IOM Research in Central America and the Dominican Republic Confirms the Need for Improved Legislation in Order to Combat Human Trafficking
Improving legislation and its application are the major hurdles
facing countries in Central America and the Dominican Republic,
reveals a series of IOM studies launched by IOM in Costa Rica.
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"Victims of trafficking are not getting the legal protection that
they require. This new IOM research verifies the urgent need
to have the appropriate legislation and its application to help the
victims of this crime," explains Ana Hidalgo, Head of IOM Regional
Counter Trafficking Unit.
Fourteen national studies were carried out simultaneously in the
seven participating countries (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, El
Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, Panama). One theme
focused on legislation and its application and the other focused on
information from adult women victims of trafficking.
The 106 interviews with police, psychologists, NGOs and other
service providers in the seven countries, and the in-depth
examination of 46 judicial files of real cases, identified the
limitations of the justice systems in identifying, investigating
and sanctioning cases of human trafficking.
"One of the main problems is that many prosecutors are not aware
that trafficking is a crime included in the penal code, therefore
when receiving a complaint they file it under rape, abduction,
confinement or other related crime. This, of course, covers
up the real magnitude of trafficking in our country," explained one
of the attorneys interviewed for the research.
Working with the Council of Women Ministers of Central America
(COMMCA), IOM studied the data and compiled each set of studies in
order to provide a regional look at human trafficking and the
relevant legislation.
"This is the first regional initiative of its kind. IOM
has been working to combat human trafficking in the region for the
past decade, so we were well aware of the need to systematize key
aspects related to the administration of justice. The results
of these studies are a valuable source of information and referral
to promote legislative change and improve actual judicial
investigation," adds Hidalgo.
Some of the main conclusions at the regional level:
- Due to lack of awareness, local prosecutors do not perceive
human trafficking as an international organized crime. This
limits the allocation of public funding to combat it. - The definitions in the penal codes of what constitutes human
trafficking vary amongst countries, although all countries studied
have ratified the Palermo Protocol. The studies recommend the
standardization of the law in order to close any potential loop
holes. - Strong limitations concerning human and financial
resources. Many times police and prosecutors do not have
access to computers or transportation in order to investigate human
trafficking crimes. - Witness and victim protection programmes are understaffed and
under resourced. The few mechanisms in place do not address
the specific and complex needs of victims of trafficking.
The violence and trauma endured by victims was the focus of the
second set of studies. In-depth interviews were conducted
with 46 adult women victims of sexual exploitation, forced labour
and domestic servitude.
The study confirmed that adult women are also subject to
trafficking and that the assistance provided to all victims is
inadequate.
"If the traffickers are not put behind bars, it is impossible to
fight this crime effectively. As concerns the victims, they
need to feel that their human rights are upheld and that those who
enslaved them, beat them and traumatized them are getting the
punishment they deserve," concludes Hidalgo.
The studies were conducted with the support of COMMCA, the
Central American Integration System (SICA), the National Institute
of Women (INAMU) and funded by the Spanish Agency for International
Development and Cooperation (AECID).
The Costa Rican studies are available in Spanish. All
other country studies, as well as the regional compilation, will be
officially launched in the coming weeks.
For more information, please contact:
Ana Beatriz Fernández
IOM Costa Rica
E-mail:
"mailto:afernandez@iom.int">afernandez@iom.int
Tel. +506. 222. 15348, ext. 136