RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR TONGA:
Adopt procedures to proactively identify trafficking victims among vulnerable groups; increase training for law enforcement officials and labor inspectors on human trafficking, including on how to identify and assist victims; increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes and punish traffickers; provide Asian language interpretation services to facilitate identification of foreign victims and their subsequent referral to care and cooperation with law enforcement; enact a law or establish a policy to provide explicit protections for trafficking victims, such as restitution, legal and medical benefits, and immigration relief; develop and conduct anti-trafficking information and education campaigns; investigate, prosecute, and punish incidences of child sex trafficking and raise awareness of the problem; develop a national action plan; and accede to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

PROSECUTION
The government made negligible anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. The Counter Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime Act does not prohibit all forms of trafficking because it defines trafficking only as a transnational crime.This law prescribes penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment for trafficking offenses involving adult victims and 20 years’ imprisonment for offenses involving children; these penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties for other serious crimes, such as rape. Since convicting its first trafficker in April 2011, the government has not investigated any suspected trafficking cases or identified any trafficking victims. In partnership with a foreign donor, the attorney general’s office led a human trafficking workshop for Tongan officials in May.The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking offenses.

PROTECTION
The government made negligible efforts to protect trafficking victims. The government did not identify or provide protective services to any victims during the reporting period. It did not develop or employ systematic procedures for the identification of victims among at-risk groups, such as undocumented migrants or women in prostitution. The government has procedures for referring crime victims to an NGO service provider for assistance but did not use these procedures for the referral of trafficking victims to care.The government provided 50,000 pa’anga ($26,200)

to one local NGO for operations to assist women and child victims of crime; although trafficking victims were eligible to use these services, no identified trafficking victims benefited from its services in 2014. Under the Immigration Act, the principal immigration officer has broad discretionary authority to grant trafficking victims permits to stay in the country for any length of time necessary for their protection.Victims could be granted asylum in Tonga if they feared retribution or hardship in their country of origin, though no trafficking victim has ever requested asylum. Victims have the ability to file civil cases against their traffickers, but none filed such cases in 2014.

PREVENTION
The government made negligible efforts to prevent human trafficking.The government did not develop a national action plan to combat trafficking, establish a coordinating body to spearhead anti-trafficking efforts, or conduct educational campaigns to increase awareness of trafficking in Tonga.The government did not provide anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel. It also did not take action to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor during the reporting period.Tonga is not a party to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO:
Tier 2 Watch List 
Trinidad and Tobago is a destination, transit, and possible source country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Women and girls from the Dominican Republic, Guyana,Venezuela, and Colombia are subjected to sex trafficking in brothels and clubs, with young women fromVenezuela especially vulnerable. Economic migrants from the Caribbean region, especially Guyana, and from Asia are vulnerable to forced labor. Victims have been subjected to forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector. Immigration officials note an increase in international criminal organizations’ involvement in trafficking, and NGOs report young boys are coerced to sell drugs and guns. In a break with common practice, some traffickers have recently allowed victims to keep their passports, removing a common indicator of human trafficking in an attempt to avoid detection. Many other traffickers continue to confiscate victims’ passports and travel documents. Economic migrants who lack legal status may be exposed to various forms of exploitation and abuse indicative of trafficking. Trinidad and Tobago experiences a steady flow of vessels transiting its territorial waters, some of which may be engaged in illicit and illegal activities, including forced labor in the fishing industry. Complicity by police and immigration officials in trafficking crimes impeded anti-trafficking efforts. Law enforcement and civil society reported some police and immigration officers facilitated trafficking in the country, with some law enforcement officials directly exploiting victims. Anti-trafficking stakeholders reported some police officers had ties to sex trade establishments, which is likely to inhibit law enforcement’s willingness to investigate allegations of trafficking in the sex trade.
The Government of Trinidad and Tobago does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.The anti-trafficking unit sustained efforts to identify trafficking victims and refer them to care. Despite these measures, the government did not demonstrate

overall increasing anti-trafficking efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore,Trinidad and Tobago is placed on Tier 2 Watch List.The government investigated trafficking offenses— including potentially complicit law enforcement and immigration officials—but initiated only one prosecution against a suspected trafficker under its 2011 anti-trafficking law, a significant decrease compared with the 12 prosecutions during the previous reporting period. Immigration and police officers have been implicated in facilitating sex trafficking.The government has yet to convict any individuals under its anti-trafficking law and did not develop a national plan of action as mandated under the law.

RECOMMENDATIONS FOR TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO:
Prosecute cases investigated under the 2011Trafficking in Persons Act and convict and sentence traffickers, including complicit immigration and law enforcement officials; continue to devote adequate resources to the anti-trafficking unit to carry out its mandate in the investigation of trafficking crimes and the identification and protection of victims and ensure those resources are effectively allocated; develop a national action plan to address law enforcement efforts, victim care, and interagency coordination related to trafficking crimes; formalize and widely disseminate procedures to guide all front-line officials in the identification and referral of potential victims, especially among foreign women in prostitution, migrant workers, and children; increase and provide adequate funding to NGOs to care for victims; continue training and outreach to educate officials about the manifestations of trafficking in the country; and implement a national public awareness campaign that addresses all forms of trafficking, including the prostitution of children and forced labor.