Annual Reports
Trafficking in Persons Report 2010
Note: This is the Nicaragua specific portion of the report. The full report can be found here
NICARAGUA (Tier 2 Watch List)
Nicaragua is principally a
source and transit country for women and children subjected to
trafficking in persons, specifically forced prostitution and forced
labor. Nicaraguan women and children are trafficked for commercial
sexual exploitation within the country as well as in neighboring
countries, most often to El Salvador, Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras,
Mexico, and the United States. Trafficking victims are recruited in
rural areas for work in urban centers, particularly Managua, and
subsequently coerced into prostitution. Adults and children are
subjected to conditions of forced labor in agriculture, the fishing
industry, and for involuntary domestic servitude within the country and
in Costa Rica. There are reports of some Nicaraguans forced to engage in
drug trafficking. To a lesser extent, Nicaragua is a destination
country for women and children recruited from neighboring countries for
forced prostitution. Managua, Granada, Esteli, and San Juan del Sur are
destinations for foreign child sex tourists from the United States,
Canada, and Western Europe, and some travel agencies are reportedly
complicit in promoting child sex tourism. Nicaragua is a transit country
for migrants from Africa and East Asia en route to the United
States; some may fall victim to human trafficking.
The Government
of Nicaragua does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to
do so. Last year the government convicted two trafficking offenders and
sentenced them to 12 years’ imprisonment. Despite such efforts, the
government showed little overall evidence of progress in combating human
trafficking, particularly in terms of providing adequate assistance and
protection to victims, confronting trafficking-related complicity by
government officials, and increasing public awareness about human
trafficking; therefore, Nicaragua remains on Tier 2 Watch List for the
second consecutive year.
Recommendations for Nicaragua: Increase
efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses, and convict
and punish trafficking offenders, including government officials who may
be complicit in trafficking crimes; increase law enforcement efforts
against forced labor; institute clear, formal, and proactive procedures
for identifying trafficking victims among vulnerable populations such as
women and children in prostitution; dedicate additional resources for
assistance to trafficking victims; provide adequate care for adult
trafficking victims; and raise public awareness about human trafficking
in general and child prostitution in particular.
Prosecution
The
Government of Nicaragua sustained modest efforts to combat human
trafficking through law enforcement activities during the reporting
period. Nicaragua criminalizes all forms of human trafficking. Article
182 of the Penal Code prohibits trafficking in persons for the purposes
of slavery, sexual exploitation, and adoption, prescribing penalties of 7
to 10 years’ imprisonment. A separate statute, Article 315, prohibits
the submission, maintenance, or forced recruitment of another person
into slavery, forced labor, servitude, or participation in an armed
conflict; this offense carries penalties of five to eight years
imprisonment. These prescribed punishments are sufficiently stringent
and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other serious crimes,
such as rape. During the reporting period, the government investigated
nine trafficking cases and initiated three prosecutions, compared with
13 investigations and 10 prosecutions initiated in 2008. The government
convicted two trafficking offenders, each of whom received a sentence of
12 years’ imprisonment, which represents an increase in convictions
from the previous year when no trafficking offenders were convicted.
Nicaraguan authorities collaborated with the governments of neighboring
countries to jointly investigate two trafficking cases over last year.
Despite credible reports from NGOs and the local media regarding local
officials’ complicity in or tolerance of human trafficking, particularly
in border regions, the government did not investigate or prosecute any
officials for suspected involvement in trafficking offenses. During the
year, international organizations and NGOs reported a decrease in law
enforcement efforts to combat trafficking, and authorities often did not
take action or investigate cases, even when given specific details
regarding the whereabouts of suspected traffickers.
Protection
The
Nicaraguan government made inadequate efforts to protect trafficking
victims during the last year, and NGOs and international organizations
continued to be the principal providers of services to victims. The
government provided basic shelter and services to some child trafficking
victims, but such assistance was not readily accessible in all parts of
the country, and the government reportedly decreased its already
limited assistance to these shelters over the past year. There were no
government-operated shelters for trafficking victims, though NGOs
operated shelters for sex trafficking victims. Adult trafficking victims
were largely unable to access any government-sponsored victim services,
although the government provided limited legal, medical and
psychological services to some victims. During the reporting period,
eight Nicaraguan trafficking victims were repatriated from El Salvador
and Guatemala; most victims receiving services were reported to be
Nicaraguans who had been trafficked abroad. The government encouraged
victims to participate in trafficking investigations and prosecutions,
though most were reluctant to do so due to social stigma and fear of
retribution from traffickers, as the government offers no witness
protection for victims who serve as prosecution witnesses. While the
rights of trafficking victims are generally upheld, some victims may not
have been identified as victims of human trafficking by authorities.
The government provided a temporary legal alternative to the removal of
foreign victims to countries where they may face hardship or
retribution. NGOs provided limited training on human trafficking to some
law enforcement and immigration officials.
Prevention
The
Nicaraguan government’s efforts to prevent trafficking remained
inadequate. The government conducted no anti-trafficking outreach or
education campaigns in 2009, although NGOs and international
organizations conducted public awareness campaigns with limited
government collaboration. The government converted a hotline formerly
dedicated to human trafficking into a hotline for reporting on the
general welfare of children. The government’s interagency
anti-trafficking committee was responsible for coordinating
anti-trafficking efforts, but conducted few activities, and NGOs
questioned the committee’s capability and commitment to combat
trafficking. Government partnership with NGOs on anti-trafficking
activities is reported to be better at the local level. Authorities
partnered with an NGO in northern Nicaraguan to raise awareness about
the commercial sexual exploitation of children; however, the government
made limited efforts to combat child sex tourism. The government
undertook no other initiatives to reduce demand for commercial sexual
acts, such as conducting national awareness raising campaigns on child
prostitution, and it did not report any efforts to reduce demand for
forced labor.