Saint Lucia added to US Human Trafficking Tier 2 watchlist

The United States has placed Saint Lucia on its Tier 2 Watchlist in the 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, signaling concerns over the country’s limited progress in addressing human trafficking.

According to the US State Department, Saint Lucia like other countries on the tier did not meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but is making efforts to do so. However, the report notes that the government failed to demonstrate overall increased efforts compared to the previous year.

Key issues cited include:

• No trafficking investigations, prosecutions, or convictions in the past year
• No identified victims during the reporting period
• No penalties imposed for trafficking crimes under existing laws
• Insufficient victim services and identification mechanisms

Saint Lucia’s Counter-Trafficking Act has been in place since 2010, but the US.report highlights a lack of enforcement. It also noted the government did not prohibit recruitment fees for workers, a common trafficking risk factor.

The Tier 2 Watchlist is a warning category. If Saint Lucia does not make concrete improvements in the next year, it risks being downgraded to Tier 3, which could affect US aid and international partnerships.

Several Caribbean countries were also mentioned in the 2025 report. Barbados was similarly downgraded on the watchlist, while the Bahamas and Guyana retained Tier 1 status.

While not cause for immediate panic, the report urges countries like Saint Lucia to increase prosecutions, proactively identify victims, train frontline workers, and strengthen victim support systems.

The full report is available at www.state.gov.