Caribbean News
Government Committed to Ongoing Strengthening of Legislation to Combat Human Trafficking
#Jamaica, November 16, 2021 – Minister without Portfolio in the Ministry of National Security, Senator the Hon. Matthew Samuda, says the Government is committed to continuously strengthening legislation to tackle the scourge of human trafficking in Jamaica.
“If we consider our history in trying to manage this global scourge, since 2007… many within the bureaucracy have worked tirelessly to ensure that we continue to make a more robust framework to deal with this issue,” Senator Samuda said.
He was speaking during Friday’s (November 12) sitting of the Senate while piloting the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression and Punishment) (Amendment) Act, 2021. The Bill was approved without amendment.
Senator Samuda said work has continued under successive Administrations “to ensure that we get on top of this scourge.” He emphasised that this is crucial given Jamaica’s geographic location which places the country at risk of being exploited as a transit point and destination for human trafficking.
“Given the global and lucrative nature of human trafficking and its imminent threat to our people, the Government has taken the decision to proceed with amendments to the Act to remove the option of fines as a penalty for certain offences that are egregious in nature,” he said.
He noted that the Government is also looking to increase fines for the offence of threatening and obstructing a constable, from $250,000 to $1 million.
“Additionally, the amended Act creates a provision that empowers the Minister, by order subject to affirmative resolution, to make amendments to [the] monetary penalties,” Senator Samuda said.
He emphasised that the proposed amendments are timely as they reaffirm Jamaica’s commitment “to the appraisal
of the United Nations Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons, and the strategic priorities of the Government to criminalise trafficking in persons in all its forms, to disrupt and dismantle criminal networks involved in such crimes, and to forfeit their ill-gotten gains.”
“We will make these amendments and continue to strive for the rooting out of trafficking in persons, certainly within Jamaica, and playing our part in our region, not just because of international commitments, not just because it is a global scourge, but because of our own history and our own rejection of such crimes,” he further stated.
Senator Samuda noted that human trafficking is an “extremely lucrative” international crime which, according to the International Labour Organization (ILO), generates approximately US$150 billion globally each year by preying on the vulnerable, including children, women, and marginalised persons.
“[Human trafficking] victims are subjected to unspeakable violations and harm. Fifty per cent of detected victims were trafficked for sexual exploitation, [and] 38 per cent were exploited for forced labour. Other victims are forced into marriage, begging, criminal acts, and armed combat,” he said.
Senator Samuda stressed that, universally, Administrations must reinforce legislation and policy parameters to combat the real and present threats posed by human trafficking, especially in light of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic.
“We must also acknowledge the urgency for these particular amendments when we contend with the [issue)] of COVID-19 and its economic effect making the most vulnerable within our society even more vulnerable to these threats,” he said.
The Senator told the Upper House that in February this year, the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime reported that since the pandemic’s onset, the overall incidence human trafficking has worsened. He said the agency further indicated that the number of children among the detected victims tripled, with the ratio of boys increasing five-fold over the past 15 years.
Senator Samuda pointed out that consequent on these scenarios, the proposed amendments to the Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression and Punishment) (Amendment) Act, 2021 are based on the need to create an Anti-Human Trafficking regime that discourages and promulgates deterrence of the offenders and recidivists.
The Trafficking in Persons (Prevention, Suppression and Punishment) Act was passed in 2007 and amended in 2013 to increase the penalties.
It was again amended in 2018 to enable a judge to try trafficking offences without a jury.
The 2021 amended Bill was passed in the Lower House on November 3 with two amendments.
Contact: Alecia Smith
Release: JIS
By Deandrea Hamilton | Magnetic Media
October 14, 2025 – It’s being called political theatre — but for citizens, constitutional watchdogs, and democracy advocates across the Caribbean, it feels far more serious. Within a single week, two national parliaments — in Trinidad and Tobago and St. Kitts and Nevis — descended into turmoil as opposition members stormed out in protest, accusing their Speakers of bias, overreach, and abuse of parliamentary procedure.
For observers, the walkouts signal a deeper problem: erosion of trust in the very institutions meant to safeguard democracy. When Speakers are viewed as political enforcers instead of neutral referees, parliaments stop functioning as chambers of debate and start performing as stages for power and spectacle — with citizens left wondering who, if anyone, is still accountable.
October 6: St. Kitts Parliament Erupts
The first walkout erupted in Basseterre on October 6, 2025, when Dr. Timothy Harris, former Prime Minister and now Opposition Leader,
led his team out of the St. Kitts and Nevis National Assembly in a protest that stunned the chamber.
The flashpoint came as the Speaker moved to approve more than three years’ worth of unratified parliamentary minutes in one sitting — covering 27 meetings and three national budgets — without individual review or debate.
Dr. Harris called the move “a flagrant breach of the Constitution and parliamentary tradition,” warning that the practice undermines transparency and accountability. “No serious parliament can go years without approving a single set of minutes,” he said after exiting the chamber.
The Speaker defended the decision as administrative housekeeping, but critics were unconvinced, branding the move a “world record disgrace.” The opposition’s walkout triggered renewed calls for the Speaker’s resignation and sparked a wider public discussion about record-keeping, accountability, and respect for parliamentary norms in St. Kitts and Nevis.
October 10: Trinidad Opposition Follows Suit
Four days later, on October 10, 2025, the Opposition United National Congress (UNC) in Trinidad and Tobago staged its own walkout from the House of Representatives in Port of Spain.
The UNC accused the Speaker of partisan bias, claiming she had repeatedly blocked urgent questions, ignored points of order, and allowed government members to breach standing orders without consequence.
“The Speaker has failed in her duty to act impartially,” the Opposition declared in a statement. “Parliament is not the property of any political party or Presiding Officer.”
The dramatic exit was seen as a culmination of months of rising tension and frustration, with opposition MPs arguing that parliamentary rules were being selectively applied to silence dissenting voices.
Political analyst Dr. Marcia Ferdinand described the twin walkouts as “a warning sign that parliamentary democracy in the Caribbean is teetering on the edge of performative politics.”
“When chairs become political shields rather than constitutional referees,” she said, “democracy becomes theatre, not governance.”
A Pattern Emerging
While St. Kitts and Trinidad are very different political environments, both incidents point to the same regional fault line: the perception that Speakers — the guardians of parliamentary order — are no longer impartial.
In Westminster-style systems like those across the Caribbean, the Speaker’s authority depends not on power but on public confidence in fairness. Once that credibility erodes, parliamentary control collapses into confrontation.
Governance experts say the implications are serious: eroded trust between government and opposition, declining public confidence in state institutions, and growing voter cynicism that “rules” are flexible tools of political advantage.
Why It Matters
Parliamentary walkouts are not new in the Caribbean, but what makes these recent events different is their frequency and intensity — and
the regional echo they’ve created. Social media has amplified images of lawmakers storming out, with citizens from Barbados to Belize questioning whether the same erosion of decorum could be happening in their own legislatures.
Analysts warn that if this perception takes hold, it risks diminishing the moral authority of parliamentary democracy itself.
“Once opposition MPs believe the rules are rigged, and once citizens believe Parliament is just performance,” said one Caribbean governance researcher, “you’ve lost the most valuable currency in democracy — trust.”
Restoring Balance
Political reformers across the region are calling for tighter Standing Order enforcement, independent parliamentary service commissions, and training to strengthen Speaker neutrality. Civil society leaders say the public must also play its part by demanding transparency and refusing to normalize partisan manipulation of parliamentary procedure.
Whether these twin walkouts become catalysts for reform — or simply another episode of Caribbean political theatre — will depend on what happens next inside those chambers.
For now, democracy watchers agree on one thing: when opposition leaders feel the only way to be heard is to walk out, the entire democratic house — not just its Speaker — is in danger of collapse.
Angle by Deandrea Hamilton. Built with ChatGPT (AI). Magnetic Media — CAPTURING LIFE.
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