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The U.S. State Department moved Brunei and Sudan to Tier 3 on the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released Monday, which could subject the countries to sanctions or cutbacks in U.S. assistance.
The U.S. deems the countries in Tier 3 to not be doing enough to act against human trafficking and not compliant with the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA).
"Around the globe, an estimated 27 million people are exploited for labor, services, and commercial sex," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in a message to readers of the report. "Through force, fraud, and coercion, they are made to toil in fields and factories, in restaurants and residences. Traffickers prey on some of the world's most marginalized and vulnerable individuals - profiting from their plight."
Brunei is reported to not have convicted any traffickers for seven consecutive years, with the U.S. alleging that the country may have punished victims of trafficking via prosecution or deportation.
In the department's 2023 report, Sudan was in Tier 2, meaning that it was not in full compliance with the TVPA but was making "significant efforts" to do so. In the same 2023 report, Brunei was on the Tier 2 watch list.
Tier 1 implies that a country is complicit in the TVPA and is making efforts to combat trafficking.
Countries on the Tier 3 list may be subjected to U.S. sanctions or restrictions on assistance, such as non-humanitarian related support, if authorized by the U.S. president.
The State Department named 13 countries with "a documented 'policy or pattern''' in state-sponsored trafficking: Afghanistan, Belarus, the People's Republic of China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, the Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Myanmar, Russia, South Sudan, Sudan, Syria and Turkmenistan.
The report noted prevalent human trafficking issues within the Western Hemisphere, saying that there are "broad commonalities in trafficking trends." This includes governments falling short on targeting forced labor, inconsistencies in victim protection, and faults in criminal justice responses.
Global law enforcement data, which the U.S. requires foreign governments to submit as a minimum requirement for Tier 1 consideration, listed 18,774 prosecutions of human traffickers in 2023.
The 2024 report outlines how digital platforms can be used to take advantage of victims of human trafficking, using online programs such as dating apps or social media to lure potential victims.
"In online scam operations, traffickers largely recruit victims through deceitful job listings online, confine them in gated compounds, and force them to engage in online criminal activity under threat of serious harm," the report says.
The report additionally highlights the role of government, law enforcement, the financial sector, nongovernmental organizations, the technology industry and anti-trafficking stakeholders in human trafficking. It also describes steps that each sector could take to further prevent the issue.
In terms of governments, "efforts to legislate and regulate tech companies to better prevent and address human trafficking will have broader impacts in areas such as privacy, security, and innovation, so careful consideration with a wide range of stakeholders will be needed," the report states.
Since 2004 the State Department has honored individuals from across the globe who have worked to combat human trafficking, deemed TIP Report Heroes. The 10 TIP Report Heroes for 2024 were honored at the release of the annual report.
Founder and Executive Director at the Center for Domestic Training and Development Edith Murogo was named a 2024 Tip Hero and spoke on behalf of her fellow recipients. She proposed five actions to combat human trafficking: Raise awareness, support survivors, strengthen legislation, promote economic opportunities and build partnerships.
"Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time, we are the ones we've been waiting for," she said.
Some information for this report came from Agence France-Presse.
The Voice of America provides news and information in more than 40 languages to an estimated weekly audience of over 326 million people. Stories with the VOA News byline are the work of multiple VOA journalists and may contain information from wire service reports.