Countries whose governments do not fully meet the TVPAs minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards. The government also reportedly placed ethnic Tibetans in vocational training and manufacturing jobs as part of an ostensible poverty alleviation and labor transfer program that featured overt coercive elements. Mark Forstrom We were given drugs that kept us numb. It was the winter after my 19th year; my mother was informed that I was seeing a boy. Anti-trafficking actors experienced an all-around decrease in resources and operations. governmental efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts and international sex tourism. Pursuant to the TVPA, governments of countries on Tier 3 may be subject to certain restrictions on foreign assistance, whereby the President may determine not to provide U.S. government nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance as defined in the TVPA. The FGS is taking effective and continuing steps to address the problem of child soldiers. Marshall Islands Sunny Massa Sex trafficking occurs in several industries as well. By signing the R-ARCSS it has affirmed its intent to end the recruitment and use of child soldiers. IOM adapted its existing MigApp for migrant workers in the Americas to include a new section to highlight official health recommendations to prevent the spread of the virus, capture changes across countriessuch as border restrictions, COVID-19 hotlines, or migration status changesand produce surveys to better understand the COVID-related challenges migrants faced. While it met the United States' minimum standards to curb human trafficking for the sixth straight year, the Philippine government has failed to convict officials complicit to the crimes, the US . 11. Resources for these organizations are often already strained and should be directed towards evidence-based solutions to combat human trafficking. Facing extreme poverty in India due to COVID-19, Aaravs parents sold him for US $21 to the owner of a bangle factory. Turkey Survivors also supported broader community responses to COVID-19. PKO funds will also be used to continue support to the Reconstituted Joint Monitoring and Evaluation Commission (RJMEC), which oversees overall implementation of the R-ARCSS. The 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report marked the first time the U.S. Department of State applied this new provision, finding 12 governments had a policy or pattern of trafficking, including: Afghanistan, Belarus, Burma, China, Cuba, Eritrea, Iran, North Korea, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, and Turkmenistan. Togo Stay-at-home orders and travel restrictions made it more difficult for front-line officials to protect individuals through proper identification and screening techniques, leaving officials to rely on victims to self-identify during the pandemic, which already occurs rarely. Page 41: Getty/Munir Uz Zaman We are engaging with the government of Cameroon to encourage an investigation of the single case of Cameroons security forces using a child for the gathering of intelligence that resulted in their inclusion on the 2020 CSPA list and to prevent similar situations from occurring again. Traffickers targeted families experiencing financial difficulties and offered false promises and fraudulent job offers to recruit their children, while other families exploited or sold their children to traffickers to financially support themselves. Individuals who wish to learn more about what human trafficking looks like in their own communities should seek out resources from established organizations and government agencies that use evidence-based solutions to address the crime. Iraqi law requires all soldiers, including volunteers in Popular Mobilization Forces (PMF) militias, to be of 18 years of age or older, and Iraq is a party to the Optional Protocol on the Involvement of Children in Armed Conflict (OPAC). As an Assistant Undersecretary within the Ministry of Administrative Development, Labor, and Social Affairs, he has initiated or executed many of the policies and programs that have had significant impacts for trafficking victims. Pennsylvania State Universitys Center for Global Worker Rights and the Worker Rights Consortium reported that this resulted in shutdowns of thousands of factories in producing countries that sent home millions of factory workers, often without legally mandated pay. Kari A. Johnstone Kenya As the pandemic taught anti-trafficking actors to adapt and view challenges from new perspectives, it is apparent that an equity-based approach is essential to the remainder of the pandemic response, as well as the future of the anti-trafficking field. The GNA has also committed to providing unhindered access to an international fact-finding mission created under the auspices of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2020 to document human rights abuses in Libya. Many anti-trafficking organizations also responded to the pandemic by emphasizing staff wellness, especially for employees with lived experience of human trafficking who are at risk of heightened responses to the stress caused by the pandemic. Aggregate data fluctuates from one year to the next due to the hidden nature of trafficking crimes, dynamic global events, shifts in government efforts, and a lack of uniformity in national reporting structures. The Department has highlighted the vulnerability of LGBTQI+ individuals, the trafficking risks they face, and the challenges associated with victim identification and protection around the world. Those who have managed to avoid detention are still at risk of state-sponsored forced labor and other abuses. Palau Drawing on lessons learned from the pandemic response thus far, there are four main considerations that aim to mitigate impacts of crises and guide the path forward for the anti-trafficking community: Addressing human trafficking during a global pandemic requires the full range of actors in the anti-trafficking community to bridge the gap and establish a comprehensive coordinated response. Laos Often the people in the best position to identify a potential case of human trafficking are neighbors, family members, friends, or others close to victims or traffickers. the extent to which the government is devoting sufficient budgetary resources to protect victims and prevent the crime from occurring. Throughout the COVID-19 crisis, a lack of credible and accurate data posed a challenge to effective and efficient anti-trafficking efforts around the world. Mexico Amy ONeill Richard Mai Shiozaki-Lynch Advisory Council on Human Trafficking was established to advise federal agencies on their anti-trafficking policies and programs, including on the application of this approach to their efforts. When assessing needs, a child-friendly waiting room might take priority. Al-Obaidly has not solved Qatars human trafficking or labor rights problems, and he would admit it. Further, a waiver for support provided by the Department of Defense pursuant to 10 U.S.C. The embassy spokesman said there were three main programmes through which the US Embassy and Department of State were co-ordinating counter-trafficking in TT. Additionally, COVID-19 mitigation efforts, such as stay-at-home orders and travel limitations, increased rates of gender-based violence and substance abuse, both of which put individuals at a higher risk of human traffickers exploiting them. Positive connection, the freedom to experience developmentally appropriate activities, and even fun, sometimes for the first time, are healing elements that should be emphasized in these programs. The traumatic impacts are severe because children have little psychological recourse for protecting themselves from the trafficker, who may also wield significant power by nature of the familial relationship alone. Three police officers were prosecuted for trafficking crimes, and a customs officer was charged in April 2021 under the Immigration Act for aiding and abetting the illegal entry of a Venezuelan migrant, but the investigation, which included a probe into whether the case involved human trafficking, is still pending. Guinea-Bissau Ariana Holly In addition to GNA-aligned units, others, including the self-styled Libyan National Army, have engaged in the recruitment and use of child soldiers. In 2021, the roll out of the module in Field Operations has started. The chart below shows the Ratification, Accession (a), or Acceptance (A) of relevant international conventions for those countries that have ratified, acceded to, or accepted any such conventions between April 2020 and March 2021. Traffickers also exploit financial sector innovations, such as prepaid cards and mobile payment applications, to accept payments or move funds through the financial system. Olivia Hasegawa PKO funding may also support Cameroons maritime security capabilities to combat piracy, a growing regional economic threat. While COVID-19 restrictions have slowed the investigation, two soldiers have been charged and are in prison awaiting trial, while the local prosecutor is pursuing charges against another eight soldiers. John Cotton Richmond I was cleaning up in bathrooms and going to college and work. Forms of slavery or slavery-like practicesincluding the sale of children, forced or compulsory child labor, and debt bondage and serfdom of childrencontinue to exist, despite legal prohibitions and widespread condemnation. According to international organizations, the CPUs prevented the recruitment of 439 children in 2019. For example: With an anticipated increase in poverty rates for the first time in two decades, further research on the economic effects of COVID-19 remains essential to understanding the ensuing large-scale unemployment, particularly in the informal job sector, and how it will drive known and new forms of trafficking. Gabon Libya The government of the country should make serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. Yemen. Through this report, we call on governments to join the United States in improving our collective efforts to comprehensively address human trafficking. In September 2017, the Borno State government witnessed the signature of, and provided administrative support to help implement, an action plan between the CJTF and the UN to end the CJTFs recruitment and use of children. While the government disbanded the committee in 2019 due to a lack of funding, Sagbo Sasse continued to give her time to be a key advisor to government officials, closely coordinating with relevant ministries on victim identification and referral efforts. Human trafficking is a widespread and highly profitable crime that generates an estimated $150 billion worldwide per year with a significant portion of those profits passing through legitimate financial services businesses. Allowing migrant workers to have full freedom of movement and to switch employers without penalty would help prevent human trafficking. Systemic discrimination creates inequities between communities, whether the discrimination targets perceptions of race, ethnicity, sexual orientation and gender identity, or any other social identities. The second project USAID CariSECURE 2.0 costs US$13 million, of which US$1.2 million will be spent on trafficking in people for TT, Barbados, Antigua and Barbuda and St Lucia. With this years Report we celebrate the efforts of anti-trafficking professionals who continued to serve and identify victims as well as prosecute traffickers amidst the pandemics devastating effects on the worlds most vulnerable populations. Belarus Authorities have detected the use of third-party payment processors (TPPPs) by traffickers and their facilitators to wire funds, which gives the appearance that the TPPP is the originator or beneficiary of the wire transfer and conceals the true originator or beneficiary. Poole and her staff have worked with more than 3,000 women. Notably, governments and anti-trafficking stakeholders overlook familial trafficking, which is when a family member or guardian is the victims trafficker or the one who sells the child to a third-party trafficker. 2551 (XL-O/10), Department of Public Security and Department against Transnational Organized Crime, The OECD Due Diligence Guidance for Responsible Supply Chains in the Garment and Footwear Sector(2017), OECD Task Force on Countering Illicit Trade, OSCE Action Plan to Combat Trafficking in Human Beings (2003), Special Representative and Co-ordinator for Trafficking in Human Beings, Regional Conference on Migration Plan of Action (updated in 2009), The Liaison Officers Network to Combat Migrant Smuggling and Trafficking in Persons, SADC Strategic Plan of Action on Combating Trafficking in Persons, especially women and Children (2009-2019), Economic Community of West African States, European Union Agency for Law Enforcement Cooperation, Council of Europes Group of Experts on Action Against Trafficking in Human Beings, International Criminal Police Organization, Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex, Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe, United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, Supplementing the United Nations Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. Taiwan The spokesperson did not identify specific individuals to be investigated. Takiyah Golden For the knowing commission of any act of a severe form of trafficking in persons, the government of the country should prescribe punishment that is sufficiently stringent to deter and that adequately reflects the heinous nature of the offense. Founded in 2001, Sana Sezim has been a premier anti-trafficking organization in Kazakhstan and has greatly advanced efforts within the country to end human trafficking and help labor migrants. Oman By publishing it, with the authors consent, the Department seeks to shine a light on a population particularly vulnerable to human trafficking that is often misunderstood and overlooked. These harmful practices include redlining, lending discrimination, unequal distribution of government subsidies and services, restricted entry into white collar or higher paying jobs, and intentional exclusions of certain professions from worker protections. 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