More About the 2006 TIP Report
The TIP Report is the most comprehensive worldwide report on the efforts of governments to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons. The TIP Report covers the period April 2005 through March 2006.
What the Report Is and Is Not
The annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report includes those countries determined to be countries of origin, transit, or destination for a significant number of victims of severe forms of trafficking. Since trafficking likely extends to every country in the world, the omission of a country from the Report may only indicate a lack of adequate information. The country narratives describe the scope and nature of the trafficking problem, the reasons for including the country, and the government's efforts to combat trafficking.
The narrative also contains an assessment of the government's compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking as laid out in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000, as amended, and includes suggestions for actions to combat trafficking. The remainder of the country narrative describes each government's efforts to enforce laws against trafficking, protect victims, and prevent trafficking. Each narrative explains the basis for rating a country as Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, or Tier 3. If a country has been placed on Tier 2 Watch List, the narrative will contain a statement explaining why, using terms found in the TVPA as amended.
Per the TVPA's guidance, there are factors to be considered in determining whether a country should be in Tier 2 (or Tier 2 Watch List) or in Tier 3: 1) The extent to which the country is a country of origin, transit, or destination for severe forms of trafficking; 2) The extent to which the government of the country does not comply with the TVPA's minimum standards and, in particular, the extent of the government's trafficking-related corruption; and 3) The resources and capabilities of the government to address and eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.
Some governments have issued statements, held conferences, and established task forces or national action plans to create goals for anti-trafficking efforts. However, statements, conferences, plans, and task forces alone are not weighed heavily in assessing country efforts. Rather, the Report focuses on concrete actions governments have taken to fight trafficking, especially prosecutions, convictions, and prison sentences for traffickers, victim protection, and prevention efforts. The Report does not give great weight to laws in draft form or laws that have not yet been enacted. Finally, the Report does not focus on government efforts that contribute indirectly to reducing trafficking, such as education programs, support for economic development, or programs aimed at enhancing gender equality, although these are worthwhile endeavors.
Why the 2006 TIP Report Contains More Country Assessments
The 2006 Report includes an analysis of trafficking and government efforts to combat it in 149 countries, a net increase of seven ranked countries over last year. In previous years, some countries have not been included because it was difficult to gather reliable and sufficient information due to: the illegal and underground nature of trafficking; the absence or nascence of government anti-TIP efforts; the difficulty in distinguishing between trafficking and smuggling; the fear and silence of trafficking victims, who often cross borders illegally or are physically abused or coerced; the general lack of freedom of information in a country; or the lack of independent NGOs who can supply information. For some countries, there was information available, but the data did not support a finding that a significant number of three persons were trafficked to, from, or within a country—the general threshold for inclusion in the TIP Report. Over the past year, we have witnessed a stronger response from many governments, more public awareness campaigns alerting victims to protection services and greater transparency in anti-trafficking efforts. As a result of these positive actions, and the dedication of more Department of State resources, information was gathered on additional countries this year. The Department intends to include all countries with a significant number of trafficking victims in future reports, as more and better information becomes available.
TRAFFICKING AND WARFARE: CHILD SOLDIERS IN BURMA
Gruesome information about trafficked children forced to serve as child soldiers has most often centered on African countries such as Uganda and Sierra Leone. However, Burma's prolonged conflict with ethnic forces and worsening political and economic conditions have left its population vulnerable to exploitation, creating an environment where children as young as 11 are forced into the military. Both the military and armed ethnic groups recruit child soldiers.
Both the U.S. Government and the United Nations have called on the Government of Burma to cease all recruitment and exploitation of children in the military. Despite these pressures, the Burmese Government refuses to address the practice of kidnapping children for the purpose of military exploitation.
How the Report Is Used
This Report is a diplomatic tool for the U.S. Government to use as an instrument for continued dialogue and encouragement, and as a guide to help focus resources on prosecution, protection, and prevention programs and policies. The State Department will continue to engage governments about the content of the Report in order to strengthen cooperative efforts to eradicate trafficking. In the coming year, and particularly in the months before a determination is made regarding sanctions for Tier 3 countries, the Department will use the information gathered here to more effectively target assistance programs and to work with countries that need help in combatingtrafficking. The Department hopes the Report will be a catalyst for government and non-government efforts to combat trafficking in persons around the world.
THE TIERS
TIER 1: Countries whose governments fully comply with the Act's minimum standards. [detailed on p. 288]
TIER 2 : Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the Act's minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.
TIER 2 SPECIAL WATCH LIST: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the Act's minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards, and:
a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or
is significantly increasing; or
b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year; or
c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.
TIER 3: Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so.
Methodology
The Department of State prepared this Report using information from U.S. embassies, foreign government officials, NGOs and international organizations, published reports, research trips to every region, and information submitted to tipreport@state.gov, which was established for NGOs and individuals to share information on government progress in addressing trafficking. U.S. diplomatic posts reported on the trafficking situation and governmental action based on thorough research, including meetings with a wide variety of government officials, local and international NGO representatives, international organizations, officials, journalists, academics, and survivors. To compile this year's Report, the Department took a fresh look at information sources for every country to make its assessments. Assessing each government's anti-trafficking efforts involves a two-step process:
Step One: Significant Numbers of Victims
First, the Department determines whether a country is "a country of origin, transit, or destination for a significant number of victims of severe forms of trafficking," generally on the order of 100 or more victims, the same threshold applied in previous reports. Some countries, for which such information was not available, are not given tier ratings, but are included in the Special Case section, as they exhibited indications of trafficking.
Step Two: Tier Placement
The Department places each country included on the 2006 TIP Report into one of the four lists, described here as tiers, mandated by the TVPA. This placement is based more on the extent of government action to combat trafficking, rather than the size of the problem, important though that is. The Department first evaluates whether the government fully complies with the TVPA's minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking [detailed on p. 288]. Governments that do, are placed in Tier 1. For other governments, the Department considers whether they made significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance. Governments that are making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards are placed in Tier 2. Governments that do not fully comply with the minimum standards, and are not making significant efforts to do so, are placed in Tier 3. Finally, the Special Watch List criteria are considered and, if applicable, Tier 2 countries are placed on the Tier 2 Watch List.
The Special Watch List-Tier 2 Watch List
The 2003 reauthorization of the TVPA created a "Special Watch List" of countries on the TIP Report that should receive special scrutiny. The list is composed of: 1) Countries listed as Tier 1 in the current Report that were listed as Tier 2 in the 2005 Report; 2) Countries listed as Tier 2 in the current Report that were listed as Tier 3 in the 2005 Report; and 3) countries listed as Tier 2 in the current Report, where:
a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is significantly increasing;
b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking in persons from the previous year, including increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing evidence of complicity in severe forms of trafficking by government officials; or
c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.
This category (including a, b, and c) has been termed by the Department of State "Tier 2 Watch List." There were 27 countries placed on Tier 2 Watch List in the June 2005 Report. Along with six countries that were reassessed as Tier 2 Watch List countries in September 2005 and three countries that met the first two categories above (moving up a tier from the 2005 TIP Report), these 27 countries were included in an "Interim Assessment" released by the Department of State on February 1, 2006.
Of the 33 countries on Tier 2 Watch List at the time of the Interim Assessment, 16 moved up to Tier 2 on this Report, while 4 fell to Tier 3 and 12 remain on Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year. Haiti has been placed in the "Special Cases" category this year. Countries placed on the Special Watch List in this Report will be reexamined in an interim assessment to be submitted to the U.S. Congress by February 1, 2007.
Potential Penalties for Tier 3 Countries
Governments of countries in Tier 3 may be subject to certain sanctions. The U.S. Government may withhold non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance. Countries that receive no such assistance would be subject to withholding of funding for participation in educational and cultural exchange programs.
Consistent with the TVPA, such governments would also face U.S. opposition to assistance (except for humanitarian, trade-related, and certain development-related assistance) from international financial institutions such as the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank. These potential consequences will take effect at the beginning of the next fiscal year, October 1, 2006. All or part of the TVPA's sanctions can be waived upon a determination by the President that the provision of such assistance to the government would promote the purposes of the statute or is otherwise in the national interest of the United States. The TVPA also provides that sanctions can be waived if necessary to avoid significant adverse effects on vulnerable populations, including women and children. Sanctions would not apply if the President finds that, after this Report is issued but before the imposition of sanctions, a government has come into compliance with the minimum standards or is making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance.
Regardless of tier placement, every country can do more, including the United States. No country placement is permanent. All countries must maintain and increase efforts to combat trafficking.