The United States has placed three Caribbean Community (CARICOM) countries on its 'Tier 2 Watch List' and one on its 'Special Case' list in its ninth Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.

The State Department has also placed six CARICOM nations on its 'Tier 2' list.

The report, on Wednesday, listed Belize, Guyana, and St Vincent and the Grenadines in the 'Tier 2 Watch List' category, and Haiti as the 'Special Case.'

Antigua and Barbuda, The Bahamas, Barbados, Jamaica, Suriname, and Trinidad and Tobago are listed in the 'Tier 2' category.

Tier 2 applies to countries considered to be making minimal efforts to satisfy the US' anti-trafficking in persons requirement, while 'Tier 2 Watch List' status is when their efforts are not enough, according to US standards.

Washington said that Belize is a "source, transit, and destination country" for men, women and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labour.

Most common

It said the most common form of trafficking in Belize is the internal sex trafficking of minors, particularly situations in which "poor families push their school-aged daughters to provide sexual favours to wealthy older men in exchange for school fees, money, and gifts."

This 'sugar daddy' phenomenon occurs in Belize and other Caribbean countries, but often it is not recognised as a form of human trafficking by local communities or law enforcement personnel," the report said.

"The US government, however, notes the progress of Haiti's government, and urges the government of Haiti to take immediate action to address its serious trafficking-in-persons problems," the report said.

Tier 2 applies to countries considered to be making minimal efforts to satisfy the US anti-trafficking in persons' requirement, while 'Tier 2 Watch List' is when their efforts are not enough, according to US standards.