for other grave offenses. The government initiated 120
trafficking and alien-smuggling prosecutions under the law last year,
obtaining three trafficking-specific convictions; defendants received
sentences ranging from 15 to 20 years, imprisonment. While the
government's efforts to convict traffickers remained level with last
year, more than 30 prosecutions during the reporting period arose from
arrests of military and other public officials for involvement with
trafficking; of this number, three officials have been convicted. While
this represents important progress in an extremely difficult area, the
Dominican Republic should do much more to tackle the critical issue of
official complicity with human trafficking at all levels of government.
Press reports allege that high-level consular and immigration officials
were directly involved with the smuggling of Chinese nationals, some of
them trafficking victims, to the Dominican Republic. Any individuals
found to be implicated in alien smuggling or trafficking should be
brought to justice. The Director of the Office of the Public
Prosecutor's Anti-Trafficking Unit had made some progress in addressing
these and other areas; however, he remained suspended from his duties at
the end of the reporting period for unspecified reasons.
Protection
The government's efforts to protect victims of
trafficking remained inadequate, as it continued to rely heavily on NGOs
and international organizations to provide the bulk of protection
services. While the government maintains shelters and programs for
victims of domestic violence and sexual abuse, these services are not
generally accessible to trafficking victims. The government has not
developed formal procedures for identifying victims among vulnerable
populations, such as undocumented migrants or persons detained for
prostitution offenses. The government continued, however, to train
officials posted abroad on recognizing and assisting trafficking victims
overseas. Victims, rights are generally respected, and there were no
reports of victims being jailed or penalized for crimes committed as a
direct result of their being trafficked. However, there were reports
that some officials conspired with employers to repatriate trafficked
persons of Haitian descent if they attempted to leave exploitative work
environments, forcing them to leave behind their pay and belongings.
Dominican authorities generally encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of their traffickers, though undocumented
persons of Haitian descent were often neglected. The government does not
provide legal alternatives to the removal of foreign victims to
countries where they face hardship or retribution. The government should
assure protection to Haitians and undocumented persons of Haitian
descent born in the Dominican Republic, many of whom fall victim to
human trafficking.
Prevention
The government carried out limited prevention efforts by conducting
anti-trafficking seminars at schools across the country, reaching more
than 5,000 students. The government relies on NGOs and international
organizations for all other prevention activities. |
