current situation: the Dominican Republic is a
source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and
children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual
exploitation and forced labor; a large number of Dominican women are
trafficked into prostitution and sexual exploitation in Western
Europe, Australia, Central and South America, and Caribbean
destinations; a significant number of women, boys, and girls are
trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation and domestic
servitude
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, the
Dominican Republic is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to
show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking,
particularly in terms of not adequately investigating and
prosecuting public officials who may be complicit with trafficking
activity, and inadequate government efforts to protect trafficking
victims; the government has taken measures to reduce demand for
commercial sex acts with children through criminal prosecutions
(2008)
Egypt
current situation: Egypt is a transit country for women
trafficked from Eastern European countries to Israel for sexual
exploitation, and is a source for children trafficked within the
country for commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude,
although the extent to which children are trafficked internally is
unknown; children were also recruited for domestic and agricultural
work; some of these children face conditions of involuntary
servitude, such as restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages,
threats, and physical or sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Egypt is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for the third year in a row because it did not provide evidence of
increasing efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers;
however, in July 2007, the government established the "National
Coordinating Committee to Combat and Prevent Trafficking in
Persons," which improved inter-governmental coordination on
anti-trafficking initiatives; Egypt made no discernible efforts to
punish trafficking crimes in 2007 and the Egyptian penal code does
not prohibit all forms of trafficking; Egypt did not increase its
services to trafficking victims during the reporting period (2008)
Equatorial Guinea
current situation: Equatorial Guinea is primarily
a destination country for children trafficked for the purpose of
forced labor and possibly for the purpose of sexual exploitation;
children have been trafficked from nearby countries for domestic
servitude, market labor, ambulant vending, and possibly sexual
exploitation; women may also be trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from
Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for sexual
exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Equatorial Guinea is on the Tier 2
Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts
to eliminate trafficking, particularly in the areas of prosecuting
and convicting trafficking offenders and failing to formalize
mechanisms to provide assistance to victims; although the government
made some effort to enforce laws against child labor exploitation,
it failed to report any trafficking prosecutions or convictions in
2007; the government continued to lack shelters or formal procedures
for providing care to victims (2008)
Fiji
current situation: Fiji is a source country for children
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation and a
destination country for a small number of women from China and India
trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual
exploitation
tier rating: Tier 3 - Fiji does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making
significant efforts to do so; the government has demonstrated no
action to investigate or prosecute traffickers, assist victims, take
steps to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts, or support any
anti-trafficking information or education campaigns; Fiji has not
ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Gabon
current situation: Gabon is predominantly a destination
country for children trafficked from other African countries for the
purpose of forced labor; girls are primarily trafficked for domestic
servitude, forced market vending, forced restaurant labor, and
sexual exploitation, while boys are trafficked for forced street
hawking and forced labor in small workshops
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Gabon is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat
human trafficking in 2007, particularly in terms of efforts to
convict and punish trafficking offenders; the government has not
reported the convictions or sentences of any trafficking offenders;
the government did not take steps to reduce demand for commercial
sex acts (2008)
Gambia, The
current situation: The Gambia is a source, transit, and
destination country for children and women trafficked for the
purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; women
and girls, and to a lesser extent boys, are trafficked for sexual
exploitation - in particular to meet the demand for European sex
tourism - and for domestic servitude; boys are trafficked within the
country for forced begging and street vending; Gambian women and
children may be trafficked to Europe through trafficking schemes
disguised as migrant smuggling
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year, The
Gambia is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide
evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking; The Gambia
failed to report any trafficking arrests, prosecutions, or
convictions in 2007, and the government demonstrated weak victim
protection efforts during the reporting period (2008)
Guatemala
current situation: Guatemala is a source, transit, and
destination country for Guatemalans and Central Americans trafficked
for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor;
human trafficking is a significant and growing problem in the
country; Guatemalan women and children are trafficked within the
country for commercial sexual exploitation, primarily to Mexico and
the United States; Guatemalan men, women, and children are also
trafficked within the country, and to Mexico and the United States,
for forced labor
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year,
Guatemala is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide
evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons,
particularly with respect to ensuring that trafficking offenders are
appropriately prosecuted for their crimes; while prosecutors
initiated trafficking prosecutions, they continued to face problems
in court with application of Guatemala's comprehensive
anti-trafficking law; the government made modest improvements to its
protection efforts, but assistance remained inadequate overall in
2007 (2008)
Guinea
current situation: Guinea is a source, transit, and
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the
purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; the majority of
victims are children, and internal trafficking is more prevalent
than transnational trafficking; within the country, girls are
trafficked primarily for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation,
while boys are trafficked for forced agricultural labor, and as
forced beggars, street vendors, shoe shiners, and laborers in gold
and diamond mines; some Guinean men are also trafficked for
agricultural labor within Guinea; transnationally, girls are
trafficked into Guinea for domestic servitude and likely also for
sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Guinea is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to
eliminate trafficking over 2006; Guinea demonstrated minimal law
enforcement efforts for a second year in a row, while protection
efforts diminished over efforts in 2006; the government did not
report any trafficking convictions in 2007; due to a lack of
resources, the government does not provide shelter services for
trafficking victims; the government took no measures to reduce the
demand for commercial sexual exploitation (2008)
Guinea-Bissau
current situation: Guinea-Bissau is a source country
for children trafficked primarily for forced begging and forced
agricultural labor to other West African countries
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for the second year in a row,
Guinea-Bissau is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to combat
severe forms of trafficking in persons, as evidenced by the
continued failure to pass an anti-trafficking law and inadequate
efforts to investigate or prosecute trafficking crimes or convict
and punish trafficking offenders (2008)
Guyana
current situation: Guyana is a source, transit, and
destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; most
trafficking appears to take place in remote mining camps in the
country's interior; some women and girls are trafficked from
northern Brazil; reporting from other nations suggests Guyanese
women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation to
neighboring countries and Guyanese men and boys are subject to labor
exploitation in construction and agriculture; trafficking victims
from Suriname, Brazil, and Venezuela transit Guyana en route to
Caribbean destinations
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for a second consecutive year,
Guyana is on the Tier 2 Watch List for failing to provide evidence
of increasing efforts to combat trafficking, particularly in the
area of law enforcement actions against trafficking offenders; the
government has yet to produce an anti-trafficking conviction under
the comprehensive Combating of Trafficking in Persons Act, which
became law in 2005; the government operates no shelters for
trafficking victims, but did include limited funding for
anti-trafficking NGOs in its 2008 budget; the government did not
make any effort to reduce demand for commercial sex acts during 2007
(2008)
India
current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation; internal forced
labor may constitute India's largest trafficking problem; men,
women, and children are held in debt bondage and face forced labor
working in brick kilns, rice mills, agriculture, and embroidery
factories; women and girls are trafficked within the country for the
purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage;
children are subjected to forced labor as factory workers, domestic
servants, beggars, and agriculture workers, and have been used as
armed combatants by some terrorist and insurgent groups; India is
also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; Indian
women are trafficked to the Middle East for commercial sexual
exploitation; men and women from Bangladesh and Nepal are trafficked
through India for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation in
the Middle East
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for a fifth consecutive year for its failure to provide evidence of
increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007; despite the
reported extent of the trafficking crisis in India, government
authorities made uneven efforts to prosecute traffickers and protect
trafficking victims; government authorities continued to rescue
victims of commercial sexual exploitation and forced child labor and
child armed combatants, and began to show progress in law
enforcement against these forms of trafficking; a critical challenge
overall is the lack of punishment for traffickers, effectively
resulting in impunity for acts of human trafficking; India has not
ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Iran
current situation: Iran is a source, transit, and destination
country for women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation
and involuntary servitude; Iranian women are trafficked internally
for the purpose of forced prostitution and for forced marriages to
settle debts; Iranian children are trafficked internally and Afghan
children are trafficked into Iran for the purpose of forced
marriages, commercial sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude
as beggars or laborers
tier rating: Tier 3 - Iran did not provide evidence of law
enforcement activities against trafficking, and credible reports
indicate that Iranian authorities punish victims of trafficking with
beatings, imprisonment, and execution; Iran has not ratified the
2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Jordan
current situation: Jordan is a destination and transit
country for women and men from South and Southeast Asia trafficked
for the purpose of forced labor; Jordan is also a destination for
women from Eastern Europe and Morocco for prostitution; women from
Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines migrate
willingly to work as domestic servants, but some are subjected to
conditions of forced labor, including unlawful withholding of
passports, restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, threats,
and physical or sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Jordan is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat
trafficking in persons in 2007, particularly in the area of law
enforcement against trafficking for forced labor; the government
made minimal efforts to investigate or prosecute numerous
allegations related to exploitation of foreign domestic workers;
Jordan failed for a second year to criminally prosecute and punish
those who committed acts of forced labor; Jordan also continues to
lack victim protection services; Jordan has not ratified the 2000 UN
TIP Protocol (2008)
Korea, North
current situation: North Korea is a source country for
men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor
and commercial sexual exploitation; the most common form of
trafficking involves North Korean women and girls who cross the
border into China voluntarily; additionally, North Korean women and
girls are lured out of North Korea to escape poor social and
economic conditions by the promise of food, jobs, and freedom, only
to be forced into prostitution, marriage, or exploitative labor
arrangements once in China
tier rating: 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; the government does not acknowledge
the existence of human rights abuses in the country or recognize
trafficking, either within the country or transnationally; North
Korea has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Kuwait
current situation: Kuwait is a destination country for men
and women who migrate legally from South and Southeast Asia for
domestic or low-skilled labor, but are subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude by employers in Kuwait including conditions of
physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement to the
home, and withholding of passports to restrict their freedom of
movement; Kuwait is reportedly a transit point for South and East
Asian workers recruited for low-skilled work in Iraq; some of these
workers are deceived as to the true location and nature of this
work, and others are subjected to conditions of involuntary
servitude in Iraq
tier rating: Tier 3 - insufficient efforts in 2007 to prosecute and
punish abusive employers and those who traffic women for sexual
exploitation; the government failed for the fourth year in a row to
live up to promises to provide shelter and protective services for
victims of involuntary domestic servitude and other forms of
trafficking (2008)
Libya
current situation: Libya is a transit and destination country
for men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for
the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Libya is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address
trafficking in persons in 2007 when compared to 2006, particularly
in the area of investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses;
Libya did not publicly release any data on investigations or
punishment of any trafficking offenses (2008)
Malaysia
current situation: Malaysia is a destination and, to a
lesser extent, a source and transit country for women and children
trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and
men, women, and children for forced labor; Malaysia is mainly a
destination country for men, women, and children who migrate
willingly from South and Southeast Asia to work, some of whom are
subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by Malaysian
employers in the domestic, agricultural, construction, plantation,
and industrial sectors; to a lesser extent, some Malaysian women,
primarily of Chinese ethnicity, are trafficked abroad for commercial
sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Malaysia improved from Tier 3 to
the Tier 2 Watch List for 2008 when it enacted comprehensive
anti-trafficking legislation in July 2007; however, it did not take
action against exploitative employers or labor traffickers in 2007;
the government has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Moldova
current situation: Moldova is a major source and, to a
lesser extent, a transit country for women and girls trafficked for
the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; Moldovan women are
trafficked to the Middle East, Eastern Europe, and Western Europe;
girls and young women are trafficked within the country from rural
areas to Chisinau; children are also trafficked to neighboring
countries for forced labor and begging; labor trafficking of men to
work in the construction, agriculture, and service sectors of Russia
is increasingly a problem
tier rating: Tier 3 - Moldova does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making
significant efforts to do so; the government failed to follow-up on
allegations of officials complicit in trafficking cited in the 2007
Report, and it did not demonstrate proactive efforts to identify
trafficking victims (2008)
Montenegro
current situation: Montenegro is primarily a transit
country for the trafficking of women and girls to Western Europe for
the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; women and girls from
the Balkans and Eastern Europe are trafficked across Montenegro to
Western European countries
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Montenegro is on the Tier 2 Watch
List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to
combat trafficking in persons in 2007; public attention to the issue
of trafficking has diminished considerably in Montenegro in recent
years (2008)
Mozambique
current situation: Mozambique is a source and, to a much
lesser extent, a destination country for men, women, and children
trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation;
the use of forced and bonded child laborers is a common practice in
Mozambique's rural areas; women and girls are trafficked from rural
to urban areas of Mozambique, as well as to South Africa, for
domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; young men and
boys are trafficked to South Africa for farm work and mining
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - for the second consecutive year,
Mozambique is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide
evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking in 2007;
while the government conducted investigations into cases of human
trafficking, there were no prosecutions or convictions of
traffickers; government efforts to protect victims of trafficking
continued to suffer from limited resources and a lack of political
commitment (2008)
Niger
current situation: Niger is a source, transit, and destination
country for children and women trafficked for forced labor and
sexual exploitation; caste-based slavery practices, rooted in
ancestral master-slave relationships, continue in isolated areas of
the country - an estimated 8,800 to 43,000 Nigeriens live under
conditions of traditional slavery; children are trafficked within
Niger for forced begging, forced labor in gold mines, domestic
servitude, sexual exploitation, and possibly for forced labor in
agriculture and stone quarries; women and children from neighboring
states are trafficked to and through Niger for domestic servitude,
sexual exploitation, forced labor in mines and on farms, and as
mechanics and welders
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Niger is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to
eliminate trafficking in 2007; in particular, measures to combat and
eliminate traditional slavery practices were weak; the government's
overall law enforcement efforts have stalled from 2006; while
efforts to protect child trafficking victims were steady, the
government failed to provide services to or rescue adult victims
subjected to traditional slavery practices, and made poor efforts to
educate the public about traditional slavery practices in general
(2008)
Oman
current situation: Oman is a destination country for men and
women primarily from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan who
migrate willingly, but some of whom become victims of trafficking
when subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic
workers and laborers; mistreatment includes non-payment of wages,
restrictions on movement and withholding of passports, threats, and
physical or sexual abuse; Oman may also be a destination country for
women from Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Africa for commercial
sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 3 - Oman was rated as Tier 3 for the second
consecutive year because it did not report any law enforcement
efforts to prosecute and punish trafficking offenses in 2007 and
continues to lack victim protection services or a systematic
procedure to identify victims of trafficking (2008)
Panama
current situation: Panama is a source, transit, and
destination country for women and children trafficked for the
purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; the majority of victims
are Panamanian women and children trafficked within the country into
the sex trade; rural children in Panama may be trafficked internally
to urban areas for labor exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Panama is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for failing to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human
trafficking, particularly with respect to prosecuting, convicting,
and sentencing human traffickers for their crimes, and for failing
to provide adequate victim assistance (2008)
Papua New Guinea
current situation: Papua New Guinea is a country of
destination for women and children from Malaysia, the Philippines,
Thailand, and China trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual
exploitation; internal trafficking of women and children for the
purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude
occurs as well
tier rating: Tier 3 - Papua New Guinea does not fully comply with
the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not
making significant efforts to do so; the current legal framework
does not contain elements of crimes that characterize trafficking;
the government lacks victim protection services or a systematic
procedure to identify victims of trafficking; the government did not
prosecute anyone in 2007 for trafficking; Papua New Guinea has not
ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol (2008)
Qatar
current situation: Qatar is a destination country for men and
women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly, but are
subsequently trafficked into involuntary servitude as domestic
workers and laborers, and, to a lesser extent, commercial sexual
exploitation; the most common offense was forcing workers to accept
worse contract terms than those under which they were recruited;
other conditions include bonded labor, withholding of pay,
restrictions on movement, arbitrary detention, and physical, mental,
and sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 3 - Qatar failed, for the second consecutive year,
to enforce criminal laws against traffickers, or to provide an
effective mechanism to identify and protect victims; it continues to
detain and deport victims rather than providing them protection; the
government made little progress to increase prosecutions for
trafficking in a meaningful way in 2007; workers complaining of
working conditions or non-payment of wages were sometimes penalized
(2008)