US blasts Russia, Thailand
The US yesterday accused Russia, Thailand, Iran and Libya of insufficient action against human trafficking, in a damning report on a global scourge decried as "modern slavery."
Those nations -- as well as Venezuela, Algeria, Syria, Yemen, North Korea, South Sudan and Zimbabwe -- were at the bottom of an annual ranking compiled by the State Department and announced by Secretary of State John Kerry.
The countries in Tier 3, the lowest category, are those whose governments don't respect international norms or laws on trafficking and "are not making significant efforts to do so," according to the 382-page report.
Russia has languished in Tier 3 since 2013, a condition which prompted Moscow's wrath at the time.
The report said Russia lacked a national action plan and funds for trafficking prevention, and "prosecutions remained low compared with the scope of Russia's trafficking problem."
Thailand has been on a downward trend, slipping from Tier 2 in 2008 and 2009 to Watch List from 2010 to 2013, then Tier 3 for the past two years.
Thailand's trafficking problem centres on its extensive sex trade, involving victims from neighbouring Myanmar, Laos and Cambodia. There is also reported abuse in commercial fishing.
"Some Thai officials are complicit in trafficking crimes and corruption continues to undermine anti-trafficking efforts," the State Department said.
By contrast Malaysia, a Southeast Asian nation which had plummeted last year to the lowest rung, was raised a notch to the "Tier 2 Watch List" category, after Kuala Lumpur exhibited "significant efforts" in fighting trafficking.
But a non-profit coalition of US-based human rights groups said President Barack Obama's administration "unfairly" upgraded Malaysia in part because Washington is negotiating a sweeping trade accord with Pacific Rim countries including Malaysia.
“Allowing political interests to influence how governments are held accountable for this horrendous crime calls into question both the Trafficking in Persons Report's integrity and the United States' commitment to preventing human trafficking," said Melysa Sperber, director of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking.
China meanwhile rose a notch in 2014 to the Tier 2 Watch List, where it remained this year.
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