U.S. Department of State 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report - Dominican Republic

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 sexual exploitation and forced labor. Dominican women and girls are trafficked to countries in Western Europe, Central American, the Caribbean, and South and North America for sexual exploitation. Estimates vary, but experts believe that 50,000 Dominicans have been in prostitution abroad, many having suffered some form of trafficking exploitation. The Dominican Republic is also a destination country – mainly for Haitians who are victims of trafficking for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Many Haitians working in agriculture, particularly in the sugar cane harvests, are trafficking victims. Experts estimate that 2,500-3,000 Haitian children are trafficked annually across the joint land border. Observers estimate 25,000-30,000 minors are in prostitution in the Dominican Republic; most are Dominicans, but some are Haitians. Many of these children are victimized in the sex tourism industry. The Dominican Republic is a significant transit country for many illegal migrants, including Chinese, most bound for the U.S. Some become trafficking victims as they are forced to work to repay large smuggling fees.

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 was reclassified from Tier 3 to Tier 2 in September 2003 as a result of several government initiatives, including the enactment of a new comprehensive law, the indictment of a Congressman for trafficking and the arrest of a major trafficker, and a public commitment by the Mejia administration to arrest and prosecute traffickers. Follow up on these measures has been uneven. Law enforcement results remain inadequate; police have made few new arrests and there were no convictions of traffickers. The government has removed several high-level officials from positions in which they could profit from smuggling and trafficking of persons, but has not fired them from government altogether or prosecuted them. More needs to be done. A strong point is the Foreign Affairs Ministry, which has aggressively linked its embassies to collect information on trafficking patterns in order to help victims. Due to the lack of aggressive law enforcement and the magnitude of its trafficking problem, the Dominican Republic is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.

Prosecution

Although the Government of the Dominican Republic has established anti-trafficking police and prosecutor units, it lacks effective law enforcement. Available information is incomplete, but officials made two new arrests in the reporting period: one alleged child trafficker (Aracelis Sanchez Mora) and one trafficker arrested in October 2003. So far, neither case has gone to trial. The corruption-related prosecution of accused trafficker and Congressman Guillermo Radhames Ramos Garcia is still in the courts. Accused child trafficker Maria Martinez Nunez is still incarcerated in Najayo prison, awaiting prosecution. The military and immigration service detained over 50 suspects for infractions of the migration law, though it is unclear how many were traffickers. Most appear to have been only fined and released. Other efforts included closing down seven locations in Sosúa where children were exploited sexually by tourists. The Foreign Ministry recalled or fired several ranking Dominican diplomats for suspected complicity in smuggling and trafficking activities. None has been charged.

Protection

Facing resource constraints, the Dominican Republic lacks a comprehensive victim protection policy. Foreign victims are subject to swift deportation. Most victim assistance is provided by NGOs. The government's only shelter for trafficking victims is still not operational. A number of government officials have attended NGO-offered training programs in the past year in order to improve their understanding of the new law, which calls for victim assistance. The Foreign Ministry trains consular officers to help trafficking victims abroad.

Prevention

The government has no comprehensive policy on preventing trafficking, but increasingly officials are doing more. The Foreign Affairs Ministry has empowered several networks of consular officials abroad who are collecting and sharing information on trafficking patterns. The Attorney General is speaking out on trafficking. He states that his office has rescued 2,000 girls from brothels, but further information on these cases was not provided. The government's anti-trafficking task force has worked closely with NGOs and launched a billboard campaign, radio programming, and a variety of training sessions. Border and coastline control continues to need more attention.