[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

ANTIGUA AND BARBUDA (Tier 2) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report - Antigua and Barbuda

The Government of Antigua and Barbuda does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore Antigua and Barbuda was upgraded to Tier 2. These efforts included investigating more trafficking cases, finalizing and implementing a new NAP, and updating victim identification and referral SOPs. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government did not initiate any prosecutions for the third consecutive year and has never convicted a trafficker. The government did not identify any confirmed victims for the third consecutive year. The use of SOPs for victim identification and referral remained inconsistent.

Prioritized Recommendations

Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, convict traffickers, and seek appropriate penalties, which should involve significant prison terms.

Continue to increase efforts to identify victims through proactive screening of at-risk populations, such as newly arrived migrants, individuals in commercial sex, and People’s Republic of China (PRC) national and Cuban workers on foreign government-affiliated programs.

Continue to reduce delays in court proceedings.

Consistently implement government-wide SOPs to proactively identify victims and refer them to care, and train front line officials in trafficking indicators and the difference between human trafficking and migrant smuggling.

Continue to provide trauma-informed training on trafficking for NGOs and service providers to improve their ability to care for potential trafficking victims.

Train police, prosecutors, and judicial officials on evidence collection and management for use in judicial proceedings.