SOURCE
CIA World Factbook, 14 June, 2007
DEFINITION
Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime. In 2000, the US Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), reauthorized in 2003 and 2005, which provides tools for the US to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad. One of the law's key components is the creation of the US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the government response in some 150 countries with a significant number of victims trafficked across their borders who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Countries in the annual report are rated in three tiers, based on government efforts to combat trafficking. The countries identified in this entry are those listed in the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report as Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3 based on the following definitions:
Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so, and meet one of the following criteria:
1. they display a high or significantly increasing number victims,
2. they have failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, or,
3. they have committed to take action over the next year.
Tier 3 countries neither satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking nor demonstrate a significant effort to do so. Countries in this tier are subject to potential non-humanitarian and non-trade sanctions.
Crime Statistics > Transnational Issues > Trafficking in persons > Tier rating (most recent) by country
Showing latest available data.
| Countries (A to Z) |
Description |
| Algeria |
Tier 2 Watch List - Algeria took no steps to assess the scope of trafficking in the country and reported no investigations or prosecutions for trafficking offenses in 2005 |
| Argentina |
Tier 2 Watch List - Argentina failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking particularly in the key area of prosecutions |
| Armenia |
Tier 2 Watch List - Armenia has failed to show evidence of increasing efforts, particularly in the areas of enforcement, trafficking-related corruption, and victim protection |
| Bahrain |
Tier 2 Watch List - Bahrain's efforts to address trafficking in persons are based largely on pledges of future efforts; the government did not enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law extending labor protection to domestic workers |
| Belize |
Tier 3 - Belize has failed to show evidence of significant law enforcement or victim protection efforts |
| Bolivia |
Tier 2 Watch List - Bolivia has failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in the areas of prosecutions and victim protection |
| Brazil |
Tier 2 Watch List - Brazil has failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to fight trafficking, specifically for its failure to apply effective criminal penalties against traffickers who exploit forced labor |
| Burma |
Tier 3 - Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Cambodia |
Tier 2 Watch List - Cambodia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is committed to making significant efforts to sustain progress over the coming year |
| Central African Republic |
Tier 2 Watch List - the Central African Republic failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons during 2005, specifically its inadequate law enforcement response to trafficking crimes |
| China |
Tier 2 Watch List - China failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to address transnational trafficking; while the government provides reasonable protection to internal victims of trafficking, protection for Chinese and foreign victims of transnational trafficking remain inadequate |
| Cuba |
Tier 3 - Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Cyprus |
Tier 2 Watch List - Cyprus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to address its serious trafficking for sexual exploitation problem; however, it is making significant efforts to do so |
| Djibouti |
Tier 2 Watch List - Djibouti does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so based partly on the government's commitments to undertake future action |
| Egypt |
Tier 2 Watch List - Egypt is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking over the past year, particularly in the area of law enforcement |
| Equatorial Guinea |
Tier 2 Watch List - Equatorial Guinea is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide adequate evidence of concrete measures to address trafficking during 2005 |
| India |
Tier 2 Watch List - India has been on the Tier 2 Watch List since 2004 for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons |
| Indonesia |
Tier 2 Watch List - Indonesia is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking |
| Iran |
Tier 3 - Iran is downgraded to Tier 3 after persistent, credible reports of Iranian authorities punishing victims of trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution |
| Israel |
Tier 2 Watch List - Israel is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking, namely the conditions of involuntary servitude allegedly facing thousands of foreign migrant workers |
| Jamaica |
Tier 2 Watch List - Jamaica is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List based on the determination that it is making significant efforts to undertake future action |
| Kenya |
Tier 2 Watch List - Kenya is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List due to a lack of evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking |
| Korea, North |
Tier 3 - North Korea does not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Kuwait |
Tier 2 Watch List - Kuwait is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List based largely on pledges of future actions |
| Laos |
Tier 3 - Laos does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Libya |
Tier 2 Watch List - Libya is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its lack of evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking since 2004 |
| Macau |
Tier 2 Watch List - Macau is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking since 2004 |
| Malaysia |
Tier 2 Watch List - Malaysia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly its failure to provide protection for victims of trafficking |
| Mauritania |
Tier 2 Watch List - Mauritania is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increased efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of law enforcement |
| Mexico |
Tier 2 Watch List - Mexico remains on the Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year based on future commitments to undertake additional efforts in prosecution, protection, and prevention of trafficking in persons, and the failure of the government to provide critical law enforcement data |
| Oman |
Tier 2 Watch List - Oman is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List because of a lack of evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons in 2005 |
| Peru |
Tier 2 Watch List - Peru is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking in 2005 |
| Qatar |
Tier 2 Watch List - Qatar has made noticeable progress in rescuing and repatriating child camel jockeys, establishing a shelter for abused domestic workers, and creating hotlines to register complaints; however, Qatar is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide sufficient evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons in 2005, particularly with regard to labor exploitation |
| Russia |
Tier 2 Watch List - Russia is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year for its continued failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the area of victim protection and assistance |
| Saudi Arabia |
Tier 3 - Saudi Arabia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| South Africa |
Tier 2 Watch List - South Africa is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show increasing efforts to address trafficking in 2005 |
| Sudan |
Tier 3 - Sudan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Syria |
Tier 3 - Syria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Taiwan |
Tier 2 Watch List - Taiwan is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts in 2005 to address trafficking, despite ample resources to do so, particularly the serious level of forced labor and sexual servitude among legally migrating Southeast Asian contract workers and brides |
| Togo |
Tier 2 Watch List - Togo is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for failure to show evidence of increased efforts to combat trafficking over the past year, particularly in the areas of prosecution and protection |
| United Arab Emirates |
Tier 2 Watch List - UAE is placed on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to show increased efforts to combat trafficking in 2005, particularly in its efforts to address the large-scale trafficking of foreign girls and women for commercial sexual exploitation |
| Uzbekistan |
Tier 3 - Uzbekistan is placed on Tier 3 because it failed to fulfill commitments by the country to take additional steps during 2005, including the adoption of comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, criminal code amendments to raise trafficking penalties, support to the country's first trafficking shelter, and approval of a national action plan |
| Venezuela |
Tier 3 - Venezuela does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
| Zimbabwe |
Tier 3 - Zimbabwe does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so |
DEFINITION: Trafficking in persons is modern-day slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded, or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. The International Labor Organization (ILO), the UN agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues, estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are enslaved in forced labor, bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual servitude, and involuntary servitude at any given time. Human trafficking is a multi-dimensional threat, depriving people of their human rights and freedoms, risking global health, promoting social breakdown, inhibiting development by depriving countries of their human capital, and helping fuel the growth of organized crime. In 2000, the US Congress passed the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), reauthorized in 2003 and 2005, which provides tools for the US to combat trafficking in persons, both domestically and abroad. One of the law's key components is the creation of the US Department of State's annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which assesses the government response in some 150 countries with a significant number of victims trafficked across their borders who are recruited, harbored, transported, provided, or obtained for forced labor or sexual exploitation. Countries in the annual report are rated in three tiers, based on government efforts to combat trafficking. The countries identified in this entry are those listed in the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report as Tier 2 Watch List or Tier 3 based on the following definitions:
Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so, and meet one of the following criteria:
1. they display a high or significantly increasing number victims,
2. they have failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons, or,
3. they have committed to take action over the next year.
Tier 3 countries neither satisfy the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking nor demonstrate a significant effort to do so. Countries in this tier are subject to potential non-humanitarian and non-trade sanctions.
SOURCE: CIA World Factbook, 14 June, 2007
See also
Related links:
|
del.icio.us
Feeds |
Contact