prosecutions, or convictions of government officials complicit in human trafficking in 2014.

PROTECTION
The government sustained efforts to protect sex trafficking victims. Authorities identified seven child sex trafficking victims and seven adult sex trafficking victims linked to 2013 convictions; it did not identify any labor trafficking victims or male sex trafficking victims. Identified sex trafficking victims received government assistance; detailed information on assistance provided to the 14 identified victims was unavailable. The government reported informal procedures to proactively identify sex trafficking victims, whereby first responders identify potential cases and refer them to law enforcement.The government did not report having procedures to proactively identify victims of forced labor. Employees of the Ministries of Tourism and Education received training to spot indicators of sex trafficking, particularly among children engaged in commercial sex. The Federation of Cuban Women received funding from international organizations and operated centers for women and families nationwide to assist individuals harmed by violence, including victims of sex trafficking. These centers provided services such as psychological treatment, health care, skills training, and assistance in finding employment. Authorities did not report how many sex trafficking victims were assisted by these centers.The government did not operate any shelters or services specifically for adult victims of trafficking. Police encouraged child sex trafficking victims under the age of 17 to assist in prosecutions of traffickers by operating three facilities that gathered children’s testimony though psychologist-led videotaped interviewing, usually removing the need for children to appear in court. In addition to collecting testimony, government social workers developed a specific plan for the provision of follow-on services.There were no reports of the government punishing sex trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to human trafficking.There were no reports of foreign trafficking victims in Cuba.

PREVENTION
The government sustained anti-trafficking prevention efforts.The attorney general’s office operated a 24-hour telephone line for individuals, including sex trafficking victims, needing legal assistance. State media produced newspaper articles and television and radio programs to raise public awareness about sex trafficking. Authorities maintained an office within the Ministry of Tourism charged with monitoring Cuba’s image as a tourism destination, combating sex tourism, and addressing the demand for commercial sex acts; however, authorities did not make efforts to address the demand for forced labor. Authorities reported four foreign nationals continued serving sentences ranging from 13 to 30 years’ imprisonment for child sex tourism in Cuba; and two foreign nationals awaited hearings. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security coordinated national anti-trafficking efforts, but did not address all forms of trafficking. The government did not report whether it provided anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel. A formal, written report on governmental anti-trafficking efforts was released to the public in November 2014. In March 2015, authorities invited the UN special rapporteur on trafficking in persons to visit.The government did not report specialized training for labor inspectors to screen for trafficking indicators of potential forced labor.

CURAÇAO:  Tier 2 
Curaçao is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children, and men subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Specific at-risk populations include women and girls living in Curaçao in the unregulated commercial sex trade, including in “snacks” in local neighborhoods; teenagers and young adults, including adolescent single mothers; foreign women from South America and other Caribbean countries in the regulated commercial sex trade; and migrant workers in the dry dock, construction, landscaping, minimarkets, retail, and restaurant industries, including from other Caribbean countries, South America, India, and China. Foreign women who apply to work at Curaçao’s legal brothel, which offers “24/7 access” to more than 120 foreign women in prostitution, are vulnerable to trafficking; they must obtain a temporary visa and work permit, a medical check-up on arrival from the Ministry of Health, and subsequent check-ups every two weeks. There have been reports of government officials— including a civil servant employed by the police—complicit in trafficking crimes.
The Government of Curaçao does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In 2014, the government convicted and sentenced four sex traffickers and launched an anti-trafficking awareness campaign on a local television station. Authorities did not increase funding for or improve the quality of services available to trafficking victims. The government did not issue formalized standard operating procedures on victim identification.The government did not take steps to address sex trafficking within the unregulated commercial sex trade or to increase the capacity to conduct labor inspections in industries vulnerable to labor trafficking.

RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR CURAÇAO:
Make robust and transparent efforts to identify and assist potential victims of sex trafficking and forced labor; finalize formal, proactive victim identification, referral, and protection measures to guide officials, including health workers, on how to assist victims of forced labor and sex trafficking in the legal and illegal sex trade; continue to vigorously prosecute trafficking offenses and convict and punish traffickers, including government officials complicit in human trafficking; finalize and implement the national anti- trafficking action plan; closely monitor the implementation of the anti-trafficking protocol with members of the business community; provide targeted training and resources to local officials to conduct outreach in migrant communities to uncover potential labor trafficking victims; provide educational materials to individuals in the sex trade and migrant workers to ensure they know their rights, trafficking indicators, and who to call if they suspect human trafficking; provide adequate resources for the anti-trafficking taskforce; and continue to implement a multilingual public awareness campaign directed at potential victims, the general public, and potential clients of the sex trade.

PROSECUTION
The government made significant progress in anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Curaçao prohibits all forms of trafficking in persons through Article 2:239 of its criminal code, which prescribes penalties ranging from nine to 24 years’ imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. The government did not report initiating any new trafficking investigations. Authorities prosecuted and convicted three sex traffickers in one case: a former club owner and the club manager were convicted of human trafficking under Article 2:239 and received sentences of 36 and 18 months’ imprisonment. As a result of bilateral cooperation in this case, a Colombian national was charged with sex trafficking in Curaçao and Colombia and was subsequently deported to Colombia at the request of Colombian authorities. In the same case, authorities acquitted a civil servant employed by the police of trafficking charges, but convicted him of illegal firearm possession and violating the terms of his employment; he was sentenced to 200 hours of community service.The government did not report any additional investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government officials complicit in human trafficking offenses.