WILLEMSTAD - More and more human trafficking cases are about labor exploitation and less and less about sexual exploitation. This is stated by the Public Prosecution Service (OM) in its annual report for 2021.
The OM says the shift is "cautious", citing the deteriorating conditions of the countries around us, especially Venezuela, where there is a large group of undocumented workers willing to work in sectors such as construction and snack bars (the so-called snèks in Curaçao).
In recent years, the courts have ruled that, according to the standards of the Caribbean and South American area, these persons are victims of bad employment practices, but they do not reach the criminal limit of human trafficking.
This makes prosecution for human trafficking more difficult. There are regular cases of prosecution of people smuggling and illegal employment. If there is no human trafficking, then, if there is evidence, perpetrators are prosecuted for human smuggling or illegal employment.
In two cases, this led to an acquittal with regard to human trafficking in 2021 and in one case the Public Prosecution Service decided not to charge human trafficking, but violation of the labor regulation.
Policy
Apart from criminal cases, the Public Prosecution Service is also involved in human trafficking at policy level. For example, an active contribution has been made to the awareness campaign of the Ministry of Justice, consultations are held with (international) organizations, there are several monthly meetings in which the Public Prosecution Service participates and a committee has been set up with employees of the Ministry of Justice, the Public Prosecution Service and victim support.
Furthermore, there were video conferences with all involved chain partners within Curaçao, including the police, the Ministry of Justice, the Ministry of Social Development, Labor and Welfare (SOAW) and the Coast Guard.
In addition, discussions were held to tackle labor exploitation with the SOAW. Potential opportunities within criminal cases were structurally examined with the police and an attempt was made to streamline the information lines more.