Attorney-General and Minister of Justice Senator A J Nicholson tried to deflect criticisms arising from the Observer's report on Friday morning that the Senate would, finally, be dealing with the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Act.

The Observer report had pointed out that the Bill was passed in the House of Representatives on November 14 last year, the very month the United States Congress was scheduled to review the rankings of countries deemed to be involved in human trafficking.

This was first revealed to the Press in early November by the minister of information and development, Donald Buchanan, in an apparent attempt to highlight the urgency of the matter.

Afterall, if Jamaica fails to be promoted from this watch list, we stand to fall back to a tier three rating very soon. This rating carries sanctions, including statutory restrictions on non-humanitarian or non-trade-related government assistance, as well as the withholding of funds for cultural and educational exchanges between Jamaica and the United States, which could seriously affect local students.

However, after it was passed in November, and despite the Government's knowledge that Jamaica's position was being reviewed in terms of what has been done since 2006 to curb the global crime, it was only passed in the Senate last Friday, some two months later.
Senator Nicholson tried to explain that there had only been three meetings of the Senate since - two in December, including one shortened to accommodate the Senate's Christmas Luncheon, and one since the holiday break.

Certainly, that is no excuse.
It is noticeable that the Sunset Legislation, which deals with Cricket World Cup 2007, was passed in the House of Representatives on October 24 and in the Senate on October 27, three days later.
No one was expecting that kind of urgency in the case of the TIP Bill, even though it touches on such serious issues as the sexual and economic exploitation of our children.

The result is that the US Congress was not convinced by our efforts and has placed us back on the 'Special Watch List' with the possibility of being demoted to tier three, at which stage the sanctions would be imposed.
It is important to note that the 'Special Watch List' includes countries that have very significant human trafficking problems but have not shown increased efforts over the last year.

Senator Nicholson was at pains Friday to explain that since the 2005 tier three rating, the Government - starting with the administration of former Prime Minister P J Patterson - started efforts to curb the crime.
Very importantly, he had to admit, however, that the failure to implement the bill was one of the main reasons the country was back on the watch list.

"There are other reasons, but one of the main reasons why we are still on the tier two watch list is that this bill, this act, has not yet been brought into force," Senator Nicholson said.
That is exactly the point made by the Observer story, and whether the Government or its leadership in the Senate was at fault, the fact is that this is evidence of political irresponsibility.

. The second issue involving the media surrounds a statement by Opposition Senator Dwight Nelson during the debate on his motion seeking to have the Labour Relations and Industrial Disputes Act (LRIDA) amended to outlaw HIV/AIDS tests as a precondition for employment.

In his opening presentation, Senator Nelson accused the media of being one of the main sectors promoting discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS.
He was suggesting that education was not the panacea when he said:

"Some of the greatest offenders in this country, who discriminate against HIV/AIDS persons and who insist on mandatory testing for employment, are our media houses: they who form and shape public opinion. Some of our large media houses are some of the greatest offenders."
The senator did not i ndicate which media houses, but his comments are likely to raise some concerns among the public, as well as the media houses.

It would certainly be interesting to know which media houses are insisting on HIV/AIDS testing for prospective employees and why.
The motion, tabled in October last year by Senator Nelson, who is also president of the Jamaica Confederation of Trade Unions (JCTU), will generate discussion on the issue.

The motion wants the Senate to call on the Government to amend the LRIDA to make the "widespread" practice of screening for HIV/AIDS as a prerequisite for employment illegal.
"Such practices are violations of the fundamental principles and rights at work and undermines efforts for prevention and care. Such practices transgress ILO Conventions number 111 and number 155, which Jamaica has ratified," Nelson's motion states.

The International Labour Organisation (ILO), the United Nations body responsible for workers' rights, has been calling for global action to stop discrimination against persons with HIV/AIDS. However, there are different views on whether testing should be outlawed, as some people feel that the information will assist in controlling the spread of the disease and employers insist they should have the right to do so.

Executive Class

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Death to the Mullet!