| Field Listing - Trafficking in persons
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Country | Trafficking in persons
Algeria | current situation: Algeria is a transit and destination country for men, women, and children from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; many victims willingly migrate to Algeria en route to European countries with the help of smugglers, where they are often forced into prostitution, labor, and begging to pay off their smuggling debt; some Algerian children are reportedly trafficked within the country for domestic servitude tier rating: Tier 3 - Algeria does not adequately identify trafficking victims among illegal immigrants; the government did not take serious law enforcement actions to punish traffickers who force women into commercial sexual exploitation or men into involuntary servitude; the government reported no investigations of trafficking of children for domestic servitude or improvements in protection services for victims of trafficking
Argentina | current situation: Argentina is primarily a destination country for women and children trafficked for sexual and labor exploitation with most victims trafficked internally, from rural to urban areas, for exploitation in prostitution; foreign women and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation come primarily from Paraguay, but also from Bolivia, Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Colombia, and Chile; Bolivians are trafficked for forced labor; Argentine women and girls are also trafficked to neighboring countries for sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Argentina failed to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking particularly in the key area of prosecutions
Armenia | current situation: Armenia is a major source and, to a lesser extent, a transit and destination country for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation largely to the UAE and Turkey; traffickers, many of them women, route victims directly into Dubai or through Moscow; profits derived from the trafficking of Armenian victims reportedly have increased tier rating: 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 | current situation: Bahrain is a destination country for men and women from South and Southeast Asia who migrate willingly to work as laborers or domestic servants, but may be subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude when faced with exorbitant recruitment and transportation fees, withholding of their passports, restrictions on their movement, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse; women from Eastern Europe, Central Asia, Morocco, and Thailand are also trafficked to Bahrain for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor tier rating: Tier 3 - Bahrain made no discernable progress in preventing trafficking in 2006; the government failed to enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law and did not report any prosecutions or convictions for trafficking offenses, despite reports of a substantial problem of involutary servitude and trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation
Burma | current situation: Burma is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked to East and Southeast Asia for sexual exploitation, domestic service, and forced commercial labor; a significant number of victims are economic migrants who wind up in forced or bonded labor and forced prostitution; to a lesser extent, Burma is a country of transit and destination for women trafficked from China for sexual exploitation; internal trafficking of persons occurs primarily for labor in industrial zones and agricultural estates; internal trafficking of women and girls for sexual exploitation occurs from villages to urban centers and other areas; the military junta's economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and policy of using forced labor are driving factors behind Burma's large trafficking problem tier rating: 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 | current situation: Cambodia is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; a significant number of women and children are trafficked to Thailand and Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor; men are trafficked primarily to Thailand for forced labor in the construction and agricultural sectors, particularly the fishing industry, while women and girls are trafficked for factory and domestic work; children are trafficked to Vietnam and Thailand for the purpose of forced begging; Cambodia is a transit and destination point for women from Vietnam trafficked for sexual exploitation; trafficking for sexual exploitation also occurs within Cambodia's borders, from rural areas to the cities tier rating: 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 | current situation: Central African Republic is a source and destination country for children trafficked for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, and forced labor in shops and commercial labor activities; while the majority of child victims are trafficked within the country, some are also trafficked to and from Cameroon and Nigeria tier rating: 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 | current situation: China is a source, transit, and destination country for women, men, and children trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; the majority of trafficking in China is internal, but there is also international trafficking of Chinese citizens; women are lured through false promises of legitimate employment into commercial sexual exploitation in Taiwan, Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan; Chinese men and women are smuggled to countries throughout the world at enormous personal expense and then forced into commercial sexual exploitation or exploitative labor to repay debts to traffickers; women and children are trafficked into China from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam for forced labor, marriage, and sexual slavery; most North Koreans enter northeastern China voluntarily, but others reportedly are trafficked into China from North Korea; domestic trafficking remains the most significant problem in China, with an estimated minimum of 10,000-20,000 victims trafficked each year; the actual number of victims could be much greater; some experts believe that the serious and prolonged imbalance in the male-female birth ratio may now be contributing to Chinese and foreign girls and women being trafficked as potential brides tier rating: 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 | current situation: Cuba is a source country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced child labor; Cuba is a major destination for sex tourism, which largely caters to European, Canadian, and Latin American tourists and involves large numbers of minors; there are reports that Cuban women have been trafficked to Mexico for sexual exploitation; forced labor victims also include children coerced into working in commercial agriculture tier rating: 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 | current situation: Cyprus is primarily a destination country for a large number of women trafficked from Eastern and Central Europe, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for the purpose of sexual exploitation; traffickers continued to fraudulently recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas; there were credible reports of female domestic workers from India, Sri Lanka, and the Philippines forced to work excessively long hours and denied proper compensation tier rating: 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 | current situation: Djibouti is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and possibly forced labor; small numbers are trafficked from Ethiopia and Somalia for sexual exploitation; economic migrants from these countries also fall victim to trafficking upon reaching Djibouti City or the Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor; women and children from neighboring countries reportedly transit Djibouti to Arab countries and Somalia for ultimate use in forced labor or sexual exploitation tier rating: 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 | current situation: Egypt is a transit country for women trafficked from Eastern Europe to Israel for the purpose of sexual exploitation; these women generally arrive as tourists and are subsequently trafficked through the Sinai Desert by Bedouin tribes; men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are believed to be trafficked through the Sinai Desert to Israel and Europe for labor exploitation; some Egyptian children from rural areas are trafficked within the country to work as domestic servants or laborers in the agriculture industry tier rating: 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 | current situation: Equatorial Guinea is mainly a destination country for children trafficked for forced labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation from surrounding countries - primarily Benin, Nigeria, Gabon, and Cameroon; victims work in the agricultural and commercial sectors of Malabo and Bata, where demand is high due to a booming oil sector and a flourishing expatriate business community; children work as farmhands, street vendors, or household servants; girls are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 3 - failed to demonstrate the political commitment to address its human trafficking problem; despite efforts to raise awareness of trafficking problems, in 2006 the government failed to investigate and prosecute traffickers or protect victims
India | current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the large population of men, women, and children - numbering in the millions - in debt bondage face involuntary servitude in brick kilns, rice mills, and embroidery factories, while some children endure involuntary servitude as domestic servants; internal trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage also occurs; the government estimates that 90 percent of India's sex trafficking is internal; India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; boys from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are trafficked through India to the Gulf states for involuntary servitude as child camel jockeys; Indian men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf region for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers, but some later find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude including extended working hours, nonpayment of wages, restrictions on their movement by withholding of their passports or confinement to the home, and physical or sexual abuse tier rating: 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
Iran | current situation: Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude; according to foreign observers, women and girls are trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, the Persian Gulf, and Europe for sexual exploitation, while boys from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are trafficked through Iran en route to Persian Gulf states where they are ultimately forced to work as camel jockeys, beggars, or laborers; Afghan women and girls are trafficked to the country for forced marriages and sexual exploitation; women and children are also trafficked internally for the purposes of forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude tier rating: Tier 3 - Iran is downgraded to Tier 3 after persistent, credible reports of Iranian authorities punishing victims of trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution
Kenya | current situation: Kenya is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; children are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude, street vending, agricultural labor, and sexual exploitation; men, women, and girls are trafficked to the Middle East, other African nations, Western Europe, and North America for domestic servitude, enslavement in massage parlors and brothels, and manual labor; Chinese women trafficked for sexual exploitation reportedly transit Nairobi and Bangladeshis may transit Kenya for forced labor in other countries tier rating: 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 | current situation: North Korea is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; North Korea's own system of political repression includes forced labor in a network of prison camps where an estimated 150,000 to 200,000 persons are incarcerated; the illegal status of North Koreans in China and other countries increases their vulnerability to trafficking schemes and sexual and physical abuse; North Koreans forcibly returned from China may be subject to hard labor in prison camps operated by the government 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
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; in past years, Kuwait was also a destination country for children exploited as camel jockeys, but this form of trafficking appears to have ceased tier rating: Tier 3 - insufficient efforts in 2006 to prosecute and punish abusive employers and those who traffic women for sexual exploitation; the government failed for the third 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
Libya | current situation: Libya is a transit and destination country for men, women, and children from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; many victims willingly migrate to Libya en route to Europe with the help of smugglers, but may be forced into prostitution or work as laborers and beggars to pay off their $800-$1,200 smuggling debt; laborers from Egypt, Sudan, and Ethiopia are reportedly trafficked to Libya for the purpose of labor exploitation tier rating: 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 | current situation: Macau is a transit and destination territory for women trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; most females in Macau's sizeable sex industry come from the interior regions of China or Mongolia, though a significant number also come from Russia, Eastern Europe, Thailand, and Vietnam; the majority of women in Macau's prostitution trade appear to have entered Macau and the sex trade voluntarily, though there is evidence that some are deceived or coerced into sexual servitude, often through the use of debt bondage; organized criminal syndicates are reportedly involved in bringing women to Macau, and fear of reprisals from these groups may prevent some women from seeking help tier rating: 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 | current situation: Malaysia is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation; foreign victims, mostly women and girls from Burma, Cambodia, China, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, are trafficked to Malaysia for commercial sexual exploitation; economic migrants from countries in the region who work as domestic servants or laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors face exploitative conditions in Malaysia that meet the definition of involuntary servitude; some Malaysian women, primarily of Chinese ethnicity, are trafficked abroad for sexual exploitation tier rating: Tier 3 - lack of satisfactory progress in combating trafficking in 2006; the government failed to prosecute traffickers arrested and detained under existing law and failed to provide adequate shelters and services to victims of trafficking
Mauritania | current situation: Mauritania is a source and destination country for children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor, begging, and domestic servitude; adults and children are subjected to slavery-related practices rooted in ancestral master-slave relationships in isolated parts of the country where a barter economy exists tier rating: 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 | current situation: Mexico is a source, transit, and destination country for persons trafficked for sexual exploitation and labor; while the vast majority of victims are Central Americans trafficked along Mexico's southern border, other source regions include South America, the Caribbean, Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia; women and children are trafficked from rural regions to urban centers and tourist areas for sexual exploitation, often through fraudulent offers of employment or through threats of physical violence; the Mexican trafficking problem is often conflated with alien smuggling, and frequently the same criminal networks are involved; pervasive corruption among state and local law enforcement often impedes investigations tier rating: 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 | current situation: Oman is a destination country for men and women primarily from Pakistan, Bangladesh, and India who migrate willingly, but may subsequently become victims of trafficking when subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic workers and laborers; there have been occasional reports that expatriate children engaged in camel racing may transit or reside in Omani territory tier rating: 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
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; the problem of trafficking of foreign children as camel jockeys was thoroughly addressed by government action in 2005, but independent confirmation of the problem's complete elimination is not yet available tier rating: 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 | current situation: Russia is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for various purposes; it remains a significant source of women trafficked to over 50 countries for commercial sexual exploitation; Russia is also a transit and destination country for men and women trafficked from Central Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Korea to Central and Western Europe and the Middle East for purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; internal trafficking remains a problem in Russia with women trafficked from rural areas to urban centers for commercial sexual exploitation, and men trafficked internally and from Central Asia for forced labor in the construction and agricultural industries; debt bondage is common among trafficking victims, and child sex tourism remains a concern tier rating: 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 | current situation: Saudi Arabia is a destination country for workers from South and Southeast Asia who are subjected to conditions that constitute involuntary servitude including being subjected to physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement, and withholding of passports as a restriction on their movement; domestic workers are particularly vulnerable because some are confined to the house in which they work unable to seek help; Saudi Arabia is also a destination country for Nigerian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Afghan, Somali, Malian, and Sudanese children trafficked for forced begging and involuntary servitude as street vendors; some Nigerian women were reportedly trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sexual exploitation tier rating: 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 | current situation: South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation; women and girls are trafficked internally - and occasionally to European and Asian countries - for sexual exploitation; women from other African countries are trafficked to South Africa and, less frequently, onward to Europe for sexual exploitation; men and boys are trafficked from neighboring countries for forced agricultural labor; Asian and Eastern European women are trafficked to South Africa for debt-bonded sexual exploitation tier rating: 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 | current situation: Sudan is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation; Sudan may also be a transit and destination country for Ethiopian women trafficked for domestic servitude; boys are trafficked to the Middle East, particularly Qatar and the United Arab Emirates, for use as camel jockeys; small numbers of girls are reportedly trafficked within Sudan for domestic servitude as well as for commercial sexual exploitation in small brothels in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps; the terrorist rebel organization "Lord's Resistance Army" (LRA) continues to abduct and forcibly conscript small numbers of children in Southern Sudan for use as cooks, porters, and combatants in its ongoing war against Uganda; some of these children are then trafficked across borders into Uganda or possibly the Democratic Republic of the Congo; children are utilized by rebel groups and the Sudanese Armed Forces and associated militias in the ongoing conflict in Darfur; during the decades of civil war, thousands of Dinka women and children were enslaved by members of Baggara tribes and subjected to various forms of forced labor without remuneration as well as physical and sexual abuse; with the cessation of the North-South conflict and the ongoing peace process, there were no known new abductions of Dinka by Baggara tribes during 2005; however, inter-tribal abductions of a different nature continue in Southern Sudan and warrant further investigation tier rating: 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 | current situation: Syria is a destination country for women from South and Southeast Asia and Africa for domestic servitude and from Eastern Europe and Iraq for sexual exploitation; women are recruited for work in Syria as domestic servants, but some face conditions of exploitation and involuntary servitude including long hours, non-payment of wages, withholding of passports and other restrictions on movement, and physical and sexual abuse; Eastern European women recruited for work in Syria as cabaret dancers are not permitted to leave their work premises without permission and have their passports withheld; some displaced Iraqi women and children are reportedly forced into sexual exploitation tier rating: 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
United Arab Emirates | current situation: the United Arab Emirates is a destination country for men, women, and children trafficked from South and East Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa, and the Middle East for involuntary servitude and for sexual exploitation; an estimated 10,000 women from sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Europe, South and East Asia, Iraq, Iran, and Morocco may be victims of sex trafficking in the UAE; women also migrate from Africa, and South and Southeast Asia to work as domestic servants, but may have their passports confiscated, be denied permission to leave the place of employment in the home, or face sexual or physical abuse by their employers; men from South Asia come to the UAE to work in the construction industry, but may be subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as they are coerced to pay off recruitment and travel costs, sometimes having their wages denied for months at a time; victims of child camel jockey trafficking may still remain in the UAE, despite a July 2005 law banning the practice; while all identified victims were repatriated at the government's expense to their home countries, questions persist as to the effectiveness of the ban and the true number of victims tier rating: 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 | current situation: Uzbekistan is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women trafficked to Asia and the Middle East for the purpose of sexual exploitation; women from other Central Asian countries and China are trafficked through Uzbekistan; men are trafficked for purposes of forced labor in the construction and agricultural industries to Ukraine, Russia, Kazakhstan, and Kyrgyzstan; men and women are also trafficked within the country tier rating: 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 | current situation: Venezuela is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; women and children from Colombia, China, Peru, Ecuador, and the Dominican Republic are trafficked to and through Venezuela and subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor; Venezuelans are trafficked internally and to Western Europe, particularly Spain and the Netherlands, and to countries in the Caribbean region for commercial sexual exploitation; Venezuela is a transit country for illegal migrants from other countries in the region and for Asian nationals, some of whom are believed to be trafficking victims tier rating: 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
World | current situation: about 600,000 to 800,000 people, mostly women and children, are trafficked annually across national borders, not including millions trafficked within their own countries; at least 80% of the victims are female; 75% of all victims are trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation; roughly two-thirds of the global victims are trafficked intra-regionally within East Asia and the Pacific (260,000 to 280,000 people) and Europe and Eurasia (170,000 to 210,000 people) Tier 2 Watch List: Argentina, Armenia, Belarus, Burundi, Cambodia, Central African Republic, Chad, China, Cyprus, Dijbouti, Dominican Republic, Egypt, Fiji, The Gambia, Guatemala, Guyana, Honduras, India, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Libya, Macau, Mauritania, Mexico, Moldova, Mozambique, Papua New Guinea, Russia, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Ukraine, United Arab Emirates Tier 3: Algeria, Bahrain, Burma, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Venezuela
This page was last updated on 13 December, 2007