We also took the opportunity to ask the Attorney General about the US State Department's 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report.
For a second consecutive year, the US is rating Belize as a Tier 2 watchlist country. This means that from the US Government's perspective, the Belize government hasn't done enough to combat human trafficking. But, they are at least recognizing that Belize has made significant efforts to comply with the US's minimum standards.
We asked the AG about that rating:
Hon. Michael Peyrefitte - Attorney General
"We don't understand the United States. We have done all that we could have done, that they asked us to do, to combat human trafficking. We believe that we have done an outstanding job to combat human trafficking. And I don't understand how we can be downgraded, but that's their assessment. I've long held the position that we're not going to lose much sleep over how another country assesses us, especially since the US claims that one of the problems in Belize is that powerful people who engage in activities that stem from human trafficking tend to get away with crimes. So, I don't agree with the assessment. I believe that we have been doing a great job, but they are the big elephant in the room. And their assessment has to be taken note of, but we can't afford to be bothered by that. We have to just keep doing the hard work that we're doing."
"We push for these cases all the time. We go after the liquor licenses for bars that would house these types of places that you would think would be a breeding ground for human trafficking. We have yet to see the levels that they are talking about. And whenever, we encourage the assessors - so to speak - if they could speak to us before you come out with a report, ask us what we're doing as the government, they never do. All they do is compile their own information, make an assessment based on their own information. So, we take great exception to when we're downgraded, without being asked as to what we're doing to make sure that we are doing all that we can."
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