National Holiday(s): include date & event/celebration
Independence Day, 31 August (1962)
Description of Executive Branch/Powers
Chief of state
Head of Government
cabinet: Cabinet appointed from among members of Parliament
Description of Legislative Branch/Powers
bicameral Parliament consists of the Senate (31 seats; 16 members appointed by the ruling party, 9 by the president, and 6 by the opposition party; members serve 5-year terms;) and the House of Representatives (41 seats; members directly elected in single-seat constituencies by simple majority vote to serve 5-year terms)
Tobago has a unicameral House of Assembly
Description of Judicial Branch/Powers
highest resident court(s): Supreme Court of the Judicature (consists of a chief justice for both the Court of Appeal with 12 judges and the High Court with 24 judges); note - Trinidad and Tobago can file appeals beyond its Supreme Court to the Caribbean Court of Justice, with final appeal to the Judicial Committee of the Privy Council (in London)
subordinate courts: Courts of Summary Criminal Jurisdiction; Petty Civil Courts; Family Court
Suffrage (who is allowed to vote)
18 years of age; universal
Name of THEIR Ambassador to the U.S.
Ambassador Anthony Wayne Jerome PHILLIPS SPENCER
Location of THEIR embassy in the U.S.
1708 Massachusetts Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20036
Location(s) of THEIR consulate(s) in the U.S. (just the name/s of city/ies is fine)
Miami, New York
Name of U.S. Ambassador to THEM
Ambassador John L. ESTRADA
Location of U.S. embassy THERE
15 Queen's Park West, Port of Spain
Location(s) of U.S. consulate(s) THERE (just the name/s of city/ies is fine)
No information available
Name of THEIR representative to UN
Pennelope Beckles
Video or audio (from YouTube??) of their national anthem being played
"Forged From the Love of Liberty"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FBywPf6oyFQ
National Symbol(s)
scarlet ibis (bird of Trinidad), cocrico (bird of Tobago), Chaconia flower; national colors: red, white, black
Descriptions of International Disputes
Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago abide by the April 2006 Permanent Court of Arbitration decision delimiting a maritime boundary and limiting catches of flying fish in Trinidad and Tobago's EEZ; in 2005, Barbados and Trinidad and Tobago agreed to compulsory international arbitration under UN Convention on the Law of the Sea challenging whether the northern limit of Trinidad and Tobago's and Venezuela's maritime boundary extends into Barbadian waters; Guyana has expressed its intention to include itself in the arbitration, as the Trinidad and Tobago-Venezuela maritime boundary may also extend into its waters
Quantity of refugees inside country AND country(ies) of origin of refugees
326
Quantity of Internally Displaced Persons
31
Quantity of Stateless Persons
No data available
Description of current human trafficking issues related to this country
Trinidad and Tobago is a destination, transit, and possible source country for adults and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor; women and girls from Venezuela, the Dominican Republic, Guyana, and Colombia have been subjected to sex trafficking in Trinidad and Tobago’s brothels and clubs; some economic migrants from the Caribbean region and Asia are vulnerable to forced labor in domestic service and the retail sector; the steady flow of vessels transiting Trinidad and Tobago’s territorial waters may also increase opportunities for forced labor for fishing; international crime organizations are increasingly involved in trafficking, and boys are coerced to sell drugs and guns; corruption among police and immigration officials impedes anti-trafficking efforts
Description of Illicit Drug trafficking/use
transshipment point for South American drugs destined for the US and Europe; producer of cannabis
Chief of State (official public face of government)
President Anthony CARMONA
Head of Government (actual leader of government)
Prime Minister Keith ROWLEY
red with a white-edged black diagonal band from the upper hoist side to the lower fly side; the colors represent the elements of earth, water, and fire; black stands for the wealth of the land and the dedication of the people; white symbolizes the sea surrounding the islands, the purity of the country's aspirations, and equality; red symbolizes the warmth and energy of the sun, the vitality of the land, and the courage and friendliness of its people