Anonymous ID: 9fb71c Sept. 4, 2020, 1:48 p.m. No.10528914   🗄️.is 🔗kun

2020 Trafficking in Persons Report

 

For 20 years, the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) has demonstrated the United States’ conviction that human trafficking is a global threat necessitating a global response. Traffickers are denying nearly 25 million people their fundamental right to freedom, forcing them to live enslaved and toil for their exploiter’s profit. This report arms governments with the data they need to increase the prosecution of traffickers, provide victim-centered and trauma-informed protection for victims of trafficking, and prevent this crime altogether.

 

As this 20th anniversary report is released, we and our allies and partners find ourselves confronting a crisis that has reached previously unimagined proportions. While urgency has always marked the fight against human trafficking, the implications of the COVID-19 pandemic have magnified the need for all stakeholders to work together in the fight more than ever. We know that human traffickers prey upon the most vulnerable and look for opportunities to exploit them. Instability and lack of access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by traffickers is rapidly growing.

 

To turn the tide, action must accompany words. Among other steps, governments must end state-sponsored forced labor; they must increase prosecutions of human traffickers; and they should expand their efforts to identify and care for trafficking victims, while ensuring they are not punished for crimes traffickers compelled them to commit.

 

The opportunity for impact in the days ahead is great. I am so proud of all who lead us forward in this work, especially our TIP Report Heroes who model the courageous leadership we need for the road ahead. I am grateful for the Trump Administration’s unending commitment to this cause, and for my colleagues at the State Department who have delivered this impressive report under extraordinary circumstances.

 

We are leading by example as we encourage governments, survivors, NGOs, industry leaders, communities of faith, and advocates in every country to remain steadfast in the protection of human dignity and the pursuit of freedom. Let’s all continue this fight together.

 

Sincerely,

 

Michael R. Pompeo

 

This report includes reference to Kosovo:

KOSOVO: Tier 2

 

The Government of Kosovo does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period; therefore Kosovo remained on Tier 2. These efforts included prosecuting more suspects and identifying more victims. The government conducted robust joint investigations and inspections and increased overall funding for victim protection. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. …

 

https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report/

https://www.state.gov/reports/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report/kosovo/