US State Department Names 17 Countries as Worst Offenders in Fighting Human Trafficking
By VOA News
July 01, 2021 04:44 PM
https://www.voanews.com/usa/us-state-department-names-17-countries-worst-offenders-fighting-human-trafficking
Afghanistan, Algeria, Burma (Myanmar), China, Comoros, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, Nicaragua, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Venezuela remain classified as Tier 3. They are joined by Guinea Bissau and Malaysia in this year’s report.
China remained categorized as a Tier 3 country because it is “noted for having a government policy of forced labor, particularly in Xinjiang detention camp, which is intended to race ethnic and religious identities under the pretext of vocational training,” a State Department official told reporters on background.
These countries fail to do the minimum to stop trafficking in what Blinken called an “inhumane cycle of discrimination and injustices.”
The State Department downgraded six U.S. allies — Cyprus, Israel, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal and Switzerland — from Tier 1 to Tier 2 for reportedly not meeting international standards for combating trafficking.
Israel, the report said, failed to have maintained “serious and sustained” efforts to root out trafficking, namely because the number of investigations and prosecutions of traffickers decreased.
New Zealand was hit for failing to initiate prosecutions for labor trafficking and handing out light sentences for child sex traffickers. According to the State Department, these failures “significantly weakened deterrence, undercut efforts to hold traffickers accountable, and did not adequately address the nature of the crime.”
Norway was cited for similar reasons, and Portugal, the State Department said, failed to improve how it identified victims and lacked laws to protect victims.
The report also criticized NATO ally Turkey because it gave “operational, equipment, and financial support” to armed groups in Syria that are known to recruit child soldiers.
Four countries — Belarus, Burundi, Lesotho, and Papua New Guinea — were upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List.
In Belarus, “the government made key achievements during the reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on its anti-trafficking capacity; therefore, Belarus was upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List,” the report said.
Similar reasons were given for upgrading the other countries.