Human trafficking in Nicaragua
Encyclopedia
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
, Estelí
, 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.
, 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 non-governmental organizations (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.
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.
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.
Nicaragua
Nicaragua is the largest country in the Central American American isthmus, bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The country is situated between 11 and 14 degrees north of the Equator in the Northern Hemisphere, which places it entirely within the tropics. The Pacific Ocean...
is principally a source and transit country for women and children subjected to trafficking
Human trafficking
Human trafficking is the illegal trade of human beings for the purposes of reproductive slavery, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, or a modern-day form of slavery...
in persons, specifically forced prostitution
Prostitution
Prostitution is the act or practice of providing sexual services to another person in return for payment. The person who receives payment for sexual services is called a prostitute and the person who receives such services is known by a multitude of terms, including a "john". Prostitution is one of...
and forced labor. Nicaraguan women and children are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation
Sexual exploitation may refer to:*Sexual slavery*Sexual exploitation and abuse in humanitarian response...
within the country as well as in neighboring countries, most often to El Salvador
El Salvador
El Salvador or simply Salvador is the smallest and the most densely populated country in Central America. The country's capital city and largest city is San Salvador; Santa Ana and San Miguel are also important cultural and commercial centers in the country and in all of Central America...
, Costa Rica
Costa Rica
Costa Rica , officially the Republic of Costa Rica is a multilingual, multiethnic and multicultural country in Central America, bordered by Nicaragua to the north, Panama to the southeast, the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Caribbean Sea to the east....
, Guatemala
Guatemala
Guatemala is a country in Central America bordered by Mexico to the north and west, the Pacific Ocean to the southwest, Belize to the northeast, the Caribbean to the east, and Honduras and El Salvador to the southeast...
, Honduras
Honduras
Honduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
, Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, and the United States. Trafficking victims are recruited in rural areas for work in urban centers, particularly Managua
Managua
Managua is the capital city of Nicaragua as well as the department and municipality by the same name. It is the largest city in Nicaragua in terms of population and geographic size. Located on the southwestern shore of Lake Xolotlán or Lake Managua, the city was declared the national capital in...
, and subsequently coerced into prostitution. Adults and children are subjected to conditions of forced labor in agriculture
Agriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
, 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
Granada, Nicaragua
Granada is a city in western Nicaragua and the capital of the Granada Department. With an estimated population of 110,326 , it is Nicaragua's fourth most populous city. Granada is historically one of Nicaragua's most important cities, economically and politically...
, Estelí
Estelí
Estelí, officially Villa de San Antonio de Pavia de Estelí is a city and municipality within the Estelí department. It is the third largest city in Nicaragua, an active commercial center in the north and is known as "the Diamond of the Segovias."...
, and San Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur
San Juan del Sur is a municipality and coastal town on the Pacific Ocean, in the Rivas department in south-west Nicaragua. San Juan del Sur is popular among surfers and is a vacation spot for many Nicaraguan families and foreign tourists....
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
Sex tourism
Sex tourism is travel to engage in sexual activity with prostitutes.The World Tourism Organization, a specialized agency of the United Nations, defines sex tourism as "trips organized from within the tourism sector, or from outside this sector but using its structures and networks, with the primary...
. 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.
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 slaverySlavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
, 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
Rape
Rape is a type of sexual assault usually involving sexual intercourse, which is initiated by one or more persons against another person without that person's consent. The act may be carried out by physical force, coercion, abuse of authority or with a person who is incapable of valid consent. The...
.
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 non-governmental organizations (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
Immigration
Immigration is the act of foreigners passing or coming into a country for the purpose of permanent residence...
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.