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

Suriname (Tier 2 Watch List)

Suriname is a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Suriname may also be a transit country for persons trafficked for forced labor. Brazilian, Dominican and Colombian women are trafficked to Surinamese brothels. Brazilians are trafficked through Suriname and on to Europe, typically The Netherlands. Brazilian women are in prostitution in isolated mining camps in the interior of Suriname; some may be trafficking victims. Haitians are smuggled through Suriname to French Guiana, and Chinese are smuggled into and through Suriname. Some persons smuggled may become trafficking victims because they are put into forced labor to repay their smuggling debts.

The Government of Suriname does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Suriname's efforts were reclassified from Tier 3 to Tier 2 in September 2003 as a result of several government initiatives: an inter-agency working group was formed, senior government officials spoke out publicly, police conducted raids, and prosecutors and judges were trained. The results of these initial efforts have been uneven. Senior government officials seek to fight trafficking, but much work still needs to be done. Authorities are not trained to distinguish trafficking victims from illegal migrants. The government should aggressively investigate illegal migration, which often veils trafficking operations. It should also take steps to identify and prosecute traffickers and assist their victims. For these reasons, Suriname is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.

Prosecution

Suriname is struggling to implement an anti-trafficking law enforcement policy. The country lacks a comprehensive law, but outdated statutes prohibit slavery, migrant smuggling, and pimping. These statutes are not adequately enforced. From July to December 2003, police conducted 23 raids on brothels; they arrested prostitutes, but no traffickers. In July 2003, one person was prosecuted and sentenced to 11 months in jail and three years' probation for prostituting her 11-year-old daughter. No other anti-trafficking prosecutions or convictions were reported. Corruption among officials who monitor prostitution is a concern.

Protection

The government's policy on victim protection is unevenly applied. A police hotline has been established, but authorities are not trained to identify trafficking victims and often summarily deport them. Officials who monitor foreign prostitutes are concerned, first and foremost, with legal residency status, rather than screening for victims. The authorities identified no victims of trafficking in 23 raids in 2003. Instead, police detained 24 women prostitutes; 18 were deported and no trafficking victims were identified among them. The existence of extensive prostitution – illegal but tolerated – by foreign women, which takes place in urban areas and in isolated camps, suggests that victims are not being identified. The only examples of trafficking victims identified by the authorities in the past two years were four Dominican women who complained in 2002 that their travel documents were illegally held. Commendably, they were assisted and repatriated.

Prevention

Officials are aware of the need to prevent trafficking and have made some efforts to devise a national strategy, but much work still needs to be done, particularly in training government officials. The government established an inter-agency working group that includes a major NGO, and an anti-trafficking national plan is being developed. Public service announcements are being aired as of February 2004. Preventive measures will require better border control and oversight of visa issuance.

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