5 of the Worst Countries for Human Trafficking
The Worst Human Trafficking Offenders
Human trafficking is a multi-billion dollar enterprise, and it's one of the fastest-growing illicit industries in the world. Each year, the U.N. marks World Day Against Trafficking in Persons, which falls on July 30 this year, to help raise awareness. The U.S. State Department annually investigates more than 100 countries for its Trafficking in Persons report. In the 2017 report, 23 countries were classified as Tier 3, the lowest classification for countries that "do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so." Here's a look at five of the countries that are classified among the worst human trafficking offenders.
Russia
The U.S. Congress-approved sanctions against Russian banks and oil companies also target North Korean labor in Russia and elsewhere. According to the report, Russia recently expanded bilateral agreements with North Korea that allow for labor camps and "slave-like conditions" for workers within Russian borders. About 20,000 workers from North Korea are sent to Russia each year. The country has been rated Tier 3 since 2013.
China
China was downgraded to Tier 3 after three years on the Tier 2 Watch List. Chinese officials responded by calling the assessment "irresponsible." The report cited gaps in state laws against human trafficking and ongoing state-sponsored forced labor despite formal announcements that the practice had been stopped. According to The Diplomat, demographic challenges created by the country's one-child policy have led Chinese men to find wives through sex trafficking.
Iran
Iran's government "continued to punish trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being subjected to human trafficking, such as adultery, prostitution, and illegal immigration," some of which are punishable by death, according to the report. Migrants, particularly those from Afghanistan, are coerced into combat roles in Syria, and children as young as 3 years old work as street beggars under the threat of physical and sexual abuse.
Belarus
Forced and compulsory labor are used as punishment for various offenses in Belarus, including government criticism and failure of unemployed people to pay a fine. About 7,000 people suffering from alcoholism or drug dependencies are held in "medical labor centers" with an obligation to work, according to the report. The government has yet to approve a draft of the State Program on Countering Crime and Corruption, which addresses human trafficking. But it has made progress by repealing a law that bound state workers in the lumber industry to their jobs.
Venezuela
Venezuela fell to Tier 3 in 2014 after President Nicolas Maduro's rise to authority in 2013. Sex trafficking and child sex tourism are common, particularly among women lured from poorer regions to tourism hubs. Officials reported an increase of sex trafficking in the informal mining sector, according to the report, but the government did not report any investigations into human trafficking or any protection efforts for victims.
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Deidre McPhillips is a data reporter at U.S. News. You can find her on Twitter or email her at dmcphillips@usnews.com.
