Honduras is a source and transit country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Many victims are Honduran children trafficked from rural areas to urban and tourist centers such as San Pedro Sula, the North Caribbean coast, and the Bay Islands. Honduran women and children are trafficked to Mexico, the United States, and Guatemala. Most foreign victims trafficked into Honduras for commercial sexual exploitation come from neighboring countries. Honduras is also a transit country for illegal migration originating outside the region, including China, and there are unconfirmed reports that some of these migrants are forced into debt bondage in Honduras to pay off their smuggling fees.

The Government of Honduras does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Over the last year, the government increased law enforcement efforts, passed anti-trafficking legislation, and educated officials and the tourist industry regarding anti-trafficking reforms. The government should sustain efforts to investigate trafficking within the country and cooperate with destination countries. It should also work with NGOs and civil society on public awareness programs targeting victims and improve protection for victims.

Prosecution
The Honduran Government increased its efforts to punish acts of trafficking during the reporting year. The government enacted reforms late in the reporting period to strengthen laws prohibiting commercial sexual exploitation. Law enforcement authorities initiated at least 37 new investigations and prosecuted 17 suspects for trafficking-related offenses, convicting 10 traffickers. Police raids rescued at least four underage victims of commercial sexual exploitation which led to four of the year’s prosecutions. Authorities cooperated with Guatemala and the United States in joint anti-trafficking investigations. Border officials screened potential victims but had little success in preventing cross-border trafficking. There were no confirmed reports of officials prosecuted for complicity in trafficking, although corruption is a widespread problem and there were reports of lower-ranking immigration officials linked to alien smuggling and trafficking.

Protection
The Honduran Government made minimal progress in its efforts to assist trafficking victims during the reporting year. It operated no shelters for trafficking victims, but referred victims of trafficking to NGOs for services. The government supported several shelters that received and assisted minors deported or repatriated from abroad, though these shelters were not equipped to adequately care for trafficking victims. In September 2005, the government assigned a prosecutor to work with one of these shelters to identify trafficking victims and seek their assistance in building trafficking cases. Honduran consular officials in neighboring countries assisted Honduran trafficking victims by referring them to NGOs and coordinating their repatriation. Greater efforts should be made to direct trafficking victims to shelters and victim services in the country. The government should also increase efforts to aid adult trafficking victims and prevent the summary deportation of foreign trafficking victims.

Prevention
The government made modest progress in prevention activities during the period. It trained 740 officials and over 100 key tourism representatives regarding the new laws against commercial sexual exploitation. A senior migration official used IOM training she had received to train her staff to recognize and investigate trafficking. The Honduran Government relied on NGOs and international organizations like UNICEF and IOM to implement most awareness campaigns that targeted victims.

HONG KONG (TIER 1)

Hong Kong is a transit and destination territory for men and women trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Hong Kong is primarily a transit point for illegal migrants, some of whom are subject to conditions of debt bondage, sexual exploitation, and forced labor upon arrival in a destination country. To a lesser extent, Hong Kong is a destination for women from the P.R.C. and Southeast Asian countries trafficked for sexual exploitation. There are credible reports that women are recruited in their home country to work in Hong Kong as entertainers, waitresses, or musicians, but are subsequently forced into prostitution through the coercive use of debts imposed on them. While there are reports that foreign domestics are abused in the territory, Hong Kong’s continuing efforts to regulate the thousands of domestics currently working in Hong Kong appear to have greatly reduced abuses.

The Government of Hong Kong fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued to implement strong anti-trafficking measures. The government devotes significant resources to combating trafficking, including training frontline law enforcement officials to identify trafficking victims, collecting and reporting detailed information on suspected cases of trafficking, conducting undercover operations in establishments thought to be centers for trafficking in women, and providing sufficient protections to trafficking victims through already-established mechanisms. However, the government's anti-trafficking efforts would benefit from a comprehensive plan of action on trafficking-related matters and an outreach campaign to women in prostitution designed to educate them about trafficking issues. The Hong Kong authorities should also collaborate more closely with the Philippines Government to investigate cases of sex trafficking involving Philippine women.

Prosecution
The Hong Kong Government continued significant efforts to combat trafficking through law enforcement means. Hong Kong does not have specific anti-trafficking laws, but uses its Immigration Ordinance, Crimes Ordinance, and other related laws to prosecute traffickers. These laws carry significant penalties, including up to 10 years’ imprisonment and substantial fines. Over the last few years, Hong Kong has made efforts to provide better law enforcement data. This year, Hong Kong reported five suspected cases of trafficking, though none resulted in a prosecution or conviction. Hong Kong provides training for police and immigration officials on how to identify trafficking victims. Hong Kong’s Anti-Illegal Migration Agency is staffed by highly professional and sophisticated individuals and it maintains tight control at Hong Kong’s International Airport.

Protection
Since the number of known trafficking victims in Hong Kong is small, the government generally refers them to existing social service programs. The Social Welfare Department and local and international NGOs offer an array of social service programs to individuals in need. The government also provides a general 24-hour crisis hotline, though no trafficking victims used this line in the last year. Additionally, the government trains police officers on how to handle vulnerable witnesses and victims, and a special unit within the police force provides for their protection. Potential trafficking victims may be granted immunity from prosecution if they agree to be witnesses in a criminal prosecution. Individuals who do not agree to act as witnesses may be charged with criminal offenses – including breaching conditions of their stay or document fraud – though the government's general practice has been to repatriate trafficking victims to their country of origin without charging them with an offense.

Prevention
Hong Kong has indicated a strong willingness to combat trafficking in persons, and is working to raise awareness among police and immigration officials. Given the small number of identified trafficking victims, there are no specific campaigns aimed at women who may be trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation; there are significant outreach programs to foreign domestics. The government has taken strong efforts to ensure that foreign domestics are aware of their rights through multi-lingual guidebooks and public advertisements. Authorities work closely with P.R.C. and other law enforcement entities to share information on emerging patterns of alien smuggling and trafficking.

HUNGARY (TIER 2)

Hungary is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked from Ukraine, Moldova, Poland, the Balkans, and the P.R.C. to Austria, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands, Italy, France, Switzerland, Japan, the United States, the U.K., and several countries in Scandinavia and Central America for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Hungarian women are trafficked primarily to Western and Northern Europe and to North America. There is also evidence that men and boys as young as 12 are trafficked from Romania to Budapest for the purpose of sexual exploitation. The majority of victims of sexual exploitation within Hungary are minors.

The Government of Hungary does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The Hungarian Government has shown considerable commitment over the last year to increase its efforts in combating human trafficking. The government signed an inter-agency memorandum of understanding that put into place an official policy of referring identified trafficking victims to NGOs for care. Parliament passed the Victims’ Compensation Act to provide government-issued payments as well as medical, legal, and social assistance to victims of all crimes, including trafficking. Parliament also passed an act granting authority to the Border Guard to investigate trafficking cases; this will greatly increase the government’s ability to conduct anti-trafficking investigations. Despite the past year's considerable progress, more remains to be done. Evidence suggests that local police patrols do not vigorously investigate trafficking activity; police reportedly are aware that traffickers control many women in prostitution in Hungary, but do not attempt to arrest these traffickers due to apathy, fear of retribution, or bribes. Police should receive more sensitivity training and prosecutors should receive additional training to make the judicial process more effective. The government should establish a central office and a national action plan to better coordinate anti-trafficking efforts.

Prosecution
The Hungarian Government showed modest progress in its law enforcement efforts to combat human trafficking during the reporting period. Police conducted 28 trafficking investigations, and prosecutions of suspected traffickers increased from 21 in 2004 to 27 in 2005. Data on convictions of traffickers were unavailable for 2005. Of the 42 reported convictions in 2004, 26 traffickers were sentenced to time in prison, five were given fines or ancillary punishments, and 11 traffickers received suspended sentences. The government provided training for its officials in how to recognize, investigate, and prosecute traffickers. In addition, government officials attended several NGO conferences. Hungary cooperated regularly with other governments in trafficking investigations; one notable investigation involved cooperation with Swiss and French law enforcement agencies and resulted in the arrest of several French traffickers in March 2006. The government also extradited two suspected Romanian traffickers to Romania, one suspected Romanian trafficker to Austria, and one suspected Hungarian trafficker to Hungary from Switzerland.

Protection
The Hungarian Government showed mixed progress in its efforts to protect and assist trafficking victims over the reporting period. The government provided only limited assistance to anti-trafficking NGOs in 2005, though it did donate several buildings for the creation of an NGO trafficking shelter in Hungary, and in early 2006, it granted $47,000 to a victim protection NGO. Police referred 12 victims to the new trafficking shelter that opened in 2005, and a formal victim referral process with an emphasis on victim protection was enacted in November 2005. However, concerns remained that the cumbersome nature of the process and lack of communication between ministries will challenge the effectiveness of the new referral process. The lack of effort among low-level officials to properly identify victims remained a problem. Although it is not the policy of the government to jail, detain, or deport trafficking victims, the lack of adequate victim screening or identification efforts resulted in victims occasionally being punished for unlawful acts that were a direct result of their being trafficked. Some victims were also denied legal alternatives to their removal to countries in which they faced hardship or retribution.

Prevention
The government continued to work closely with NGOs and IOM to promote public awareness over the last year. The government in early 2006 committed formally to $36,000 in funding for three IOM public awareness programs. Anti-trafficking materials prepared by NGOs continued to be included in different state-run university programs. The government cooperated with IOM to conduct trafficking prevention and awareness programs for potential victims as well as trafficking awareness training for police, border guards, prosecutors, consular officers, and judicial officials. The government did not sponsor any demand reduction programs in 2005.

INDIA (TIER 2 WATCH LIST)

India is a source, destination, and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The large population of men, women, and children — numbering in the millions — in debt bondage face involuntary servitude in brick kilns, rice mills, and zari embroidery factories. Some children endure involuntary servitude as domestic servants. Internal trafficking of women and girls for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced marriage also occurs. The Ministry of Home Affairs estimates that 90 percent of India's sex trafficking is internal. India is also a destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. In addition, boys from Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are trafficked through India to the Gulf states for involuntary servitude as child camel jockeys. Reportedly, Bangladeshi women are trafficked through India for sexual exploitation in Pakistan. Moreover, Indian men and women migrate willingly to the Gulf for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers, but some later find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude including extended working hours, nonpayment of wages, restrictions on their movement by withholding of their passports or confinement to the home, and physical or sexual abuse.

The Government of India does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. India is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year due to its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking in persons. India lacks a national law enforcement response to any form of trafficking, but took some preliminary measures to create a central law enforcement unit to do so. However, India did not take steps to address the huge issue of bonded labor and other forms of involuntary servitude. The Indian Government also did not take meaningful steps to address its sizeable trafficking-related corruption problem. The government drafted, but had not yet introduced to parliament, amendments to the Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA) that would afford greater protection to sex trafficking victims and stricter penalties for their traffickers and for clients of prostitution. The central government also further empowered the coordination office for anti-trafficking, elevating the stature of the Department of Women and Child Development (DWCD) by creating a Minister of State for Women and Child Development (MWCD). India should consider designating and empowering a national law enforcement agency with investigative and prosecutorial jurisdiction throughout the country to address its interstate and international trafficking problem. The government should similarly consider taking greater measures to rescue and protect victims of bonded labor and to prosecute their traffickers or employers, giving them punishments sufficiently stringent to deter and that adequately reflect the nature of the heinous crime of trafficking. It is particularly important to strengthen and enforce sentences applied to individuals convicted of exploiting bonded laborers. India should also improve its long-term protection of trafficking victims and institute nation-wide public awareness programs to educate all segments of the population on the dangers of trafficking.

Prosecution
The Government of India over the last year sustained modest efforts to punish trafficking crimes; however, there were no significant improvements. The government's laws criminalizing labor forms of trafficking such as bonded labor or forced child labor prescribe no more than three years' imprisonment. The government, at all relevant levels, neither vigorously investigated nor prosecuted acts of any form of trafficking found in India, nor did it report a significant number of convictions or sentences for these acts of trafficking. Moreover, there were no reports of government efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, or sentence public officials who participated in or facilitated trafficking in persons crimes. Although India's Immoral Trafficking Prevention Act (ITPA) adequately criminalizes and prescribes punishment for trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, this law was generally not used for effective prosecutions of trafficking in most of the country. The central government has moved forward, however, with amendments to the ITPA aimed at increasing penalties for repeat traffickers and clients of prostitution and eliminating provisions used to punish victims of trafficking. In 2004, the central government reported 6,341 persons convicted under the ITPA, but it did not provide data as to how many of these were convictions of women in prostitution for the offense of solicitation. The Government of India did not provide comprehensive statistics for the number of investigations, arrests, prosecutions, or convictions achieved during 2005 to punish traffickers for commercial sexual exploitation. Separately, independent sources report that the municipal government of Mumbai — India's largest city and largest concentration of victims of commercial sexual exploitation — arrested 13 suspected sex traffickers in 2005, but did not prosecute or convict any traffickers. Similarly, the city governments of Calcutta and Chennai registered 25 and 109 arrests of sex traffickers respectively, but provided no indication that these cases were ever prosecuted. The state of Maharashtra reported 82 prosecutions of trafficking offenses and the conviction of eight traffickers in 2004. During the year, little progress was made in combating trafficking of persons for the purpose of labor exploitation. Despite estimates that millions of men, women, and children are victims of forced labor and bonded labor, the government provided no indication that the perpetrators of these crimes were seriously punished. The Bonded Labor Abolition Act of 1976 criminalizes the use of the bonded labor system with penalties including up to three years in jail and 2,000 rupees ($45) in fines. International NGOs and the ILO estimate that there are 10 to 40 million bonded laborers in India; the Government of India did not provide an estimate. Moreover, it did not provide any data on prosecutions or convictions for bonded labor offenses for the reporting period. Independent sources report some prosecutions and convictions in Tamil Nadu and Uttar Pradesh, with punishments limited to fines. The Child Labor and Juvenile Justice Acts prohibit the labor exploitation of children. Under the Child Labor Act, employers are subject to imprisonment of up to one year and a fine of at least 10,000 rupees ($227) for forced child labor. The Juvenile Justice Act mandates imprisonment of three years or less for forced or bonded labor of children. In November, the Delhi police rescued 694 children caught in forced labor in zari embroidery factories and over 16,000 children were reportedly rescued from workshops in Mumbai between June and September 2005. These local governments, however, provided no information regarding arrests or prosecutions of the factory owners exploiting these children.

In the last year, the Government of India took steps to implement a nationwide police training program on trafficking. The Bureau of Police Research and Development began preparing a national anti-trafficking training module for investigative officers, and it conducted seven training workshops around the country in 2005. This nascent training program, aimed to sensitize law enforcement officers to trafficking for sexual or labor exploitation, will assist state and national level law enforcement authorities in preventing corruption and improving their capacity to combat trafficking. In addition, India should consider instituting a comprehensive database to compile state level statistics related to the rescue of victims of sex trafficking and forced or bonded labor, as well as the arrest and prosecution of their traffickers or exploiters.

Endemic corruption among law enforcement officials impedes India's ability to effectively combat trafficking in persons. In terms of trafficking for sexual exploitation, corrupt law enforcement authorities reportedly continue to facilitate the movement of trafficking victims, protect brothels that exploit victims, and protect traffickers and brothel keepers from arrest or other threats of enforcement. In the area of bonded labor and forced child labor, some corrupt police officials continued to protect businesses and managers who rely on forced labor, and take bribes to stop enforcement or judicial action. During the reporting period, there were no reports concerning the Government of India's steps to address official complicity in trafficking in persons.

Protection
The Government of India continues to provide inadequate and uneven assistance to the vast majority of trafficking victims. Existing national programs to provide protection and rehabilitation to victims of sex trafficking, forced child labor, or bonded labor were not implemented effectively in some areas. Some of India's 28 states, however, showed resolve in addressing victims' needs. For example, the state of Tamil Nadu operates five shelters for women and girls, including victims of trafficking, and the government of Andhra Pradesh state runs six similar homes. The state government of Maharashtra is expanding the capacity of its existing Mumbai shelter. Government shelters are found in all major cites, but the quality of care they offer varies widely; allegations of victims further exploited in government shelters have been reported. The Government of India relies heavily on NGOs to provide certain services to assist victims. Child Welfare Committees operate in each district of each state to protect child victims of trafficking; they often refer such victims to local NGOs for care. The Government of India continues to provide funding to NGOs to build shelters for victims of trafficking under its Swadhar Scheme, although some NGOs have charged that the implementation of this program has been marked by inefficiency and corruption. Overall, protection for victims of trafficking is weak with regard to comprehensive care. Many shelters do not have the capacity to provide protection to trafficking victims for more than a few months, leaving some victims vulnerable to re-trafficking once they leave the shelters. In addition, victim witnesses rarely receive adequate protection to prevent retribution from their traffickers. For those trafficked from other countries, repatriation assistance is sparse. Anecdotal information suggests that victims are accompanied to the border without sufficient reintegration aid, rendering them susceptible to re-trafficking. Victims of bonded labor are provided 20,000 rupees ($450) co-funded by the national and state governments upon their rescue, but this program of rehabilitation is unevenly implemented across the country; it is unclear whether state or local governments afford other services to bonded labor victims. The government can improve its protection efforts by instituting short- or long-term care as appropriate for trafficking victims, as well as shelter facilities to assist them. The repatriation process should be improved to ensure that victims are sufficiently reintegrated and programs to protect witnesses are established that will adequately safeguard victims from retribution. To protect Indian nationals trafficked abroad, the government should consider training overseas diplomatic officials in identifying and assisting trafficking victims caught in involuntary servitude.

Prevention
India's efforts to prevent trafficking in persons were limited this year. To address the issue of bride trafficking, the government instituted public awareness programs to educate parents on the laws against sex-selective abortions and infanticide causing gender imbalance in parts of India and driving the demand for purchased brides. The newly created MWCD has continued the past work of the DCWD in hosting quarterly meetings with other government agencies and local NGOs to share anti-trafficking ideas and facilitate cooperation on preventing trafficking in persons. The government also aimed to prevent child labor by offering financial incentives to parents to keep their children in school. Nevertheless, the central government was unable to guard its long, porous borders with Bangladesh and Nepal through which several thousand trafficking victims reportedly enter India each year. The government did not take adequate measures to prevent internal trafficking for sexual exploitation or involuntary servitude despite the prevalence of such trafficking to major cities, and increasingly in smaller cities and suburbs. The Government of India also did not institute a broad public awareness campaign to notify the public of the consequences of engaging in trafficking crimes. India should increase awareness of trafficking issues in rural areas where there is a high risk of trafficking. India should also better monitor its borders to interdict trafficking victims and trafficking rings. In addition, the government should also consider offering training for men and women traveling overseas for employment, to avoid situations of involuntary servitude abroad.

INDONESIA (TIER 2 WATCH LIST)

Indonesia is a source, transit, and destination country for women, children and men trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Indonesian victims are trafficked to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore. A significant number of Indonesian women who go overseas each year to work as domestic servants are subjected to exploitation and conditions of involuntary servitude. An unknown number of child domestic workers also face conditions of forced child labor, a severe form of trafficking in persons. Some Indonesian women who travel legally to Japan as "cultural performers" are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. To a minimal extent, Indonesia is a destination for women from the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.), Thailand, Taiwan, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Venezuela, Spain, and Ukraine who are trafficked for sexual exploitation. There is extensive trafficking within Indonesia from rural to urban metropolitan areas particularly for sexual exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude. Endemic poverty, a high unemployment rate, corruption and a weak rule-of-law environment all contribute to Indonesia’s trafficking problem.

The Government of Indonesia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Indonesia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking. The Indonesian Government has not passed a much-need anti-trafficking law that has been under consideration for three years; Indonesia lacks a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that has a clear legal definition of trafficking. While the government launched an unprecedented anti-corruption campaign, widespread corrupt practices continued to contribute to trafficking. The government took new steps to remove children from prostitution, but did not effectively address children in forced domestic servitude, a severe form of trafficking. Police and officials often did not recognize the relationship of debt bondage and trafficking of women and girls for prostitution. Over the last year, Indonesia did not reverse the pervasive problem of debt bondage in the migrant worker system, which subjects many women to confinement by recruiting agencies before they leave Indonesia for overseas employment. Government action should concentrate on passing the comprehensive anti-trafficking bill; further addressing internal trafficking, particularly of children exploited in the sex trade or as forced domestic servants; and stopping corrupt practices and prosecuting officials involved in or facilitating trafficking.

Prosecution
The Indonesian Government did not increase its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts in 2005. The government arrested 110 suspected traffickers, prosecuting 37 and convicting at least 16 defendants in the year. The Indonesian police also arrested two individuals for trafficking dozens of Indonesian women as "cultural performers" into prostitution in Japan. In contrast to previous years, Indonesian law enforcement actions focused more on internal trafficking. Police launched new investigative units in certain cities focused on crimes against women and children, including trafficking. Indonesian law enforcement also conducted raids on illegal or abusive migrant holding centers and freed over one thousand women in 2005, while arresting and charging a few business owners under the Migrant Worker Protection Act. Beginning in January 2006, police launched operations to free children in prostitution in Jakarta, Surabaya and elsewhere. The government, however, did not address debt bondage in the migrant worker system. Indonesian law criminalizes trafficking, but lacks a comprehensive definition of the crime, including debt bondage. Convictions for trafficking offenses are often accompanied by light sentences, with an average sentence of less than five years' imprisonment. The Indonesian Government has recognized that action must be taken to stop corrupt officials' facilitation of trafficking, such as the issuance of false identification cards, but it has not reported any trafficking-related investigations or prosecutions of corrupt officials. Over the last year, clashes between the police and military highlighted the continued involvement of individual security force members in prostitution.

Protection
National and local level efforts to protect victims of trafficking in Indonesia increased over the past year, but remained inadequate. Services to victims expanded, but still remained inadequate. The president spoke out on the need to protect Indonesia's female migrant workers. The Indonesian police increased the number of integrated service centers providing health services to trafficking and other victims of crime, and with international assistance established one of the world's largest medical recovery units dedicated to trafficking victims in the Jakarta police hospital. Although Indonesia’s national action plan calls for proper treatment of trafficking victims, implementation varied widely at the local level and often appeared ad hoc. The Indonesian Government continued to operate shelters at its embassies and consulates in Singapore, Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, and Kuwait which housed thousands of overseas workers who were subjected to exploitation and conditions of involuntary servitude. At home, however, licensed and unlicensed migrant worker recruitment agencies (PJTKI) often imposed debt bondage and confinement on aspiring migrant workers and the government made no discernable progress to reform this system that contributed to trafficking. The government at various levels operated crisis centers and provided some support to domestic NGOs and civil society organizations that provide services for victims. Various Indonesian Government offices and diplomatic missions continued to receive limited training on trafficking victim recognition and assistance.

Prevention
The Indonesian Government continued efforts to promote public awareness of trafficking in 2005, and continued to prevent trafficking out of areas devastated by the December 2004 tsunami. The government launched the first televised public service announcements to raise awareness of trafficking and engaged in other limited public education campaigns. Government-sponsored public awareness campaigns often featured senior officials and included television, radio, and print media. Indonesia's national anti-trafficking spokesperson continued to engage the public to raise awareness of trafficking. The government opened new migrant worker service centers that provided information on safe migration and avoidance of traffickers. More Muslim organizations in West Java, East Java and Aceh became aware of and took actions to warn the public about trafficking. Over the last year, the Indonesian Government continued its collaboration with NGOs on anti-trafficking and education initiatives. Most education campaigns focused on warning potential victims about trafficking. There were few prevention activities focused on reducing demand.

IRAN (TIER 3)

Iran is a source, transit, and destination country for women and girls trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. According to foreign observers, women and girls are trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, the Gulf, and Europe for sexual exploitation. Boys from Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are trafficked through Iran en route to the Gulf states where they are ultimately forced to work as camel jockeys, beggars, or laborers. Afghan women and girls are trafficked to the country for forced marriages and sexual exploitation. Similarly, women and children are trafficked internally for the purposes of forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and involuntary servitude.

The Government of Iran does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Iran is downgraded to Tier 3 after persistent, credible reports of Iranian authorities punishing victims of trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution. The United States Government’s lack of access to Iran prohibits the collection of full and accurate data on the country’s human trafficking problem and its efforts to curb it. Nonetheless, sources report that the Iranian Government fails to meet the minimum standards for protection of victims of trafficking by prosecuting and, in some cases, executing victims for morality-based offenses resulting from their trafficking experience. Iran has taken steps, however, to improve its collaboration with source and destination countries to prevent human trafficking. The government should take steps to prevent the punishment of trafficking victims. Iran should also articulate a plan of action to punish traffickers and prevent trafficking in persons.

Prosecution
Over the year, Iran reportedly made some efforts to punish trafficking in persons crimes. In April, a number of government officials, including members of the State Security Forces and Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, were arrested for engaging in the commercial sexual exploitation of children. Despite this effort to address trafficking-related government corruption, Iran did not provide any evidence that these officials were officially charged, prosecuted, or convicted for trafficking offenses. The child victims of these raids–some as young as 13 years old–were also arrested pending their judicial sentencing, presumably for engaging in prostitution. The government should continue to conduct raids to identify and punish traffickers, but should subsequently prosecute the traffickers and assign strict penalties for their actions. Iran should also consider providing training to government officials on methods of investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes.

Protection
The Government of Iran did not improve its protection of trafficking victims this year. Although government bodies provide some victims with legal, health, and counseling services, reports have also emerged that victims are arrested and punished for violations of morality standards such as adultery, defined as sexual relations outside of marriage. Although it is unclear how many victims are subjected to punishment for acts committed as a result of their trafficking experience, child
victims of commercial sexual exploitation reportedly have been executed for their purported crime of prostitution or adultery. For instance, one 16-year-old sex trafficking victim was hanged publicly by religious authorities who accused her of engaging in "acts incompatible with chastity." The governor of the town later congratulated the religious leader for his "firm approach." The Government of Iran should take significant steps to prevent the punishment of trafficking victims, and should improve the protective services available to victims.

Prevention
During the year, Iran may have made modest advances in its trafficking prevention measures. The government reportedly improved its monitoring of the border with Afghanistan, but provided no details regarding this effort. Iran should improve its efforts to prevent trafficking in persons by significantly improving border patrol with Pakistan and other neighboring countries to which Iranian women and children are trafficked. The government should also institute a public awareness campaign to warn women and children in rural areas of the dangers of trafficking.

IRELAND (TIER 1)

There are reports, which the Government of Ireland is investigating, which suggest that Ireland is a transit and destination country for a significant number of trafficking victims from Eastern Europe, Africa, Latin America, or Asia. While Ireland has a growing population of migrants, there is not yet evidence of a large number of trafficking victims. Unaccompanied minors from various source countries, particularly in Africa, represent a vulnerable group in Ireland that is susceptible to trafficking and exploitation.

The Government of Ireland fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. Ireland’s recent influx of immigrants suggests a vulnerable population among refugees, asylum-seekers, and economic migrants susceptible to force, fraud, and coercion by exploiters in Ireland. The Government of Ireland, newly aware of the trafficking problem, has shown openness and leadership in tackling this crime. Current law, however, does not clearly define trafficking but rather merges it with smuggling, complicating efforts to count and verify the extent of trafficking in the country. In 2005, the government began drafting and updating anti-trafficking legislation that promises to be more comprehensive. If passed, the laws will differentiate between smuggling and trafficking; criminalize trafficking of children into or out of Ireland for both sexual exploitation and forced labor; and focus on the liability of carriers in their transport of such victims. Law enforcement personnel should continue training on victim identification techniques, including key elements defining the difference between trafficking and smuggling.

Prosecution
The Government of Ireland demonstrated strong leadership and initiative in addressing trafficking through law enforcement means in 2005. The government vigorously investigated cases of suspected trafficking reported by NGOs, potential victims themselves, and those reported in the media. Since August 2005, police conducted a number of raids of brothels in Ireland; the government reportedly is preparing cases for prosecution. As a result, in September 2005, authorities conducted a series of raids based on allegations of trafficking in exotic dance clubs, though interviews of suspected victims did not produce evidence of trafficking. In February 2006, police launched an investigation and raided a farm suspected of managing a series of brothels via a call center operation, though again, no evidence of trafficking was found. Ireland’s legislative framework includes a Child Trafficking and Pornography Act, which carries a maximum penalty of life imprisonment. The Government of Ireland demonstrated strong engagement with international organizations, NGOs, and potential source countries on trafficking. In 2005, the government launched Operation Hotel to improve nationwide law enforcement coordination on trafficking. There was no evidence of official complicity in trafficking during the reporting period.

Protection
The Irish Government offered adequate protections to presumed victims of trafficking during the reporting period. While the government lacks a formal referral mechanism, police and immigration officials referred potential trafficking victims to NGOs throughout the year. Due to a lack of dedicated anti-trafficking protections and services, potential victims, especially unaccompanied children, were at risk for being trafficked. NGOs and law enforcement authorities who have contact with potential victims of trafficking estimate a range of 14 to 200 victims of trafficking in Ireland since 2001. However, there are no agreed-upon figures on the number of trafficking cases in 2005. The current number of cases under police investigation is in the single digits, while NGOs estimate that the actual number of cases may range from 14 to 35 per year.

Prevention
In October 2005, the government established an inter-ministerial anti-trafficking working group composed of officials from the Department of Justice, Equality and Law Reform and the police. NGOs reported excellent cooperation with government and police officials, particularly at the operational level. Ireland en Route, a loose network of government agencies, NGOs, academics, and other experts met three times in 2005 to coordinate trainings and discuss legislation, best practices, and other relevant trafficking issues in Ireland. In February 2006, the government joined the U.K. Government’s "Operation Pentameter." Part of this operation includes an awareness campaign aimed at potential victims and a hotline. In 2005, the government provided $24,000 to an NGO for victim support services, specifically earmarked as funds to cover expenses while victims await court appearances. The government also dedicated $420,000 per year to assist this NGO in reforming women in prostitution.

ISRAEL (TIER 2 WATCH LIST)

Israel is a destination country for low-skilled workers from the P.R.C., Romania, Jordan, Turkey, Thailand, the Philippines, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and India who migrate voluntarily for contract labor in the construction, agriculture and health care industries. Some are subsequently subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude. Many labor recruitment agencies in source countries and in Israel require workers to pay up-front fees ranging from $1,000-10,000 – a practice that often leads to debt bondage and makes these workers highly vulnerable to forced labor once in Israel. 144 Israel is also a destination country for women trafficked from Eastern Europe – primarily Ukraine, Moldova, Uzbekistan, Belarus, and Russia – for the purpose of sexual exploitation. NGOs estimate that in 2005 between 1,000-3,000 women were trafficked into Israel for sexual servitude and 16,000-20,000 foreign workers faced involuntary servitude, though NGOs do not provide evidence to support their claim.

The Government of Israel does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Israel is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to address trafficking, namely the conditions of involuntary servitude allegedly facing thousands of foreign migrant workers. The government did not pass a much-needed law criminalizing all forms of trafficking, including labor trafficking, drafted in 2003, though it took more steps than in previous years to criminally investigate and prosecute employers allegedly keeping foreign workers in conditions of involuntary servitude. The estimated thousands of victims of forced labor were not provided with protection. The government continued to build upon progress made in previous years to combat trafficking of women for sexual exploitation, such as prosecuting traffickers and providing victims with shelter and protective services, including legal aid. Israel should extend the scope of its anti-trafficking law to criminalize labor trafficking and establish a shelter for such victims. Israel should immediately take steps to adequately punish, using its criminal justice system, the perpetrators of labor trafficking crimes occurring in Israel. The government should also more vigorously enforce existing bans against charging recruitment fees and withholding passports, factors that contribute to the trafficking of workers.

Prosecution
The Government of Israel's anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were uneven and inadequate over the last year. While the government made noticeable improvement in its law enforcement efforts against traffickers for sexual exploitation, it did little to address the much larger problem of involuntary servitude among foreign migrant workers. The government convicted 31 sex traffickers with sentences ranging from eight to 18 years in prison. The police also investigated 327 cases of trafficking for sexual exploitation and arrested 78 suspected sex traffickers. In addition, Israel cooperated with Russian, American, Ukrainian, and Belarussian law enforcement authorities to extradite traffickers and break up organized sex trafficking rings. The government’s efforts to investigate and prosecute labor trafficking cases, however, were inadequate in light of the scope of this problem. Israel's anti-trafficking law does not cover labor forms of trafficking, though other criminal statutes could be used to punish exploiters of foreign laborers. The government did not enact a long-awaited draft law that would specifically cover labor trafficking. Israel pursued administrative actions against employers for labor exploitation, including investigating 198 manpower agencies for suspected fraud against foreign workers, and revoking the hiring licenses of 227 Israeli employers and 12 manpower agencies. The Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor filed 208 criminal indictments against employers for violations of the labor laws governing foreign workers, and the Immigration Authority registered 133 indictments against manpower companies for violations of the Israeli Penal Code. Few of these indicted employers or managers of manpower companies, however, faced jail time as a punishment; most were punished with fines. In one case, a judge sentenced four employees of a manpower agency to seven to 13 months’ imprisonment for aggravated assault of foreign workers; such prison sentences, however, proved far too rare. The scope of labor trafficking in Israel merits a higher number of investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and manpower agency closures. Israel also failed to enforce bans on charging recruitment fees for employment and withholding workers’ passports.

Protection
Although Israel made some improvements in its protection of sex trafficking victims, it did not demonstrate significant efforts to improve its protection of labor trafficking victims this year. The government solicited input from NGOs to design a questionnaire to screen detained illegal immigrants for evidence of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation, but many victims are believed not to respond to either these questionnaires nor to Israeli police interviews for fear of retribution. As such, many victims are not adequately screened before being deported, despite other indications that they are trafficking victims. For identified victims of trafficking, the government provides shelter, medical, psychological, legal, and repatriation assistance. Women referred to the shelter are also granted temporary residency permits pending their testimony against traffickers, and a limited number of victims may receive one-year humanitarian visas allowing them to remain beyond the conclusion of their cases. Victims of labor trafficking, however, do not receive adequate protection services. The government does not operate a shelter for their rehabilitation, housing them in detention facilities instead. Such victims are also frequently arrested and deported for violation of immigration regulations before they have an opportunity to testify against their employers. The government does not provide state funded legal aid to foreign workers, and often fails to include interpreters in judicial and deportation hearings. Israel has been proactive, however, in revising the foreign employment system to allow changes of employers for workers in the construction industry, and in establishing an ombudswoman in the Ministry of Industry, Trade and Labor with whom foreign workers can lodge complaints. The government also published brochures and signs at detention centers advising foreign workers of their rights and allows NGOs access to detained workers to provide legal aid and translation services during deportation hearings. Israel should improve protections available to victims of labor trafficking, including access to a shelter and legal aid, and should adequately support the ombudswoman with a sufficient budget and increased staff.

Prevention
This year, Israel improved its efforts to prevent trafficking in persons. The government ran several programs to address demand for prostitution and is working to incorporate an anti-trafficking in women message into the high school curriculum. Israel also published brochures in 14 languages outlining the rights of foreign workers to be distributed at airports, manpower agencies, and on construction sites. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs included information on trafficking in persons in training programs for Israeli diplomats, and the Ministry of Justice trained police officers, border patrols, interrogators, judges, and soldiers on identifying trafficking victims. Finally, the government provided additional resources to the border patrol policing the boundary between Israel and Egypt to prevent the smuggling and trafficking of people.

ITALY (TIER 1)

Italy is a destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. The number of victims originating from Albania and Nigeria decreased in 2005, while the number of victims from Romania, Bulgaria, Ukraine, and Moldova increased. Other countries of origin included Russia, East and North Africa, China, and South America. The percentage of minors who are trafficking victims increased slightly. Eastern European and Nigerian traffickers routinely moved victims within Italy and Europe. The Italian social research institute PARSEC estimated 2,500 new trafficking victims in 2005. Both NGO and government sources reported an overall decline in the number of identified trafficking victims and women in prostitution in Italy.

The Government of Italy fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In 2005, Italy continued implementation of its comprehensive victim-centered approach to trafficking through its assistance and protection programs. The government sustained funding for outreach to potential trafficking victims abroad and conducted bilateral law enforcement cooperation with source countries. Italy’s significant influx of illegal immigrants continues to challenge the government’s ability to adequately screen for potential trafficking victims; some deportation occurs, especially of Nigerian women in prostitution. Focused and highly visible demand reduction campaigns aimed at customers are greatly needed to effectively tackle the huge demand for trafficking victims within Italy.

Prosecution
In 2004, the Government of Italy continued to demonstrate its proactive anti-trafficking efforts, investigating 1,861 cases and prosecuting 120 cases involving trafficking; incomplete data for 2005 shows Italy conducted 2,045 investigations. The number of convictions in 2004 increased from 32 to 77; incomplete data for 2005 shows there were 50 convictions. The courts reportedly denied 95 percent of convictions appealed. Italy’s 2003 anti-trafficking law covers both trafficking for sexual exploitation and forced labor; however, some trafficking-related cases filed under the old laws continue to work their way through the courts. While the government failed to produce any sentencing data for 2004, sentences reported for 2005 averaged four years and five months. Convicted traffickers reportedly can receive reduced sentences if they cooperate in prosecutions. There continued to be some isolated reports of local and border officials accepting bribes and facilitating trafficking; the government failed to investigate these reports.

Protection
In 2005, the Ministry of Equal Opportunity spent over $3.5 million on 72 projects to provide comprehensive assistance to 7,400 victims. The government issued 922 temporary residence permits to trafficking victims who cooperated with law enforcement authorities. Government funded NGOs provided literacy courses for 428 victims and vocational training for 462; they helped 265 victims find temporary employment and another 840 find permanent jobs. Although some NGOs continue to express concern about improper screening leading to automatic deportation of trafficking victims, the Ministry of Interior reported that it properly screened illegal immigrants for trafficking victims. In 2004, the government provided repatriation and reintegration assistance to 78 victims, up from 66 the previous year.

Prevention
In 2005, NGOs continued to implement anti-trafficking awareness initiatives funded by the government from the previous year. This included brochures and TV/radio ads, one of which emphasized the link between trafficking and prostitution. The Ministry of Equal Opportunity’s hotline for trafficking victims received calls from over 6,500 trafficking victims during 2005. The Ministry of Interior provided specialized training on trafficking laws and best practices for victim care to law enforcement officers. The inter-ministerial committee continued to coordinate the government's anti-trafficking efforts.

JAMAICA (TIER 2 WATCH LIST)

Jamaica is a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and labor. Information from international organizations and embassies working in Jamaica suggests that women from the Dominican Republic and Eastern Europe are trafficked to Jamaica for sexual exploitation. Women and children are also internally trafficked from rural to urban and tourist areas for sexual exploitation. In a 2005 exploratory assessment, IOM stated that trafficking is occurring in the country, primarily for sexual exploitation. The report also states there may be trafficking for domestic servitude and forced labor.

The Government of Jamaica does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Although Jamaica demonstrated some initial progress in combating trafficking shortly after the last Report, Jamaica is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because the determination that it is making significant efforts is based in part on its commitments to take additional future steps over the coming year. Over the past year, the Jamaican Government made modest efforts to address trafficking in the country after being placed in Tier 3 in the 2005 Report. There has been greater public debate, led by the government, on trafficking issues, resulting in a significant increase in public awareness of the dangers of trafficking. The government also launched a public awareness campaign, created an inter-agency task force to coordinate anti-trafficking matters, and appointed police officers to handle trafficking-related investigations. The government has committed to advancing these initiatives over the coming year. However, very few investigations have led to prosecutions. The government should increase law enforcement efforts and take strong action against corruption that may impede progress in this area.

Prosecution
The Government of Jamaica increased efforts to investigate trafficking crimes over the past year, resulting in limited progress. Jamaica has specific laws against trafficking in children, such as the "Child Care and Protection Act of 2004," but no laws that specifically address trafficking of adults. Related criminal statutes, however, may be used to prosecute individuals for trafficking, including the "Offenses Against the Person Act," which prohibits certain aspects of trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation. During the reporting period, the government created a police unit, staffed by six officers in the Jamaica Constabulary Force to enforce Jamaica’s anti-trafficking and related laws. To date, there have been a number of raids and arrests, but no convictions under the Child Care and Protection Act. There have been some related convictions under other laws, including the Spirit Licensing Act and also some reported immigration code violations. There are at least six cases currently under investigation. The government also temporarily suspended work permits for foreign exotic dancers, some of whom are victims of trafficking. The Ministry of Labor is currently working on procedures to monitor individuals granted an exotic dancer permit, to ensure they are not being abused. However, despite some progress on law enforcement, official corruption remains endemic. Law enforcement efforts are also hampered by a lack of resources, personnel, and trafficking awareness.

Protection
The government’s efforts to protect trafficking victims remained inadequate, affected in part by resource constraints. Child trafficking victims may be referred to shelters operating throughout the island. However, there are no shelters specifically for adult trafficking victims. Nevertheless, the government has occasionally placed adult trafficking victims in hotels and other temporary facilities. Overall victim protection efforts are ad hoc and there is no formalized referral system for victims once they are identified. Most foreign trafficking victims, when arrested for immigration offenses, are not identified as victims and are sometimes punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked. They are not provided with legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they may face hardship or retribution.

Prevention
The government continued modest prevention efforts. In August 2005, the government’s anti-trafficking task force launched a year-long awareness and education campaign. High-level officials, including the Minister of National Security, attended the launch of the campaign. The government is also seeking to award a project to an organization to provide a more concrete assessment of the trafficking problem on the island. There have been a number of training sessions and sensitivity workshops for police and community representatives related to trafficking in persons.

JAPAN (TIER 2)

Japan is a destination and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation. The majority of trafficking victims are foreign women who migrate to Japan seeking legal work, but are deceived or coerced into debt bondage or sexual servitude. There are also anecdotal reports of forced labor exploitation of Chinese and Thai migrants. Women and children are primarily trafficked to Japan from Thailand, the Philippines, Russia, and Eastern Europe for commercial sexual exploitation. On a smaller scale, women and children are trafficked from Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, South Korea, Malaysia, Burma, and Indonesia for sexual servitude. Internal trafficking of Japanese minor girls for sexual exploitation is an ongoing problem. There are no clear estimates on the number of trafficking victims in Japan, but most agree the number is significant and many women will not come forward for fear of reprisal by their traffickers. Japanese organized criminal syndicates (yakuza) operate internationally and are thought to be involved in trafficking.

The Government of Japan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Japan showed additional progress in advancing anti-trafficking reforms over the past year. The Japanese Government showed a more aggressive stance against trafficking and committed greater resources to victim care and protection. There has also been remarkable progress in the government’s efforts to tighten the issuance of "entertainer visas" to Philippine nationals, which has resulted in a sizeable reduction in the trafficking of Philippine women to Japan. However, improved law enforcement efforts often conclude with suspended sentences against traffickers. Greater efforts to investigate and prosecute criminal syndicates thought to be involved in trafficking, legal reforms to deter such organizations from employing foreign dancers or singers, and longer sentences for those convicted of involvement in trafficking of persons would help reduce trafficking in Japan.

Prosecution
The Government of Japan’s efforts to punish acts of trafficking improved over the last year. In June 2005, the government passed significant penal code reforms to specifically criminalize trafficking and provide for substantial penalties. Application of this statute, however, has been hindered by the difficulty of establishing the level of documentary evidence required for proving a trafficking crime. An amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act (ICRRA) also addressed trafficking and allowed the government to issue temporary special residency status for trafficking victims. There are also a number of related criminal statutes that may be used to go after traffickers and are often used in cases of underage victims of trafficking. Future possible amendments to Japan’s law against organized crime would allow for broader use by prosecutors of "conspiracy" statutes for trafficking in persons, expand punishment, and authorize asset forfeiture. The "Law on Control and Improvement of Amusement Businesses" amendments went into effect in April 2006, and mandate that adult entertainment establishments confirm and verify a worker’s immigration status. Over the past two years, there has been a steady increase in law enforcement efforts against trafficking-related crime; however, few prosecutions have resulted in the incarceration of traffickers. In 2005, the government reported 75 trafficking prosecutions; 64 of these concluded with convictions and 11 are ongoing. The government obtained one conviction (currently under appeal) under the revised penal code provisions on trafficking since this law went into effect in mid-2005. There are several ongoing investigations for trafficking under the revised penal code. Three of the 64 offenders convicted for trafficking-related offenses served prison sentences, ranging from four to five years' imprisonment and significant fines. In line with Japanese judicial practice, most other offenders were given suspended sentences, which generally entailed a fine and no jail sentence as long as the offender refrains from committing another crime during a set period of time. The government actively cooperated with a number of other countries, including Indonesia, Thailand, and Colombia, on trafficking cases throughout the year. The National Police Agency (NPA) continues to train its investigators and local police on trafficking, using a documentary film it developed with an NGO in 2003. However, establishing evidentiary links to organized crime is a major obstacle for law enforcement in the country.

Protection
The government continued significant efforts to shelter and protect victims of trafficking and allocated $100,000 for this purpose. The Diet is also currently discussing a separate allocation for the medical care of victims. In 2005, the government reported that 109 victims were identified and received services in Japan. Victims are generally protected and aided by one of the Women’s Consultative Centers (WCC), which are located in all 47 of Japan’s prefectures. The WCC either provides direct services or refers victims to a private facility or, if the person is under 18 years of age, to a Child Guidance Center. Japan’s 2005 budget calls for 10 million yen for victim treatment, including funds for shelters, psychological services, and medical assistance. NGO shelters in Tokyo and Kanagawa also receive local government resources to work with trafficking victims. Last year, Japan funded the IOM ($160,000) to aid with repatriation of foreign trafficking victims and this resulted in the safe return of 66 victims. Temporary residency status was granted to 47 other foreign trafficking victims. New screening processes implemented over the year resulted in an increase of the number of trafficking victims identified, although most agree the number identified is still relatively low. Despite these gains, the government recognizes the need to provide better protection for women who agree to assist in the investigation or prosecution of a trafficking crime; many still feel endangered and are unwilling to testify against their brokers. More coordinated referral mechanisms and a dedicated trafficking shelter would improve the services available to victims.

Prevention
The government recognizes that trafficking is a significant problem in the country, and established an Inter-ministerial Liaison Committee to coordinate anti-trafficking activities. The government is also implementing a 2004 national plan of action against trafficking in persons. There have been a number of public outreach campaigns, including the production of one million pamphlets in seven languages informing potential victims where to seek help. Japan has been very active in reaching out to source countries, and has funded programs in both Colombia and Thailand aimed at reducing trafficking in persons. Government funding has also been provided to UNICEF ($650,000) and ILO ($2 million) for anti-trafficking campaigns in these countries. The government began efforts to address demand for trafficking by including trafficking information in a foreign affairs magazine distributed in Japanese secondary schools and initiating a research project on how to address trafficking in schools' curricula. Although prostitution is illegal, there have been no efforts to criminalize demand.

JORDAN (TIER 2)

Jordan is a destination and transit country for women and men from South and Southeast Asia trafficked for the purpose of labor exploitation. Women from Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines travel legally to Jordan to work as domestic servants, but are sometimes subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude, including restrictions on movement, and physical and sexual abuse. Chinese and South Asian men and women sometimes face similar conditions of restricted movement, non-payment of wages, long hours, and withholding of passports while working in factories in Jordan. Additionally, late in the reporting period credible but unverified information was received alleging lack of access to food, water, and medical care, and physical and sexual abuse of foreign workers in some textile and apparel factories. In addition, Jordan is a transit country for South Asian men who are deceived with fraudulent job offers in Jordan, but are instead trafficked to work involuntarily in Iraq.

The Government of Jordan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In 2005, the government took measures to stem the flow of trafficking victims through Jordan by banning the transit of workers unless accompanied by their sponsors. Jordan also signed separate memoranda of understanding with Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and the Philippines to streamline the process by which workers gain employment in Jordan and to guarantee their rights. Jordan should increase its trafficking prosecutions, seriously investigate allegations of trafficking of workers through Jordan to Iraq, and build a shelter for trafficking victims with adequate protective services. The government should also improve enforcement and monitoring of its labor laws in factories employing foreign guest workers and investigate allegations of involuntary servitude within these factories.

Prosecution
During the year, Jordan took minimal steps to investigate and prosecute trafficking offenses. Jordanian law prohibits the trafficking of children, but does not specifically criminalize all forms of trafficking in persons. Although other sections of the criminal code can be used to prosecute trafficking offenses, the government failed to charge anyone with trafficking this year. Eight recruitment agencies received warnings for violations of workers’ rights and another eight were closed in 2005, but five of those reopened within six months. Jordan supplied no evidence, however, that it is investigating cases of trafficking of workers through Jordan to Iraq for involuntary servitude. Jordanian police received training in identifying physical and sexual assault and anti-trafficking measures. Jordan should consider drafting a comprehensive anti-trafficking law, and should increase prosecutions of abusive employers and recruitment agencies, particularly those using fraud to traffic men into Iraq.

Protection
Jordan provided limited protection to victims of trafficking during the last year. The government neither operated a shelter for trafficking victims nor offered rehabilitative services to them. The government did, however, fund the operational expenses of the National Center for Human Rights–a quasi-independent organization–and gave in-kind support to UNIFEM and IOM for trafficking victim assistance. The government should build a shelter for trafficking victims that provides medical, psychological, and legal aid, and should ensure that victims are not detained as a result of reporting sexual assault.

Prevention
In 2005, Jordan took modest measures to prevent trafficking in persons. With help from UNIFEM, the government produced a booklet for distribution to all foreign workers enumerating their rights and offering hotline numbers to call, but few copies were distributed. The government should also consider establishing a broad public awareness campaign to educate employers and recruitment agencies of the rights of foreign workers.

KAZAKHSTAN (TIER 2)

Kazakhstan is a source, transit, and destination country for people trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Kazakhstani men, women, and children are trafficked to the U.A.E., Turkey, Israel, South Korea, Greece, Russia, and Western Europe. Last year saw a slight decrease in the number of cases of Kazakhstani victims being trafficked abroad and an increase in the number of labor trafficking victims into and within Kazakhstan. Men, women, and children from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, and Tajikistan are trafficked through or to Kazakhstan primarily for forced labor in construction and agriculture. Women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation. International experts estimate that the number of trafficking victims is in the low thousands.

The Government of Kazakhstan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In March 2006, Kazakhstan enacted a comprehensive set of legislative amendments that strengthened the government’s ability to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers. These amendments also included provisions to increase the amount of resources devoted to victim protection and prevention. In February 2006, Parliament passed legislation that will provide identified victims with temporary residence status to ensure their safe repatriation or participation in trafficking prosecutions. In April 2005, the Law on Social Assistance was passed, providing a mechanism that allows the government to provide grants to NGOs. The government should continue its progress by developing a plan to track, analyze, and prepare regular reports on trafficking statistics. The government should also devote more resources to training for law enforcement, prosecutors and judges with the goal of increasing convictions of traffickers and imposing sentences that are actually served. The government should also increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking-specific government corruption.

Prosecution
The Government of Kazakhstan demonstrated modest progress in its law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking over the last year. Police conducted 29 trafficking investigations in 2005, up from 27 in 2004. Authorities prosecuted five trafficking cases in 2005, down from 14 in 2004. Courts convicted 13 traffickers in 2005, an increase from 12 in 2004. Although penalties prescribed by the law are sufficiently stringent, convicted traffickers regularly received suspended sentences and did not serve any time in prison. The Border Guard Service trained passport control officers to screen for potential victims entering the country at Kazakhstan’s 150 official points of entry. Systemic corruption remained a problem that affected anti-trafficking efforts; reports of individual border guards and migration officers accepting bribes from traffickers were common. However, there were no reports of new investigations and no reports of prosecutions for official complicity in trafficking. Furthermore, the two investigations of higher-level officials assisting trafficking rings reported in the 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report remained unresolved; the first investigation was dropped for lack of evidence while the second remained under investigation at the time of this Report.

Protection
Kazakhstan increased its efforts to provide victim protection and assistance during the reporting period. Some local governments provided in-kind assistance to NGO trafficking crisis centers and shelters; in the city of Ust-Kamenogorsk, the local government provided room, board, and protection for trafficking victims in conjunction with NGOs. Crisis centers and shelters reported effective coordination with local law enforcement. The government assisted in the repatriation of Kazakhstani victims. The government worked with NGOs and international organizations to provide protection to 22 foreign citizens trafficked to or through Kazakhstan, pending their repatriation. Victims' rights were generally respected and there were no reports of victims being jailed in 2005; however, victims were sometimes punished for unlawful acts committed as adirect result of their being trafficked. While law enforcement awareness of sexual exploitation continued to increase, authorities at the local level had difficulty distinguishing illegal labor migration from labor trafficking; police identified only 25 labor trafficking victims in 2005, though international observers believe the numbers to be far greater.

Prevention
The government and IOM continued a joint anti-trafficking information campaign targeted at potential victims over the last year. The Ministry of Justice produced a short booklet entitled, "Working Overseas," which offered advice to Kazakhstanis looking to work abroad on whether their overseas employment offers were legitimate; the booklet also provided information for victims on where they could receive help and assistance, within Kazakhstan and at embassies and consulates abroad. The booklet was printed in Kazakh and Russian and was widely distributed throughout the country. In Kostanay, the local government helped fund anti-trafficking public service announcements produced by a local NGO.

KENYA (TIER 2 WATCH LIST)

Kenya is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Kenyan children are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude, street vending, agricultural labor, and sexual exploitation, including the coastal sex tourism industry. Kenyan men, women, and girls are trafficked to the Middle East, other African nations, Western Europe, and North America for domestic servitude, enslavement in massage parlors and brothels, and manual labor. Chinese women trafficked for sexual exploitation reportedly transit Nairobi and Bangladeshis may transit Kenya for forced labor in other countries. Burundian and Rwandan nationals engaged in coastal sex tourism may have been trafficked for this purpose.

The Government of Kenya does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Kenya is placed on Tier 2 Watch List due to a lack of evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking over the last year. Despite positive steps in 2005 to assess the human trafficking threat to Kenyan nationals in the Middle East and support the establishment of a code of conduct against child sex tourism, an almost complete lack of law enforcement efforts severely impeded the government's ability to effectively combat trafficking in persons. The government should sensitize law enforcement officials throughout the country to trafficking crimes and push for greater trafficking investigations and prosecutions. It should also improve its ability to monitor and collect data on anti-trafficking interventions.

Prosecution
The Kenyan Government made weak efforts to punish acts of trafficking during the year. Its law enforcement agencies reported no investigations, prosecutions or convictions of trafficking crimes. The Ministry of Immigration developed draft legislation to criminalize the cross-border elements of human trafficking, and the Attorney General's Office collaborated with civil society and other ministries to develop draft comprehensive legislation; several procedural stages remain before presentation of the bills to parliament. Rather than investigating foreigners suspected of involvement in trafficking, law enforcement officials typically detained and deported them. Immigration officials reported several cases of suspected trafficking, but charged suspects with other offenses in the absence of specific legislation. For example, a French national found transporting Chinese nationals was convicted of harboring aliens and deported. Despite U.S. Government financial and training assistance, the Police's Human Trafficking Unit conducted no investigations into trafficking cases during the period; however, a Kenyan victim successfully filed and won a civil suit against traffickers who forced her into unpaid domestic servitude. This is the first known civil case brought against traffickers in sub-Saharan Africa. The Kenyan Police Service reportedly incorporated human trafficking awareness into its community policing training program, and 25 officials received a training-of-trainers seminar from outside partners.

Protection
The government provided minimal victim protection services during the year. Foreign trafficking victims were frequently deported without questioning and may also face immigration charges resulting in prosecution or fines. In mid-2005, Ministry of Labor officials met with employment agencies and diplomatic missions in five Middle Eastern nations, where an estimated 20-30,000 Kenyans are employed, to assess the human trafficking threat to Kenyan nationals. The government provided consular services to one Kenyan trafficking victim seeking repatriation from Germany. The government provided an unknown number of street children victimized by trafficking with shelter and medical services. It established District Advisory Children's Centers throughout the nation that provided psycho-social services, medical and educational assistance, and foster programs for vulnerable, orphaned, or abandoned children who are at risk of trafficking. In June, the Central Bureau of Statistics began a nationwide household survey of exploitative child labor.

Prevention
The government's public acknowledgement of Kenya's sex tourism problem led to greater awareness of human trafficking; during the year, numerous national and local-level officials spoke out against trafficking and sex tourism. The Ministries of Tourism and Home Affairs were involved in the development of a code of conduct to protect children from tourism-related sexual exploitation; 30 hoteliers and caterers signed onto the code in February. The Ministries of Labor, Home Affairs, and Foreign Affairs reportedly registered additional foreign employment agencies in 2005 and continued a program of trafficking education, awareness, and inspection for all 68 agencies. The Ministry of Labor provided workers' rights counseling for an unspecified number of Kenyan nationals leaving to work abroad. In November, the government established a task team to develop a national plan of action and facilitate government and civil society anti-trafficking efforts.

REPUBLIC OF KOREA (TIER 1)

The Republic of Korea (R.O.K.) is a source, transit, and destination country for women who are trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women from Russia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), the Philippines, Thailand, and other Southeast Asian countries are trafficked for sexual exploitation to the R.O.K. Korean women are trafficked to Japan and to the United States, sometimes via Canada or Mexico, for forced prostitution.

The Government of the Republic of Korea fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. During 2005, the government continued to provide substantial resources for victim care, and remains a pioneer and global leader on anti-trafficking education and demand reduction measures. The government sustained an aggressive law enforcement campaign aimed at curbing trafficking and exploitation of women. The government also continues to make significant progress to strengthen victim support mechanisms and improve the treatment of women in Korean society. The Ministry of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) and the Ministry of Justice (MOJ) play leading roles in the effort to curb trafficking and exploitation.

Prosecution
The Republic of Korea's 2004 "Act on the Punishment of Intermediating in the Sex Trade and Associated Acts" specifically prohibits trafficking in persons, including debt bondage, and related activities. The anti-trafficking law also carries stiff penalties, including up to 10 years’ imprisonment, up to $86,000 in fines, and seizure of assets and property acquired as a result of trafficking. There are also a number of related criminal laws that may be used to prosecute trafficking-related crime. In 2005, police arrested 28 people for trafficking-related crimes under the 2004 Act. The government prosecuted 27 suspected traffickers and convicted 26 of them. Twenty-two received prison terms of between eight months and seven years. The law sends a clear message that the government is serious about taking action against a crime that went largely unpunished in the past. The Korean Government is cooperating with the United States on trafficking-related investigations.

Protection
The Republic of Korea showed considerable efforts to protect victims of sexual exploitation and trafficking over the last year. The government's anti-trafficking law authorized the establishment of assistance facilities, counseling centers, and shelters for victims. Additionally, the law established a solid structure of care, including social, legal, and medical assistance available to both foreign and domestic victims of trafficking. Currently, there are 23 general shelters, 16 shelters dedicated to children, two shelters dedicated to foreign victims, two rehabilitation centers, four group homes, and 29 counseling centers. In 2005, the government provided approximately $22 million in funding for victim care, including funding for a key program for vocational training for victims. As a result of this training, 24 victims started their own businesses and another 239 found other employment or enrolled in school. The MOGEF also established a Center for Women’s Human Rights to provide overall assistance to trafficking prevention facilities. The Crime Victims Support Division, which is present in 50 prosecutors’ offices across the country, provided support to victims/witnesses by facilitating and guiding these individuals through the legal process with personal protection and counseling services. Foreign victims were eligible to remain in the Republic of Korea under temporary status (through G-1 visas) in order to redress harms that occurred as a result of their being trafficked and to receive benefits.

Prevention
The government acknowledges that trafficking is a problem and has undertaken a number of significant prevention measures, including efforts aimed at demand reduction. The government continues to operate a "John School," which is designed to educate men about trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation. To date, over 1,000 men have participated in this program. Also, during 2005, over 74 regional government officials were trained to detect, investigate, and prevent trafficking in persons. The government continued to work through its anti-trafficking planning unit to implement its master plan on preventing prostitution. Finally, the government continued its cooperation with United States Forces Korea (USFK) to address sexual exploitation surrounding USFK bases in the country. As a result, sources suggest a significant decline in the number of foreign women working near U.S. bases.

KUWAIT (TIER 2 WATCH LIST)

Kuwait is a destination country for men and women who migrate legally from Bangladesh, India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Indonesia, and the Philippines for domestic or low-skilled labor, but are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude by employers in Kuwait. Victims suffer conditions including physical and sexual abuse, non-payment of wages, confinement to the home, and withholding of passports to restrict their freedom of movement. Kuwait is reportedly a transit point for South and East Asian workers recruited by Kuwaiti labor recruitment agencies for low-skilled work in Iraq; some of these workers are deceived as to the true location and nature of this work, and others are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude in Iraq. In past years, Kuwait was also a destination country for children from Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sudan, Yemen, and Eritrea exploited as camel jockeys; this form of trafficking appears to have ceased.

The Government of Kuwait does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Kuwait is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because its significant efforts, as assessed by this Report, are based largely on pledges of future efforts over the coming year. The government plans to enforce a decree for standardized contracts that provide some security for domestic workers and has publicly announced that passing a draft labor law through parliament that would criminalize the exploitation of foreign workers is a top priority. This year, the government identified the Ministry of Social Affairs and Labor as the central agency coordinating the government’s anti-trafficking activities, and the inter-ministerial committee on expatriate labor issued recommendations regarding minimum wages, reducing visa trading, and establishing a standard contract for domestic workers. The government enforced compliance with a ban on child camel jockeys enacted last year and replaced children with robot jockeys. The government convicted some employers for labor rights abuses, but it is unclear whether any of these convictions resulted in prison sentences. The government also did not extend labor law protection to foreign domestic workers. Although a local employment recruitment agency took steps to build a shelter for abused foreign workers, the local municipality closed down the site of this private shelter on a zoning violation that has yet to be resolved.

Prosecution
The Government of Kuwait took inadequate measures to punish trafficking crimes over the last year. Kuwait lacks a specific anti-trafficking law, but used other sections of its criminal code to prosecute trafficking-related offenses. The government obtained 451 convictions for failure to provide official documents for the hiring of foreign workers and 258 convictions for hiring workers from abroad and then not providing them with work. However, the Government of Kuwait does not report assigning jail sentences to any of those convicted. Less scrupulous Kuwaiti labor agencies continued to recruit South and East Asian laborers, reportedly using deceptive and fraudulent offers and coercive techniques to meet demand in Iraq for cheap third-country national (TCN) labor. The government did not attempt to regulate this lucrative trade of workers through Kuwait. The government provided no specific law enforcement training on trafficking in persons, although one police station has responsibility for investigating trafficking crimes. Kuwait should increase investigations and prosecutions for foreign domestic worker abuse, including cases involving physical and sexual abuse, under its criminal laws, assign criminal penalties sufficient to deter future acts, such as jail sentences, and train its law enforcement officers and prosecutors on methods of investigating and prosecuting trafficking offenses.

Protection
During the year, Kuwait did not noticeably improve its protection of victims of trafficking and trafficking-related abuses. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs (MOSAL) has established a labor dispute center (for non-domestic workers) to assist workers in salary disputes. In addition, labor source countries report that the government provided increased numbers of Kuwaiti mediators to help foreign workers resolve domestic workplace disputes with their Kuwaiti employers. Moreover, the government gave a greater role to diplomats of labor source countries in advocating for workers in the dispute process. Foreign workers are permitted to file civil suits against their employers and, though cases move slowly through the courts, these suits are often settled in favor of the workers. The Ministry of Interior suspended in the past year 163 domestic labor agencies for illegal practices, such as selling visa or residence permits or both to workers, who arrive in Kuwait to find there is no work or even that the company does not really exist. The government does not otherwise provide medical, psychological, or legal aid to victims of trafficking, preferring to rely primarily on source country embassies to assist their nationals. Kuwait does not have a screening system to distinguish trafficking victims from illegal immigrants, again depending on embassies to perform this service. The government enforces laws that only allow incoming domestic workers to be picked up from the airport by government licensed agencies that have already agreed to a contract with the worker. These agencies are then responsible for the workers’ welfare for six months. In July, the Ministry of Interior issued a decree requiring a tripartite contract for domestic workers to be signed by the recruitment agency, employer, and employee, outlining the rights of the domestic employee. The Ministry has set August 2006 as the implementation date for the decree in order to allow Kuwaiti embassies abroad time to establish the necessary administrative procedures. The government is in the process of issuing a license to KUDLO to establish a privately-run shelter. In early February, however, the Kuwait Municipality closed down KUDLO headquarters on a zoning violation that has yet to be resolved. The government should take immediate steps to establish and support a shelter that provides a range of protective services to trafficking victims, institute a screening mechanism to identify victims, and formally extend protection to domestic workers.

Prevention
Kuwait’s efforts at preventing trafficking in persons improved. With U.S. assistance, the government is launching a public awareness campaign featuring a wallet-sized card with information on the dangers of trafficking. The cards were distributed at airports, health clinics, and in source countries targeting East and South Asian workers in Kuwait.

KYRGYZ REPUBLIC (TIER 2)

The Kyrgyz Republic is a source, transit, and growing destination country for men, women, and boys trafficked from Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, South Asia, and the Kyrgyz Republic itself for purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Victims of forced labor are trafficked to Kazakhstan for work in the agricultural sector, to Russia for work in construction, and to China for bonded labor. Kyrgyz and foreign women are trafficked to the U.A.E, China, South Korea, Turkey, Greece, Cyprus, Thailand, Germany, and Syria for sexual exploitation. Kyrgyz boys are trafficked to Russia and Kazakhstan for sexual exploitation. Kyrgyzstan is a growing destination for women trafficked from Uzbekistan for the purpose of sexual exploitation.

The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In February 2006, the government took steps to prevent government complicity in trafficking by strengthening punishments for government officials that violate the rules of visa issuance to foreigners; this measure was aimed at preventing the trafficking of foreign citizens to Kyrgyzstan. The new punishment is a fine of up to 50 times the minimum monthly salary of the official or dismissal from his or her position, or both. Although the government continued to strengthen overall efforts to combat human trafficking, more remains to be done. The government should make efforts to improve its statistics and data collection system. It should also increase the number of judges and prosecutors that receive trafficking training, as well as increase funding for NGOs providing victim protection.

Prosecution
The Kyrgyz Government showed mixed progress in its law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking; although police demonstrated a clear commitment to investigate and arrest suspected traffickers, the courts handed down very few trafficking convictions. Police conducted 34 trafficking investigations and authorities conducted 15 prosecutions in 2005. There were three trafficking convictions during the reporting period, a considerable decrease from 17 convictions in 2004. There were six on-going investigations at the time this Report was written. Sentencing data was unavailable. In February 2006, the National Security Service prevented the trafficking of six women from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan to the U.A.E. for purposes of sexual exploitation; the women reported that their traffickers deceived them by offering lucrative jobs in Dubai and did not tell them they would be forced into prostitution. Authorities arrested four traffickers in connection with this case. Forty-eight judges were trained on how to apply domestic and international trafficking laws. During the reporting period, 70 officers from the National Border Service received victim identification training. The government closed 15 unlicensed labor-recruiting companies in 2005, a significant step given traffickers' use of labor companies to recruit victims in Kyrgyzstan; last year the government closed seven such agencies.

Protection
The Kyrgyz Government showed limited progress in its protection efforts during the reporting period. Although the government passed a new law that prohibits victims from being punished for acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, the government did not provide direct funding for victim assistance and protection. Some local governments did provide office space for anti-trafficking NGOs. One shelter was forced to close for part of 2005 due to a lack of funding. Police increased the number of victim referrals to NGOs in 2005.

Prevention
The Government of the Kyrgyz Republic demonstrated good prevention efforts during the reporting period. In fall 2005, a theatrical performance about trafficking was shown in 28 villages and towns where a high percentage of victims originate; local governments provided the performance space and provided free advertising. Throughout the year, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the Border Service, and NGOs distributed 5,000 copies of a brochure educating migrant workers about the dangers of trafficking and their legal rights. The government also released a booklet entitled "Information for Kyrgyz Citizens Going Abroad to Work in CIS Countries;" the information from the booklet was also published in several newspapers during 2005. State-run television and radio stations aired programs on trafficking throughout the year.

LAOS (TIER 3)

Laos is a source country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. A significant number of men, women, and children from Laos are economic migrants who are subjected to commercial sexual exploitation or conditions of forced or bonded labor in Thailand. To a much lesser extent, Laos is a transit and destination country for women who are trafficked for sexual exploitation. A small number of victims from the People’s Republic of China (P.R.C.) and Vietnam are trafficked to Laos to work as street vendors and for sexual exploitation in prostitution.

The Government of Laos does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. The government has not taken sufficient steps to ensure the protection of returning victims and prosecution of persons complicit in trafficking. The government's September 2004 Law on Women provides for the protection of victims and prohibits the fining of trafficking victims upon their return to Laos; however, the government has yet to fully implement these provisions. Government officials at the local level continued to punish rescued trafficking victims for unlawful acts that were a direct result of their being trafficked. The Lao Government's efforts to prosecute traffickers remained weak and uncoordinated. The government should take measures to better implement the Law on Women effectively at the local level. Government action should concentrate on prosecuting and convicting traffickers and public officials involved in trafficking, establishing an official mechanism to identify trafficking victims among returnees to the country, and taking measures to ensure that victims are not subjected to fines or re-education by local authorities.

Prosecution
There was no discernable increase in Lao Government prosecutions of trafficking-related cases during the reporting period. However, Lao law enforcement is decentralized and the central government does not keep data on efforts of local officials to prosecute traffickers. Data is limited and the Lao Government provided no data on its law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking. Laos lacks a specific anti-trafficking law but used various other laws, including kidnapping and prostitution statutes, to arrest and prosecute traffickers. In 2005, the government amended the penal code to address transnational child trafficking, with penalties of 20 years’ imprisonment. The Immigration Department’s anti-trafficking unit confirmed one conviction in 2005, but had no information on convictions by courts outside of Vientiane, reflecting the country's inadequate record-keeping on court cases. The Law on Women contains provisions recognizing and guaranteeing the rights of trafficking victims and prohibits authorities from punishing trafficking victims for immigration violations, but the law has not been fully disseminated and enforced. Overall, judicial and law enforcement institutions are extremely weak and corruption is widespread in Laos. There are reports that some local government officials profit from trafficking, but there were no reported investigations or prosecutions of officials for complicity in trafficking.

Protection
The Lao Government made minimal progress in improving its severely inadequate protection for victims over the last year. While the 2004 Law on Women prohibits authorities from punishing trafficking victims for immigration violations, Lao police and local officials on occasion arrested and fined Lao citizens returning from Thailand in spite of official pronouncements to end this practice. The central government made minimal efforts to distinguish trafficking victims from returning illegal migrants, although it made limited efforts to educate provincial and district-level officials on the need to protect these victims. The Lao Government continued to refer victims to NGOs and international organizations that run programs providing more thorough protection for victims of trafficking. The Ministry of Labor and Social Welfare (MLSW) also continued its program to repatriate women returning from prostitution or forced labor and operated a processing center for victims. With heavy donor assistance, the Lao Women's Union opened a shelter for victims of trafficking and domestic violence in early 2006.

Prevention
The Lao Government, in cooperation with NGOs, continued to raise awareness in the state-controlled media on the dangers of trafficking. The government does not fund any anti-trafficking prevention measures, in part because of a lack of resources. The MLSW, with NGO funding, has run television and radio educational campaigns warning of the dangers of trafficking. The MLSW also continued to conduct a radio project designed to raise awareness of trafficking and HIV/AIDS among ethnic minorities in conjunction with an international organization. The Ministry of Education integrated some anti-trafficking information into school curricula, but the effort was not widespread or sustained.

LATVIA (TIER 2)

Latvia is a source and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women and some children trafficked for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Latvian women are trafficked to Germany, Spain, the U.K., and Norway. Women from Lithuania are transited through Latvia to Western Europe. In one instance, seven possible trafficking victims from Somalia were intercepted en route to a Nordic country. The government acknowledged reports that the number of trafficking victims in Latvia continued to increase over the last year.

The Government of Latvia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. While the government has continued to implement the provisions of its National Action Plan, a lack of political support from several ministries has constrained Latvia’s overall progress in addressing trafficking. Convicted traffickers continued to receive low sentences, and assistance provided to victims by government institutions was inadequate. Latvia should train more judges and prosecutors on trafficking awareness. The government should also consider formalizing a mechanism for trafficking victims to request and receive social services and rehabilitation from government ministries.

Prosecution
Latvian law prohibits both sexual exploitation and non-sexual exploitation, although the law does not specifically criminalize labor exploitation. Internal trafficking is also criminalized. In 2005, law enforcement authorities investigated 23 trafficking cases, a decrease from 30 investigations in 2004. The Government of Latvia does not have centralized data on prosecutions separate from convictions. The courts increased trafficking convictions in 2005; one person was convicted of trafficking and 28 people were convicted of recruiting victims of trafficking for sexual exploitation abroad. Although the law provides for sufficient penalties to deter trafficking, the courts continued to administer relatively low prison sentences. During the reporting period, one person was sentenced to eight years in prison, five people were sentenced to less than five years in prison, and 14 people had property confiscated as a penalty. Approximately 160 judges and prosecutors participated in a five-part training course on trafficking to raise awareness and improve their understanding of the severe nature of human trafficking.

Protection
The government made some efforts to improve victim assistance and protection over the past year. Police and municipal social workers referred victims to NGO shelters. Although cooperation among NGOs in Riga improved during the reporting period, more should be done to encourage authorities in other cities to enhance their collaboration with NGOs, which provide the majority of victim assistance and rehabilitation. The police had no requests for witness protection from trafficking victims. The Ministry of Interior worked closely with local NGOs and international organizations to develop and implement the anti-trafficking project "Open Labor Market for Women." In accordance with the project, the ministry monitors all government institutions involved in victim assistance in an effort to improve the victim referral process and quality of victim care. The Ministry of Welfare has allocated funding in the 2006 budget to train more than 100 government and NGO specialists in providing victim rehabilitation services.

Prevention
Although the government failed to establish an independent anti-trafficking information and education campaign, government officials supported NGOs working on trafficking prevention by attending NGO trainings and speaking at trafficking events. High school teachers participated in several trafficking prevention training sessions. The Riga City Police created a new anti-child prostitution taskforce mandated to prevent the involvement of minors in prostitution. The Border Guard is scheduled to begin a new operation in April 2006 that will trace unusual travel patterns of foreign nationals across Latvian borders; it is believed this will help detect trafficking routes and identify potential victims.

LEBANON (TIER 2)

Lebanon is a destination country for the trafficking of Asians and Africans–primarily women–for domestic servitude, and possibly for Eastern European women trafficked for sexual exploitation. Women from Sri Lanka, Malaysia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Somalia, and Ethiopia enter Lebanon legally, but often find themselves subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic servants. An undetermined number of the domestic servants suffer physical and sexual abuse, nonpayment of wages, and withholding of passports that confines them to the employer’s home. In 2005, the government and NGOs who work in this area reported less than 100 cases of abused foreign workers; experts, however, estimate that the true incidents of migrant worker abuse are considerably higher. Eastern European women come to Lebanon on "artiste" visas to work as adult entertainers, but may become victims of involuntary sexual servitude.

The Government of Lebanon does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government continued to refer abused domestic workers to a shelter run by a local NGO. In 2005, the government closed 10 employment recruitment agencies for violations of workers’ rights, including physical abuse. Lebanon should enact a comprehensive law to specifically criminalize trafficking offenses and significantly increase criminal prosecutions of abusive employers and sex traffickers.

Prosecution
Over the last year, the Government of Lebanon did not significantly improve its inadequate record of prosecution of traffickers for domestic servitude or commercial sexual exploitation. Lebanon lacks a specific anti-trafficking law, although it can use other sections of the criminal code to prosecute traffickers. The government reported no prosecutions or convictions for trafficking offenses, despite numerous complaints of abuse of foreign workers. Expatriate workers are not encouraged to participate in trials, and often return to their countries of origin prior to completion of trials. Under administrative laws, the Ministry of Labor closed down 10 recruitment agencies for violations of workers’ rights, including physical assault. In addition to enacting a comprehensive anti-trafficking law and increasing prosecutions of traffickers, Lebanon should also better regulate employment agencies that knowingly provide false information regarding wages and conditions to prospective employees.

Protection
During the year, the Government of Lebanon took several steps to improve protection of trafficking victims. Lebanon signed a memorandum of understanding with a local NGO to operate a shelter for trafficking victims, which provides medical, psychological, and legal services. The government has also permitted social workers from this NGO to screen trafficking victims in the government holding center for illegal workers and to provide legal aid during judicial interviews. Additionally, the Ministry of Justice and Surete Generale, the Lebanese security service responsible for migrant workers, conducted a two-week course, in conjunction with the International Organization of Migration, to train 32 officers in the most effective means to combat trafficking. Due to mistreatment of foreign workers who are unable to leave abusive employers under the sponsorship system – which makes a worker very dependent on his or her Lebanese sponsor or employer – the government began allowing workers to change their employers; this change, however, is contingent upon the worker obtaining a release paper from the current employer, a step many employers may be unwilling to take. Although the officers of Surete Generale in some cases convinced suspect employers to grant this relea