The fight against human trafficking, from abuses of migrant
workers to organized prostitution networks, lost ground in the past year, the US
State Department reported.
The number of countries failing to comply with international
standards to prevent human trafficking almost doubled to 23, according to US
State Department’s 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report released today.
“The problem of modern trafficking may be entrenched, and it
may seem like there is no end in sight,” Secretary of State Hillary Clinton
said in a statement accompanying the report.
“But if we act on the laws that have been passed and the
commitments that have been made, it is solvable.”
As many as 27 million people are “living in a state of
modern slavery,” she said.
Eleven countries have dropped into so-called Tier 3, those
with the poorest record of fighting trafficking, joining 12 nations previously
listed in that category under guidelines set by the Trafficking Victims
Protection Act.
The eleven countries are: Lebanon, Yemen, Algeria, Libya, Central
African Republic, Equatorial Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Madagascar, Micronesia,
Turkmenistan and Venezuela. They join nations such as Iran and Saudi Arabia
with the poorest records on taking action to prevent human trafficking.
Tier 1 is comprised of countries with strong enforcement
policies, such as the US, UK, France and Australia. Tier 2 designates
countries, such as Mexico, which do not fully comply with standards but are
making “significant efforts.”
“Tier 2 Watch List” countries such as China, Russia and
Thailand promise improvement in light of “significant” number of victims and a
failure to show increased efforts to “combat severe forms of trafficking.”
The 11 countries that dropped into the lowest category, Tier
3, “are not making significant efforts” to comply with international standards,
including prosecution of those involved in human trafficking, protection of
victims, and prevention of future trafficking, the report said. Human
trafficking can include a range of abuses including forced labor and
prostitution.
Political unrest in Arab countries complicated the issue in
countries such as Libya and Yemen, whose government did not provide data for this
year’s report.
Macedonia, recording an increase in trafficking-related
convictions, was elevated to Tier 1 from Tier 2. The Slovak Republic made the
same shift.
The Dominican Republic was raised to Tier 2 Watch List from
Tier 3 because of improved prevention measures under its National Anti-Trafficking
Action Plan, the report noted.
A total of 117 nations have committed to fighting human
trafficking in accordance with the UN’s Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and
Punish Trafficking in Persons, passed by the General Assembly Nov. 15, 2000.
The State Department report was produced by the Office to
Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, which was created by the Trafficking
Victims Protection Act of 2000.
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