Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP), Paula Llewellyn, has taken the United States (U.S.) to task over its continued decision to give Jamaica a Tier 2 designation regarding human trafficking.

Jamaica has been at Tier 2 for several years, following assessments conducted by the U.S. Department of State’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP).

According to the Department’s 2024 TIP Report, the Government of Jamaica does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.

However, speaking at a Caribbean Trafficking in Persons Forum in Montego Bay, St. James today, DPP Llewellyn argued that Jamaica’s progress in the fight against human trafficking outweighs the efforts of several other countries.

She urged Political and Economic Counselor at the U.S. Embassy, George Matthews, who was at the forum, to address the matter.