The Government of Afghanistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government provided land to IOM for the construction of a shelter for trafficking victims. The government should take additional steps to enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law and increase law enforcement efforts against internal trafficking, particularly trafficking of children for commercial sexual exploitation, forced marriage, and involuntary servitude. Afghanistan also should institute a formal mechanism to refer trafficking victims to NGO protection services and should not punish sex trafficking victims for crimes committed as a direct result of their being trafficked.

Prosecution
Over the year, Afghanistan made no clear progress in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Afghanistan does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, but the government relies on kidnapping and other statutes to charge some trafficking offenses. This year, Afghanistan did not provide sufficient evidence of arresting, prosecuting, or convicting traffickers. Both the Ministry of Interior and the Attorney General's Office reported data indicating that traffickers had been arrested, prosecuted, and convicted, but they were unable to provide disaggregated trafficking data from other related law enforcement data. The government did not demonstrate any efforts to investigate, arrest, or prosecute government officials facilitating trafficking offenses despite reports of widespread complicity among border and highway police. The government should enact an anti-trafficking law without further delay and increase law enforcement action against complicit government officials. Officials should also take law enforcement measures to curb internal trafficking of minors for commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude, including bonded labor.

Protection
The Government of Afghanistan made modest improvements in its efforts to protect victims of trafficking, but deficiencies in its overall efforts remained. In March 2007, the government provided land for IOM to build a shelter specifically designed for child victims of trafficking. The government also assisted in supporting 400 child victims of trafficking repatriated from Saudi Arabia, Oman, Pakistan, and Zimbabwe by facilitating family reunification and providing the children shelter in existing juvenile centers or orphanages, as well as medical care and educational services. Due to cultural mores, some victims of trafficking, however, continue to be arrested or otherwise punished for prostitution and morality crimes. The government does not encourage victims to assist in investigations of their traffickers, nor does it provide them with legal alternatives to removal to countries in which they may face hardship or retribution. Afghanistan should take immediate steps to end the arrest and incarceration of trafficking victims, and should work with NGOs to establish a formal victim identification and referral mechanism. The government should also improve protection of victims of involuntary servitude, including bonded laborers and forced child beggars.

Prevention
During the year, Afghanistan made limited progress in preventing trafficking in persons. The Ministry of Labor and Social Affairs, with the assistance of UNICEF, conducted a broad public awareness campaign to educate the public on the dangers of trafficking and resources for assistance. Afghanistan does not adequately monitor its borders, but has developed a pilot program to begin monitoring for evidence of trafficking into or out of the country at two sites along the Afghan-Pakistan and Afghan-Iran borders. Afghanistan has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

ALBANIA (Tier 2)

Albania is a country of origin for women and girls trafficked transnationally and internally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; it is no longer considered a major country of transit, and it is not a significant country of destination. Albanian victims are trafficked to Greece and Italy, with many trafficked onward to the United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Norway, Germany and the Netherlands. Internal sex trafficking of women and children is on the rise.

The Government of Albania 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 show a significant effort to prosecute and convict traffickers, created a nationwide toll-free help line, and ratified a bilateral anti-child trafficking agreement with Greece. The government has not instituted a victim case-tracking database that should form the core of its national referral mechanism, which would greatly improve care for trafficking victims. Reintegration and rehabilitation services remain critical to prevent the re-trafficking of Albanian citizens. The government should continue implementation of its national action, and vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking-related corruption at all levels of law enforcement.

Prosecution
The Government of Albania continued to vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking in 2006. Albania criminally prohibits sex and labor trafficking through its penal code. Penalties prescribed for trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation exceed those for rape. The laws prescribe penalties for both labor and sex trafficking that are sufficiently stringent. The police referred 51 new trafficking cases to the General Prosecutor's Office, which investigated 65 people on charges related to trafficking. Forty-three cases were referred to the Serious Crimes Court, where there were 62 prosecutions and 57 convictions for trafficking. Four offenders were sentenced to up to two years' imprisonment; 10 were sentenced to between two and five years' imprisonment; 26 were sentenced to between 5 and 10 years' imprisonment; and 25 were sentenced to over 10 years' imprisonment. In 2006, the British operator of an orphanage was arrested on charges of child molestation and trafficking for offering Albanian children for sexual exploitation to foreign pedophiles visiting Albania specifically for sex with children. Some police officers, customs officials, and border police facilitated trafficking by accepting bribes, tipping off traffickers, and furnishing travel documents to traffickers. Lawyers and judges allegedly are bribed, permitting traffickers to buy their way out of punishment if arrested. One police official was arrested for helping an arrested trafficker go free. Four border police officers were arrested for corruption and abuse of power.

Protection
The Government of Albania continued its modest efforts to protect and reintegrate victims of trafficking during 2006. Albania encourages victims to testify against traffickers, but they often refuse as a result of intimidation by traffickers. In 2006, only 20 out of 227 suspected or identified trafficking victims offered testimony against their traffickers. Albanian law allows victims to file civil lawsuits; victims generally do not initiate these due to their distrust of the police and judiciary. The government does not penalize victims of trafficking for unlawful acts committed as part of their being trafficked. There is currently no legal provision for granting temporary or permanent residency to third-country victims of trafficking; victims could apply for asylum. The government in 2006 drafted legislation as part of its Law on Foreigners that will address this issue. NGOs and international organizations administered and funded the majority of victim services; however, the government provided facilities and staff and helped refer victims. The government's National Victim Referral Center provided assistance to 46 Albanian and third-country national trafficking victims; many were transferred to other shelters for reintegration. Albania ratified a bilateral agreement with Greece to assist with the return of child trafficking victims.

Prevention
The Government of Albania made progress in anti-trafficking prevention and awareness activities during 2006, but relied primarily on NGOs and international organizations for financial support. The government, with support from IOM and UNODC, carried out a limited campaign to help launch the opening of an anti-trafficking hotline to publicize the hotline's number and raise awareness among potential victims. In the first two months of operations, the hotline received 11 actionable calls pertaining to trafficking. With support of the ILO, the Ministry of Labor, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities implemented a micro-loan program for female trafficking victims to assist them in starting small businesses, foster reintegration, and prevent re-trafficking.

ALGERIA (Tier 3)

Algeria is a transit country for men and women trafficked from sub-Saharan Africa en route to Europe for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. These men and women often enter Algeria voluntarily, but illegally, with the assistance of smugglers. Once in Algeria, however, some women are coerced into commercial sexual exploitation to pay off smuggling debts, while some men may be forced into involuntary servitude in construction and other low-skilled work. According to one NGO, an estimated 15,000 illegal sub-Saharan African migrants currently reside in Algeria, of which approximately 9,000 are victims of trafficking. In addition, one NGO maintains that children are trafficked from Niger and Mali. Some Algerian children reportedly are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude.

The Government of Algeria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. The government does not prohibit and punish all crimes of trafficking in persons. It does not draw a distinction between trafficking in persons and illegal immigration and, as such, has not developed policies and programs to address the specific needs of trafficking victims. Algeria does not adequately identify trafficking victims among illegal immigrants. The government did not take serious law enforcement actions to punish traffickers who force women into commercial sexual exploitation or men into involuntary servitude in other sectors. Moreover, the government reported no investigations of trafficking of children for domestic servitude or improvements in protection services available to victims of trafficking.

Prosecution
During the reporting period, Algeria did not report discernible progress in prosecuting trafficking offenses and punishing offenders. Algeria does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, but prohibits the trafficking of minors for commercial sexual exploitation through Article 342 and most forms of sex trafficking of adults through its prohibition on pimping in Article 343 of its penal code. The government did not report any confirmed trafficking investigations, arrests, prosecutions, or convictions this year. The government should criminalize all forms of trafficking, consistent with the 2000 U.N. TIP Protocol, which Algeria ratified in 2003, and significantly increase law enforcement efforts against traffickers, including those who traffic migrants and force children into domestic servitude.

Protection
Algeria did not improve its efforts to protect victims of trafficking during the reporting period. The government does not systematically attempt to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable people, such as foreign women arrested for prostitution or illegal migrants. As a result, trafficking victims reportedly are deported or otherwise punished for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Because victims are not identified as such, the government neither encourages them to assist in investigations against their traffickers, nor provides them with shelter, medical or psychological services, or alternatives to removal to countries where they would face hardship or retribution. Algeria should institute a formal mechanism to identify victims of trafficking, refrain from punishing them, and provide them with comprehensive victim protection assistance.

Prevention
Algeria's efforts to prevent trafficking did not improve significantly over the reporting period. The government continues to show a firm commitment to fighting illegal immigration, and works closely with the European governments of Portugal, Spain, France, Italy, and Malta to prevent the illegal migration and smuggling of people to Europe. Although the Algerian government did not report specific actions taken to prevent trafficking in persons within or through its territory, according to press reports, at least one person was arrested and one trafficking network dismantled during the year. Border officials are not trained in identifying possible trafficking victims, and the government did not pursue public awareness campaigns on trafficking in persons.

ANGOLA (Tier 2)

Angola is a source country for a small but significant number of women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation. Angolan women and girls are trafficked within the country for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. In an attempt to avoid fees for the importation of goods across the border between Namibia and Angola, children are forced to be couriers by truck drivers to hand-carry goods across that border, for example at remote border crossings such as Katwitwi, in Kuando Kubango Province. Anecdotal reports point to South Africa as a destination point for trafficked Angolan women.

The Government of Angola does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Government media increased attention to the issue of human trafficking over the reporting period. To further its efforts against trafficking, the government should strengthen its legal and victim support frameworks by drafting and enacting comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, increasing the capacity of law enforcement officials to recognize and respond to instances of trafficking, and increasing awareness of human trafficking at the provincial and community levels.

Prosecution
The government's anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts were modest during the reporting period. Angolan law does not prohibit trafficking in persons, although elements of its constitution and statutory laws, including those criminalizing forced and bonded labor, could be used to prosecute trafficking cases. The government did not report trafficking investigations or prosecutions other than through articles in government print media. During the year, there were no publicly reported convictions, but the National Department of Criminal Investigation reported three arrests of suspected traffickers. The first case resulted from the trafficking of a woman from Cabinda to Lunda Sul for commercial sexual exploitation, while the other two cases involved international trafficking of Angolans to Portugal and Zimbabwe. The Immigration Service operated checkpoints at the international airport, border posts, and select internal locations, such as the trafficking hotspot of Santa Clara in Cunene Province, which screened well over 1,000 minors for proper travel documentation in 2006.

Protection
During the reporting period, the government's focus shifted from caring for former child soldiers and other war-affected children to protecting victims of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The National Institute for the Child's (INAC) six mobile provincial teams conducted spot checks of suspected child trafficking routes by stopping vehicles containing children to check for identity cards and proof of relationship to the children and parental permission for the child to travel; data obtained from these spot checks were unavailable. INAC and UNICEF continued their joint development of Child Protection Networks that bring together government and civil society at the municipal and provincial levels to coordinate social policy and protective assistance to children. Active in six provinces, these networks served as "SOS Centers" through which crime victims between the ages of 9 and 16, including trafficking victims, accessed a variety of services provided by various government ministries. Victims over 16 were referred to shelters and social services provided by a quasi-governmental organization. Local police reportedly transferred five Ivorian and Nigerian women found in forced prostitution to an NGO shelter after detaining them in Luanda. During the reporting period, INAC and UNICEF began development of an assistance strategy for child victims.

Prevention
Angola made limited progress in 2006 in preventing new incidents of trafficking. The government's Inter-Ministerial Commission to Combat Kidnapping, Child Labor, Abuse, Sexual Exploitation, and Trafficking of Children met quarterly to coordinate and plan the government's ongoing efforts to fight child exploitation. The commission drafted a national action plan assigning anti-trafficking responsibilities to each ministry, but it has yet to be publicly released. Members of the commission also participated in conferences and news interviews on the subject of child trafficking throughout the year; government statements against child prostitution appeared frequently in the media. Angola has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

ARGENTINA (Tier 2 Watch List)

Argentina is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Most victims are trafficked within the country, from rural to urban areas, for exploitation in prostitution. Argentine women and girls also are trafficked to neighboring countries and Western Europe for sexual exploitation. Foreign women and children, primarily from Paraguay and Brazil, are trafficked to Argentina and Western Europe for commercial sexual exploitation. Bolivians and Peruvians are trafficked into the country for forced labor in sweatshops and agriculture. Reported cases of human trafficking have increased in Argentina, which may be due to growing public awareness of the issue, as well as a higher number of migrants in the country, some of whom are vulnerable to being trafficked.

The Government of Argentina does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Argentina remains on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking, particularly in terms of providing greater assistance to victims and curbing official complicity in trafficking. Although there has been momentum over the last two years to pass comprehensive anti-trafficking reforms, draft legislation is still pending in the Argentine Congress. Argentina's overtaxed criminal justice system also slows down the government's efforts to prosecute human traffickers. In the coming year, the Argentine government should: enact and implement its much-needed comprehensive anti-trafficking bill; intensify and expedite prosecution efforts against traffickers; increase anti-trafficking training for judges and police; provide greater victim assistance; and make stronger efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict public officials who facilitate human trafficking.

Prosecution
The government demonstrated modest but uneven progress in its law-enforcement efforts against traffickers during the reporting period. Argentina does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, though related offenses are criminalized by a variety of criminal and immigration statutes, which prescribe penalties of up to 20 years' imprisonment. Such penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties for other grave crimes. Enactment of comprehensive federal anti-trafficking legislation would allow the government to move more aggressively against human traffickers. Bills are pending in both houses of the Argentine Congress, and approaching final passage. As a temporary measure until the legislation is passed, the Attorney General's Office of Victims' Assistance (OFAVI) in early 2006 drafted an executive decree to create a national program for anti-trafficking prevention and victim assistance, but the government elected not to sign the interim decree at that time, preferring to push for passage of a national law through the Argentine Congress instead.

Government officials were not able to provide complete data or information about prosecutions against traffickers in 2006; lack of a federal anti-trafficking law impedes the collection of nationwide data and statistics and makes analysis of Argentina's anti-trafficking efforts difficult to gauge. Anecdotal data indicate that 15 trafficking-related arrests took place during the reporting period, down from 33 arrests in 2005. However, the government showed progress by securing sentences against two convicted traffickers in separate cases for crimes involving minors: one defendant in Cordoba province, a former police officer, was sentenced to 14 years in prison; and a second defendant was sentenced to four years of incarceration. Other trafficking-related investigations and cases remain open, including several criminal actions against brothel owners. In one case, 37 women were forced into prostitution at a brothel in Chubut province were rescued. Formal charges have been filed against the brothel owners, who paid bribes to municipal officials. Prosecutors also are investigating police involvement in the case. But, in a notorious labor trafficking case involving Bolivians working in sweatshops in Buenos Aires, charges were dismissed against two suspected traffickers on technical grounds. Credible reports indicate that local law enforcement officials intimidated some of the witnesses or offered them bribes to change their testimony. Widespread corruption and collusion with traffickers at provincial and local levels has been reported and is considered to be a serious impediment to prosecuting cases. The government increased anti-trafficking training for judicial and law enforcement officials, including in the critical tri-border area with Brazil and Paraguay. Additional training for judges and police is sorely needed.

Protection
Despite limited resources, the government made some efforts to assist victims during the reporting period. The government did not systematically and pro-actively identify victims among vulnerable populations, such as persons detained for prostitution or immigration violations. OFAVI coordinated victim-assistance policy and offered a limited number of victims access to medical and psychological treatment, legal counseling, referrals to other sources of assistance, and repatriation. The government does not operate victim shelters dedicated to trafficking, but victim-assistance offices worked with social-services agencies to ensure that trafficking victims received shelter and appropriate care. The government began to provide funding to anti-trafficking NGOs in 2006. There are unconfirmed reports of victims being jailed for crimes committed, such as prostitution, as a direct result of being trafficked. Argentine authorities encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. Victims are rarely deported, and Argentine immigration law provides that citizens of Mercosur member or associate states can obtain temporary residency in Argentina.

Prevention
The government made modest progress in prevention activities during the reporting period. The government lent strong political support to IOM anti-trafficking campaigns featuring a popular Uruguayan singer in video and TV spots. The government also has taken the lead within Mercosur for a regional anti-trafficking prevention campaign. In October 2006, the government conducted a nationwide campaign against child labor. Through greater press coverage and NGO and government efforts, public awareness about the dangers of human trafficking in Argentina appears to be growing.

ARMENIA (Tier 2 Watch List)

Armenia is a source country and, to a lesser extent, a transit country for women and girls trafficked to the United Arab Emirates and Turkey for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Armenian men and women are trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Women and girls also transit through Moscow to the U.A.E.

The Government of Armenia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Armenia is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for a third consecutive year because of its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts over the past year, particularly in the areas of fighting trafficking-related corruption and providing victim assistance. Although Armenia increased the use of its anti-trafficking law, increased the number of convicted traffickers serving time in prison, and prosecuted its first labor trafficking case in December 2006 - marking the first time trafficking victims were awarded financial restitution - the government failed to make progress in victim identification and referral or in combating official complicity in trafficking.

In the first of two notable cases of official corruption during the reporting period, the government conducted an inadequate investigation of a senior investigator in the Prosecutor General's anti-trafficking unit, formally concluded that he did nothing wrong, eventually transferred him out of the unit, and demoted him. The second case involved a convicted trafficker who was released from prison temporarily under a provision of Armenian law, allegedly obtained her expired passport from government officials, and then fled the country. Although the government made limited efforts to locate the trafficker, she remained at large at the conclusion of the reporting period. No government officials were prosecuted for acts related to the trafficker's escape, although the three top officials of the prison were removed and remain under investigation. In order to improve anti-trafficking efforts, Armenia must vigorously investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence corrupt government officials complicit in trafficking. The government should implement a formal, nation-wide trafficking identification and referral system and refer more victims to NGO protection services. Armenia should also increase its public awareness and prevention efforts.

Prosecution
The Armenian government demonstrated moderate improvements in its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the reporting period. Armenia prohibits trafficking in persons for both labor and sexual exploitation through Article 132 of its penal code, which prescribes penalties of 3 to 15 years' imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and are commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes. In 2006, the government investigated 16 trafficking cases, up from 14 cases in 2005. Authorities prosecuted 13 people for trafficking, compared to 16 prosecutions in 2005. All 13 traffickers prosecuted in 2006 were convicted. Of the 13 traffickers convicted in 2006, 4 were given 5-year prison sentences, 1 received a 4.5-year sentence, 4 received 4-year sentences, 1 received a 3.5-year sentence, 2 received 2-year sentences, and 1 received a 2-year conditional sentence. During the reporting period, a new law was implemented that significantly increased the penalties for trafficking in persons and distinguished the crime of trafficking from that of organized prostitution or pimping.

Protection
The government demonstrated inadequate efforts to protect trafficking victims in 2006. NGOs provided most victim assistance, rehabilitative counseling, and shelter, although the border guards ran a short-term victim shelter at the border crossing point with Georgia and referred victims to NGOs. The government provided no financial or in-kind assistance for anti-trafficking NGOs. Armenia failed to implement formal procedures for the identification of victims and their referral to NGOs that provide protection services. Police referred 8 of the 24 victims assisted by NGOs in 2006; this number is down from the number of victims referred in 2005. Victims were not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. Although victims were not prohibited from filing charges against traffickers, they were not encouraged to participate in investigations and prosecutions. NGOs noted some positive changes in judicial treatment of victims.

Prevention
The government continued to rely on NGOs and international organizations to supplement its own public awareness efforts. The government's Migration Agency worked with the civil aviation authority and a NGO to publish and distribute leaflets on the dangers of trafficking to people flying to Turkey and the U.A.E. The government also worked with the Russian Migration Agency to publish and distribute a brochure for laborers traveling to Russia. During the reporting period, a NGO trained 71 border guards to recognize trafficking indicators. NGOs also held seminars on trafficking for students and teachers in four schools.

AUSTRALIA (Tier 1)

Australia is a destination country for some women from East Asia and Eastern Europe trafficked for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. The majority of trafficking victims were women who traveled to Australia voluntarily to work in both legal and illegal brothels, but were subject to conditions of debt bondage or involuntary servitude. There were several reports of men and women from India, the People's Republic of China, and South Korea migrating to Australia temporarily for work whose labor conditions amounted to slavery, debt bondage, and involuntary servitude.

The Government of Australia fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. During the reporting period, the government strengthened its domestic trafficking laws to cover offenses involving deception, exploitative employment, conditions and contracts, or debt bondage. The government also ensured that each person in a trafficking network could be prosecuted in cases involving internal trafficking. It also increased penalties for trafficking in children and for employers who exploit workers in conditions of forced labor, sexual servitude, or slavery. The government provides significant resources to support anti-trafficking efforts throughout Southeast Asia, law enforcement training, victim assistance, and prevention activities. The Australian government should devote more attention and resources to addressing allegations of labor trafficking, including in connection with its 457 worker visa program.

Prosecution
The Government of Australia demonstrated increased efforts to prosecute trafficking in persons cases during 2006. Australia prohibits sex and labor trafficking and trafficking-related offenses in Divisions 270 and 271 of the Commonwealth Criminal Code. Prescribed penalties for these offenses are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes. During the reporting period, there were four convictions for sex trafficking. One defendant was sentenced to six years' imprisonment; the three other convictions are on appeal. Six sex trafficking and two labor trafficking cases are currently before the courts involving 16 defendants. The Transnational Sexual Exploitation and Trafficking Teams (TSETT) within the Australian Federal Police investigated 14 possible trafficking cases in 2006. Australian citizens were returned to Australia to face prosecution for sexually exploiting children in other countries under Australia's extraterritorial child sex tourism law. During the reporting period, the Australian Federal Police conducted 10 investigations for violations under child sex tourism law, and there were four convictions under that law. There were no reports of government or law enforcement involvement in trafficking. In late 2006, a Bangladeshi domestic worker filed a complaint against a United Arab Emirates diplomat in Australia, alleging work conditions that amounted to involuntary servitude.

Protection
The Government of Australia continued to provide comprehensive assistance for victims of trafficking, their family members, or witnesses willing to aid in criminal prosecutions. The government encourages victims and witnesses to participate in the investigation of traffickers, but directly links continued assistance to victims' role in a viable prosecution. An enhanced visa regime enables victims or witnesses assisting in an investigation to remain lawfully in Australia. A total of 58 visas have been granted under this regime since its inception in January 2004. One of the visas available is designed to protect victims from retribution they would face if they had to return to their country of origin. Due to the requirement that permanent visas will be granted only to those who have held a temporary visa for two years, no one has yet been in the program long enough to qualify for a permanent visa.

Individuals granted status under this visa regime are entitled to a package of benefits, including shelter, counseling, and food and living allowances. The benefit program is administered by the government's Support for Victims of People Trafficking and was assisting 35 victims as of January 2007. Australia funds two return and reintegration activities in the Asia region. The first is for return and reintegration of trafficked women and children, and the second solely supports Thai victims. The Australian Federal police trained 25 special TSETT investigators in interviewing suspected trafficking victims. The government implemented a formal referral protocol and interviewing procedure for trafficking cases.

Prevention
Australian government agencies, including specialized Australian Federal Police investigation teams, worked closely with regional counterparts on trafficking matters. Cooperation extended to training, supporting investigations in neighboring countries, and securing prosecutions in Australia and overseas. Australia, as co-chair and co-founder of the Bali Process on People Smuggling, Trafficking in Persons, and Related Transnational Crime, continues to play a prominent leadership role in several regional projects aimed at building awareness of trafficking, increasing law enforcement capacity, and enhancing victim support. The government supported a public awareness campaign with advertisements in daily and suburban newspapers encouraging victims and concerned members of the community to call the police hotline.

AUSTRIA (Tier 1)

Austria is a transit and destination country for women from Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Russia, Belarus, Moldova, Ukraine, Croatia, Macedonia, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Slovakia, the Dominican Republic, and Nigeria trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Africa are trafficked through Spain and Italy to Austria for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women from Eastern Europe are trafficked through Austria to Italy, France, and Spain for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Roma girls are trafficked from Bulgaria for purposes of forced petty theft and commercial sexual exploitation. Approximately one-third of victims assisted were trafficked for forced labor, and two-thirds were trafficked for sexual exploitation.

The Government of Austria fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. In 2006, Austria provided quality care to identified victims who cooperate with law enforcement and provided generous funding to prevention programs in source countries. In 2006, the government's Task Force on Trafficking in Human Beings developed a National Action Plan, but has yet to implement it. It also provided special training for law enforcement and judicial personnel. Austria should continue to ensure a majority of convicted traffickers serve time in prison. The government should consider implementing a reflection period for victims. The government should also consider conducting a demand reduction campaign.

Prosecution
The Austrian government continued to show anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the reporting period. Article 104(a) of the Austrian Criminal Code prohibits trafficking for both sexual exploitation and forced labor. Prosecutors typically use Articles 104(a) and 217 of the criminal code and Article 114 of the Aliens Police Act to prosecute traffickers. Penalties prescribed in Article 104(a) and Article 114 range up to 10 years' imprisonment, while penalties in Article 217 range from 6 months' to 10 years' imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2006, police conducted 93 trafficking investigations, a decrease from 168 investigations conducted in 2005. Authorities conducted 137 prosecutions in 2006, down from 192 the previous year. Conviction data for 2006 was unavailable at the time of this report; however, in 2005, 25 traffickers were convicted, a decrease from 49 convictions in 2004. Twenty of the 25 convicted traffickers served some time in prison. Two traffickers served six to 12 months in prison, eight traffickers were sentenced to a minimum of one year's imprisonment, and 10 traffickers served an unspecified amount of time in prison. Five traffickers received suspended sentences and thus served no time in prison. A high-ranking police official was convicted and sentenced to a three-month suspended sentence under Article 310 for disclosing to a brothel owner the details of a planned police raid. At the time of this report, the official was suspended from office, pending the outcome of an appeal of the conviction.

Protection
Austria provided adequate assistance to victims during the reporting period. Police effectively referred 90 victims to trafficking victim assistance centers. The Austrian government encourages victims to assist with investigations and prosecutions of traffickers; victims who agree to cooperate with law enforcement qualify for temporary residence visas, although there is no reflection period granted to victims to consider whether they want to testify. Victims who are not identified by authorities are sometimes deported. The government continues to fully fund a key anti-trafficking NGO that provides shelter and assistance to victims; this NGO also assists in the safe repatriation of victims. Victims have access to the Austrian social system including health insurance and payment of a monthly stipend.

Prevention
Austria continued to focus much of its prevention efforts in source countries. During the reporting period, the government sponsored an awareness project in Bulgaria targeting young women and girls at risk of being trafficked. Austria adequately monitors its borders for signs of trafficking and border officials screen for potential trafficking victims.

AZERBAIJAN (Tier 2)

Azerbaijan is primarily a source and transit country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and forced labor. Women from Azerbaijan are trafficked to Turkey and the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.) for purposes of sexual exploitation. Men are trafficked to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Men and women are also trafficked to Iran, Pakistan, and India for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Azerbaijani children are trafficked to Turkey for the purpose of sexual exploitation, and to Russia for the purpose of forced labor. Reports of internal trafficking also continued, including that of women for sexual exploitation, men for forced labor in the construction industry, and children for the purpose of child begging. Azerbaijan serves as a transit country for victims from Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Moldova trafficked to Turkey and the U.A.E. for sexual exploitation.

The Government of Azerbaijan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In October 2006, the government opened and fully funded a shelter for trafficking victims, and increased investigative and victim identification training for law enforcement officials. In 2006, the government also increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of traffickers, and removed its anti-trafficking unit from within the Ministry of Internal Affairs' Organized Crime Unit to become a new, stand-alone unit. The government should develop and implement a nation-wide victim referral mechanism and ensure that a nationwide toll-free victims' assistance hotline becomes operational. The government should increase its trafficking prevention efforts, as well as its efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, and sentence government officials complicit in trafficking.

Prosecution
The government demonstrated improvement in its law enforcement efforts. Azerbaijan's 2005 Law on the Fight Against Trafficking in Persons prohibits both sexual exploitation and forced labor; punishment prescribed by the law ranges from 5 to 15 years' imprisonment and is sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties for other grave crimes, such as sexual assault. For the first time, in 2006 the Government of Azerbaijan prosecuted and convicted traffickers under its new trafficking in persons law. During 2006, authorities conducted 192 trafficking investigations, up from 160 investigations conducted in 2005. Azerbaijan prosecuted 164 traffickers, up from 153 prosecutions in 2005. In 2006, 155 traffickers were convicted, up from 93 convictions in 2005. Forty-eight of the 155 convicted traffickers were sentenced to time in prison. The remaining 107 traffickers were sentenced to hard labor or community service, or received administrative charges, fines, or suspended sentences. The Special Anti-Trafficking Police Unit showed progress, although the government should increase its capacity to launch more aggressive trafficking investigations. Concerns remain that low-level civil servants and local law enforcement may be receiving bribes to facilitate trafficking.

Protection
The Government of Azerbaijan demonstrated progress in its efforts to protect and assist victims. In October 2006, the government opened a long-anticipated shelter, which provides victims of trafficking with short-term care and access to legal, medical, and psychological services. Although all identified victims were referred to the shelter, its effectiveness was hampered by the lack of a formal nationwide victim identification mechanism and a nationwide toll-free trafficking in persons hotline; from October 11 to the end of 2006, only four victims were identified. The government should develop and implement formal nation-wide victim identification procedures, and ensure that the nationwide toll-free hotline becomes functional. In 2006, the Ministry of Interior conducted victim identification and assistance training for NGOs, employees of the Police Academy, the Ministry of Justice's Legal Education Center, and the Education Center of the Prosecutor General's Office. Victims may apply for temporary residency permits for up to one year, and are permitted to apply for permanent residency status. If victims cooperate with law enforcement, they are entitled to stay in Azerbaijan until the completion of their court case. There is concern that identified child trafficking victims may not have received adequate assistance or care.

Prevention
Azerbaijan's anti-trafficking prevention efforts remained modest. The government periodically monitors its anti-trafficking efforts and makes the results public. In 2006, the government paid for the printing and distribution of anti-trafficking pamphlets. In 2006, the Ministry of Education supported school information programs run by domestic NGOs.

BAHRAIN (Tier 3)

Bahrain is a destination country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from India, Pakistan, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Thailand, the Philippines, Ethiopia, and Eritrea migrate voluntarily to Bahrain to work as laborers or domestic servants, but some are subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude when forced to pay off large recruitment and transportation fees, and faced with the withholding of passports and other restrictions on their movement, non-payment of wages, threats, and physical or sexual abuse. Women from Thailand, Morocco, Eastern Europe, and Central Asia are trafficked to Bahrain for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or forced labor. The Thai government reported repatriating 256 Thai women who had been deceived or forced into prostitution in Bahrain.

The Government of Bahrain does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Bahrain took the positive step of opening a shelter for female trafficking victims in November 2006, but failed to enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law. The government also did not report any prosecutions or convictions for trafficking offenses during the year, despite reports of a substantial problem of involuntary servitude and sex trafficking. The government should enact a comprehensive anti-trafficking law that criminalizes all forms of trafficking in persons and assigns penalties both sufficiently stringent to deter the crime and adequately reflective of the heinous nature of the crime. Bahrain should also ensure that victims are not punished or deported for unlawful acts committed as a result of being trafficked, and should offer protective services to all victims of trafficking, including women coerced into prostitution and both female and male victims of forced labor.

Prosecution
During the year, Bahrain made no discernable progress in criminally investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes. Bahraini law does not prohibit all forms of trafficking, though its penal code of 1976 criminalizes forced prostitution through its Article 325 and forced labor through a 1993 amendment to its Article 302. Penalties prescribed under Article 302 are up to two years' imprisonment, which are not sufficiently stringent. Penalties for forced prostitution (Article 325), however, are from two to seven years' imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent. Despite indications that the trafficking problem in Bahrain is significant, the government did not provide evidence of prosecuting any cases of trafficking for involuntary servitude or forced prostitution. Laws against withholding workers' passports - a common practice that restricts the mobility of migrant workers - were not effectively enforced, and the practice remained widespread. A module devoted to trafficking was included in a training course for newly appointed public prosecutors. The government should significantly increase investigations and criminal prosecutions of labor traffickers, sex traffickers, and recruitment agencies complicit in trafficking.

Protection
Bahrain took some measures to protect trafficking victims over the past year. In November 2006, the government opened a shelter that offers medical, psychological and legal care, and is capable of accommodating at least 60 female victims of labor trafficking. Victims can only enter the facility by referral, however; to date, 14 victims have been assisted. Foreign victims of sex trafficking receive no protection from the government, but are directly processed for deportation. Local NGOs supporting trafficking victims in informal shelters did not receive any government funding. The government has not instituted a formal victim identification procedure to identify victims among vulnerable groups, such as runaway domestic workers or women arrested for prostitution. As a result, some victims are detained and deported without adequate protection. The government does not encourage victims to assist in the prosecution of their traffickers. The government should institute formal victim identification procedures, allow victims to refer themselves to the shelter, and also permit victims of sex trafficking access to the facility for protection.

Prevention
Bahrain made no discernible progress in preventing trafficking this year. The government initiated no new campaigns to prevent trafficking, but continued to distribute multilingual brochures on workers' rights and resources to incoming workers. The government should ensure that recruitment agencies and employers are aware of the rights of foreign workers to prevent their abuse.

BANGLADESH (Tier 2)

Bangladesh is a source and transit country for men and women trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude. It is also a source country for children - both girls and boys - trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, bonded labor, and other forms of involuntary servitude. Women and children from Bangladesh are trafficked to India and Pakistan for sexual exploitation. Bangladeshi women also migrate legally to the Gulf for work as domestic servants, but often find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude when faced with restrictions on movement, non-payment of wages, and physical or sexual abuse. In addition, Bangladeshi men and women migrate to Malaysia, the Gulf, and Jordan to work in the construction or garment industry, but sometimes face conditions of involuntary servitude, including fraudulent recruitment offers; debt bondage may be facilitated by large pre-departure fees imposed by Bangladeshi recruitment agents. Internally, Bangladeshis are trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and bonded labor. Some Burmese women who are trafficked to India transit through Bangladesh.

The Government of Bangladesh does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Bangladesh continued to raise awareness of trafficking and criminally prosecute and punish sex traffickers over the reporting period. The government also took steps to shut down labor recruitment agencies believed to be using deceptive recruiting practices and opened cases for forced child labor. Bangladesh did not, however, report any criminal convictions or prison sentences for acts of involuntary servitude. Bangladesh should prosecute labor trafficking offenses and seek the imposition of criminal penalties for deceptive recruitment practices that facilitate trafficking, and should increase efforts to combat internal trafficking for forced labor and sexual exploitation. Bangladesh should also provide more protection services for adult male trafficking victims and victims of labor forms of trafficking.

Prosecution
Bangladesh made some progress in prosecuting trafficking cases and began taking some action to address trafficking for involuntary servitude. The government prohibits the trafficking of women and children for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation or involuntary servitude under the Repression of Women and Children Act of 2000 (amended in 2003), and prohibits the selling and buying of a minor under age 18 for prostitution in Articles 372 and 373 of the penal code. Article 374 of Bangladesh's penal code prohibits involuntary servitude, but the prescribed penalties of imprisonment for up to one year or a fine are not sufficiently stringent to deter the offense. Bangladesh lacks laws criminalizing the trafficking of adult males for commercial sexual exploitation. In 2006, the government prosecuted 70 trafficking cases and obtained convictions for 43 individuals, with 4 receiving death sentences and 32 receiving life sentences. Bangladesh also arrested five immigration officers and one former police officer on suspicion of complicity in trafficking; their prosecutions are pending.

In 2006, the Ministry for Expatriate Welfare, the Bangladesh Agency for Manpower, Employment, and Training, and the main labor recruitment agency organization agreed to enforce caps on recruitment fees of approximately $1,200. Enforcement of this cap is difficult because of deceptive practices by some agencies, side-costs levied on workers illegally, and general corruption. The government also adopted an Expatriate Labor Policy identifying principles for the protection of migrant workers abroad and expressing commitment to taking legal actions against illegal recruiters. The government opened investigations against three Bangladeshi recruitment agencies allegedly using deceptive recruitment practices and raided five similar agencies in 2006, closing and de-licensing them. During the reporting period, one owner of a labor recruitment agency was arrested on allegations of overcharging recruitment fees. The government also reported filing 117 cases for forced child labor. Nonetheless, the government did not report any convictions of traffickers for involuntary servitude during the reporting period. Bangladesh should continue to prosecute and punish sex trafficking and should increase law enforcement efforts against labor forms of trafficking, including seeking criminal penalties against any convicted traffickers.

Protection
Bangladesh did not make discernible progress in protecting victims of trafficking this reporting period, but continued efforts from previous years. Police anti-trafficking units encourage victims to assist in the investigation of cases against their traffickers. Victims reportedly are not jailed or punished, but the government does not offer victims legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they may face hardship or retribution. The government supported crisis centers in hospitals that are open to trafficking victims, but relied on NGOs to provide medical and psychological care to victims. The government also provided a building to a local NGO for use as a shelter for at-risk children. Bangladesh developed a witness protection protocol permitting victims to submit testimony in writing or to testify in front of a judge only. Nonetheless, the government reported no efforts to protect adult male victims or victims of forced labor. Bangladesh should continue to support protection services for victims of sex trafficking, and should increase assistance to victims of involuntary servitude, including Bangladeshis repatriated after being trafficked abroad.

Prevention
Bangladesh continued to make progress in its prevention efforts. A campaign of 650 television and radio public service announcements warned the public of the dangers of trafficking. The government continued to provide anti-trafficking information to micro-credit borrowers, reaching over 380,000 at-risk women. Bangladesh has not ratified the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.

BELARUS (Tier 2 Watch List)

Belarus is a source and transit country for women trafficked to the United Arab Emirates, Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Cyprus, the Czech Republic, Germany, Greece, Israel, Italy, Japan, Lebanon, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Turkey, Turkmenistan, and the United States for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Men and women from Belarus are trafficked internally and to Russia for forced labor; 38 percent of all victims assisted by IOM in Belarus in 2006 were male victims of forced labor. Victims are trafficked from Belarus through Ukraine, Lithuania, and Poland to Western Europe, the Middle East, and East Asia. A small number of Moldovan victims were trafficked to Belarus for purposes of forced labor. A recent IOM study estimates that an average of 930 Belarusians are trafficked annually.

The Government of Belarus does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Belarus is placed on Tier 2 Watch List because of its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of trafficking; specifically, the government did not show improved efforts to protect and assist victims. Although police identified and referred most victims to NGOs for assistance, the Belarusian government did not demonstrate any tangible victim protection improvements. It did not provide funding to implement protections mandated under a 2005 law and it continued to rely almost exclusively on NGOs and international organizations to provide victim assistance. Furthermore, the government overtly pressured victims to assist law enforcement with investigations and prosecutions. Belarus must take steps to improve its efforts to protect and assist victims by providing funding for victim assistance programs promised and codified into law in 2005. The government should continue efforts to improve relations with anti-trafficking NGOs and international organizations providing victim assistance and public awareness programs. Belarus should also make use of its recently announced trafficking training center to provide law enforcement officials with additional victim identification and victim referral training.

Prosecution
The Government of Belarus demonstrated aggressive law enforcement efforts over the reporting period. Belarusian law prohibits trafficking in persons for the purposes of both sexual exploitation and forced labor through Article 181 of its criminal code. Penalties prescribed under Article 181 range from 5 to 15 years' imprisonment; those penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. The government continued to devote significant resources toward the detection and investigation of trafficking during the reporting period. During 2006, the government conducted 95 trafficking prosecutions under Articles 181 and 187. Twenty traffickers were convicted under Article 181 in 2006; 11 of the 20 convicted traffickers were sentenced to more than eight year's imprisonment. Sixteen persons were convicted under Article 187. Government law enforcement statistics cited in the previous Report mistakenly included data on crimes related to trafficking but not trafficking-specific and thus were artificially high.

Protection
The Government of Belarus demonstrated inadequate efforts to protect and assist victims during the reporting period. The government continued to rely almost exclusively on NGOs and international organizations to carry out its anti-trafficking protection work; state institutions did not provide financial or material help to victims. While the government provided $20,000 to UNODC for the creation of an interagency anti-trafficking coordination group, it did little to improve protection and assistance for the significant number of Belarusian victims repatriated back home. Some ministries and local governments provided modest in-kind support to non-governmental victim assistance efforts in 2006, but did not formally coordinate with or officially enlist NGOs as partners. Police referrals of victims to NGO shelters and international organizations increased in 2006. During the reporting period, law enforcement pressured victims to provide information for investigations and prosecutions; pursuant to Belarusian law, if government assistance were provided to a victim, it would be immediately terminated if that victim did not assist law enforcement in trafficking investigations and prosecutions. The government does not punish victims for crimes committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Prevention
The Government of Belarus continued its efforts to raise public awareness and prevent trafficking in 2006. While government officials spoke out against trafficking in international fora and state-run media continued to run anti-trafficking programs, the government continued to rely most heavily on NGOs and international organizations to carry out its prevention activities.

BELGIUM (Tier 1)

Belgium is a transit and destination country for men, women and girls trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Trafficking for sexual exploitation is more prevalent than labor trafficking and the majority of victims are young women. Women and girls are trafficked for sexual exploitation to Belgium primarily from Nigeria, Albania, Bulgaria, Romania and People's Republic of China, and through Belgium to other European countries, such as the United Kingdom. Male victims are trafficked to Belgium for exploitative labor in restaurants, bars, sweatshops and construction sites. Increasingly, traffickers also force victims to beg in Belgium. In 2006, victim shelters in Belgium reported an increase in male victims and victims trafficked for forced labor.

The Government of Belgium fully complies with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. The government continued its aggressive law enforcement approach and financed NGOs to provide victim assistance. Belgium expanded legal protections for victims in 2006. To further strengthen its response to trafficking, Belgium should consider allowing all victims who assist with law enforcement efforts against their traffickers to obtain residency status, regardless of the outcome of the prosecution. The government should also increase awareness-raising initiatives and improve efforts to collect precise trafficking law enforcement data.

Prosecution
The Belgian government continued to make substantial efforts to combat trafficking through law enforcement. Belgium prohibits all forms of trafficking through its 2005 amendment to its 1995 Act Containing Measures to Repress Trafficking in Persons. The law was strengthened in 2005 to meet international standards, to prohibit child sex tourism and forced begging, and to improve victim protection. The law's maximum prescribed sentence for all forms of trafficking, five years' imprisonment, is sufficiently stringent but less severe than penalties prescribed for rape. In 2006, authorities investigated 451 trafficking cases, prosecuting and convicting at least 45 traffickers, who received sentences from 1 to 10 years' imprisonment, with an average of 3 to 5 years. Belgian authorities enforce strict regulations on the employment of foreigners as au pairs, entertainers, and interns to combat labor violations. To combat trafficking, special ID cards are issued to diplomatic household personnel, whose employers can be tried in Belgium's system of Labor Courts.

Protection
The government continued to demonstrate strong efforts to provide care for trafficking victims during the year. Three local NGOs that rely largely on federal and regional government funding continued to provide victims with care. In 2006, these three NGOs assisted a combined 445 victims. However, the overall number of assisted victims decreased in 2006, with many victims of labor trafficking opting to find new jobs instead of accepting public assistance. The government also provides specific shelters for juveniles and victims at particular risk of harm by their traffickers. Police and customs officials continued to monitor motorways, airports, and seaports for trafficking victims. In 2006, lawmakers revised the 1980 Immigration Act to encourage victims to participate in trafficking investigations and prosecutions by providing short-term resident status to trafficking victims who assist authorities. Such victims may also obtain permanent residency after their traffickers are sentenced. If the trafficker is not convicted, however, Belgian law provides that victims may have to return to their countries of origin under certain limited circumstances, and only after rigorous review by immigration authorities. In practice, no one has ever been forced to return after a failure to convict a trafficker. Victims are not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or penalized for unlawful acts as a direct result of being trafficked.

Prevention
Belgium demonstrated modest efforts to raise awareness about trafficking during the year. Government agencies continued to maintain agency Web sites providing information on trafficking and directing victims toward relief centers. A new awareness campaign funded by federal and regional authorities and sponsored by Child Focus and other activist organizations was started in February 2007.

BELIZE (Tier 2)

Belize is a source, transit, and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Central American women and children are trafficked to Belize for exploitation in prostitution. Girls are trafficked within the country for sexual exploitation, sometimes with the consent of close relatives.

The Government of Belize does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The Government of Belize made substantial improvement in combating human trafficking since release of the 2006 Report. In February 2007, the government took a critical step to confront official trafficking-related corruption by arresting two police officers for human smuggling; a third police officer was arrested for allegedly exploiting a trafficking victim. More steps must be taken in this key area for the government to advance its anti-trafficking goals. The government also should consider increasing penalties for sex trafficking, and increasing law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute traffickers.

Prosecution
The Government of Belize made solid progress overall in the past year. The Government of Belize prohibits all forms of trafficking through its Trafficking in Persons Prohibition Act, which prescribes punishment of up to five years' imprisonment and a $5,000 fine. These penalties are sufficiently stringent but are not commensurate with higher prescribed penalties for other grave crimes such as rape. An interagency trafficking-in-persons committee leads government efforts to prosecute traffickers, protect victims, and raise community awareness about human trafficking. The government reported two trafficking prosecutions, but no convictions for trafficking in 2006. Four foreign tourists were prosecuted for child sexual exploitation offenses and a fifth was expelled from the country. The government conducted raids of brothels and increased anti-trafficking training for police, magistrates, and immigration officials. The government also cooperates with foreign governments on international trafficking cases, and joined the Latin American Network for Missing Persons in 2006. Complicity in trafficking by law-enforcement officials appears to be a significant impediment to prosecution efforts.

Protection
The government improved protection services for victims in 2006. The government opened two shelters for trafficking victims in mid-2006, and provides limited funding to local NGOs for additional services. Authorities in Belize encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. There were no reports of victims being jailed or penalized for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked. Belize also provides temporary residency for foreign trafficking victims, and other legal alternatives to deportation or removal to countries in which they would face hardship or retribution.

Prevention
The government stepped up efforts to prevent human trafficking during the reporting period. Ministers and other high-level government officials repeatedly condemned trafficking in speeches and public statements. Since June 2006, the government has sponsored anti-trafficking campaigns and messages on television, radio, and in newspapers. In July 2006, the government's trafficking-in-persons committee met with members of Belize's Indian community to discuss human trafficking and involuntary domestic servitude. The government also worked with Belize's tourism industry to draft a code of conduct to prevent child sex tourism. The government funds local NGOs to promote other prevention efforts.

BENIN (Tier 2)

Benin is a source, transit, and destination country for children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The ILO estimates that 90 percent of all victims are trafficked within Benin, with girls trafficked primarily for domestic servitude and sexual exploitation while boys are trafficked for forced labor as plantation laborers, street hawkers, and construction workers. According to the ILO, the majority of Beninese children trafficked transnationally are destined for Nigeria, though they are also trafficked to Cote d'Ivoire, Ghana, Niger, Mali, and Togo for the purposes listed above, as well as for labor in mines and stone quarries. Beninese girls may be trafficked to Europe for domestic servitude and possibly sexual exploitation. A small number of Togolese, Nigerien, and Burkinabe children are trafficked to Benin for the same purposes listed above.

The Government of Benin does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. To improve its response to trafficking, Benin should pass the necessary legislation to enforce its 2006 law against child trafficking, draft and pass a law prohibiting adult trafficking, impose increased sentences on convicted traffickers, make its government victim shelter operational, and finalize and adopt its draft national strategy for child protection and national action plan to combat child labor.

Prosecution
The Government of Benin made solid efforts to combat trafficking through law enforcement efforts during the last year. Benin does not prohibit all forms of trafficking in persons, though its 2006 Act Relating to the Transport of Minors and the Suppression of Child Trafficking criminalizes child trafficking. However, additional legislation currently in draft form must be passed before this 2006 law can be enforced. The law's maximum 20-year sentence for all forms of child trafficking is sufficient and exceeds penalties prescribed for rape. From October 2005 to August 2006, the government, using provisions of the existing penal code such as those on kidnapping and contributing to the delinquency of a minor, pursued 35 child trafficking cases. Eight of these cases resulted in convictions, but sentences imposed on the offenders ranged from only three months on bail to one year's imprisonment. Fourteen cases are awaiting trial, and an additional eight remain under investigation. From January to February 2007, the Minors Protection Brigade (MPB) arrested nine suspected traffickers, and in March 2007, Beninese police worked with Nigerian authorities to arrest a further five suspected traffickers. All fourteen of these individuals are in custody in Benin awaiting further legal action. In 2006, Benin's Police Academy, with financial support from UNICEF, trained 560 law enforcement officers, including border patrol authorities, about trafficking.

Protection
The Government of Benin demonstrated sustained efforts to care for trafficking victims during the reporting period. The MPB continued to implement proactive procedures to identify child trafficking victims and refer those identified to a network of local NGOs and international donors for care and reintegration services. The government also provides basic social services to trafficking victims through its national network of "Social Promotion Centers." In 2006, the MPB reported that it rescued and received 88 trafficked children. Six of these victims were Beninese being trafficked to Nigeria and 19 were Ivorian children trafficked to Benin. Twelve Beninese child victims were repatriated from Gabon, 50 from Nigeria, and 1 from Mali. These victims were placed in shelters and reunited with their families following investigations. In January and February 2007, the MPB rescued 38 children. In March 2007, the government rescued 17 female child victims in Cotonou and coordinated with Nigerian authorities to repatriate 21 Beninese victims from Nigeria. Beninese authorities have placed the victims in shelters for care. The government's shelter for trafficking victims, built over two years ago, remains unused. Because all of Benin's identified victims have been children, the government does not encourage them to actively assist in investigations or prosecutions for fear of causing them further trauma. The government cooperates with NGOs to ensure that it does not repatriate foreign victims until a safe return and reintegration plan has been established in the country of origin. Victims are not inappropriately incarcerated or fined for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked.

Prevention
The Government of Benin made steady efforts to raise awareness about trafficking during the reporting period. In January 2007, the Nigeria-Benin Joint Committee to Combat Child Trafficking, with financial support from UNICEF, met in Benin and drafted an action plan to combat the trafficking of Beninese children to Nigeria's stone quarries, a significant problem. With ILO and UNICEF assistance, the government is drafting a national action plan against child labor and a national strategy for child protection, both of which still need to be finalized and implemented by the government. Both include steps to combat trafficking. The government, in coordination with Togolese authorities and with funding from UNICEF and the European Union, launched child trafficking awareness campaigns along the Benin-Togo border.

BOLIVIA (Tier 2)

Bolivia is principally a source country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of sexual and labor exploitation. Members of indigenous communities are particularly at risk for labor exploitation. Many victims are children trafficked internally for forced labor in mining and agriculture and suffer harsh conditions. Other victims are trafficked within the country and to neighboring South American countries and Europe, particularly Spain. Bolivian workers have been trafficked to sweatshops in Argentina and Brazil, and to Chile and Peru for involuntary servitude. Illegal migrants from Asia transit Bolivia; some may be trafficking victims.

The Government of Bolivia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. The government made modest but steady progress in key areas over the last year, and government officials demonstrated a heightened commitment to fight trafficking through enhanced law enforcement actions, expanded victim protection services, and increasing prevention efforts. The government should intensify work in all these areas, and endeavor to pass amendments to its anti-trafficking laws, currently under consideration in Bolivia's Congress, to provide greater services and legal protections for victims. The government also should focus more attention on cases of trafficking for labor exploitation in mining and construction sectors. It should continue to root out any official complicity with trafficking, and review suspected cases of labor exploitation.

Prosecution
The Government of Bolivia increased law enforcement efforts against trafficking crimes over the last year. Pursuant to a comprehensive law passed in 2006, the government prohibits all forms of trafficking, and prescribes penalties of up to 12 years' imprisonment, which are commensurate with that for rape and sufficiently stringent. Special anti-trafficking police and prosecutors opened 36 trafficking prosecutions across the country in 2006, and rescued more than 70 teenage victims from trafficking situations. In a landmark case in Cochabamba, the regional Attorney's Office secured the convictions of two traffickers for enslaving an 11-year-old child, resulting in jail sentences of three and six years each. The government also took important steps to confront suspected official involvement with trafficking by opening a criminal investigation of 18 public employees, including four members of the Bolivian Congress. Bolivian authorities cooperated in joint investigations of international trafficking cases with police from Argentina, Brazil, Peru, Chile, and Spain. The government relies on outside sources for training and materials for key anti-trafficking personnel.

Protection
The Bolivian government committed more resources to assist trafficking victims, but services remain inadequate overall and unavailable to many victims, especially outside the capital. Nonetheless, the Prefecture of the Department of La Paz in June 2006 opened a shelter for victims of sexual exploitation that now provides care for 36 teenage girls. La Paz's city government also operates an emergency shelter which assists trafficking victims. The government does not encourage victims to assist with the investigation and prosecution of their traffickers. Although the government generally respects the rights of trafficking victims, some are jailed or penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of their being trafficked.

Prevention
The government increased prevention and public awareness efforts in 2006 by enacting a decree requiring international airports to air a television segment on the risks of trafficking. The Bolivian National Police launched a campaign to warn parents, school children, and municipal authorities about the twin dangers of human trafficking and drug use. The government also worked closely on prevention activities with NGOs and international organizations.

BOSNIA AND HERZEGOVINA (Tier 2)

Bosnia and Herzegovina is a country of origin, transit, and destination for women and girls trafficked internationally and internally for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation. Over the last year, an increased number of Bosnian victims were trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation within the country. There were some reports of trafficking of Roma children within Bosnia and Herzegovina for forced labor. Foreign victims originated primarily from Serbia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania, and Russia. Some victims are trafficked through Bosnia and Herzegovina to Western Europe for commercial sexual exploitation.

The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated increased efforts to address trafficking during the reporting period, particularly in the area of victim assistance. The government continued to actively investigate trafficking cases; however, sentences imposed on convicted trafficking offenders remained low or suspended. The government should be more proactive in aggressively prosecuting trafficking crimes by ensuring that penalties are sufficient to deter traffickers; it should also increase efforts to address trafficking-related complicity of public officials.

Prosecution
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina significantly increased its law enforcement efforts over the last year. The government prohibits trafficking for sexual and labor exploitation through Article 186 of its criminal code. Penalties for trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation are commensurate with those for rape. The law prescribes penalties for trafficking that are sufficiently stringent; however, some traffickers receive sentences that are light or suspended. The government reported 90 ongoing trafficking investigations in 2006, up from 70 the previous year. One convicted trafficker was sentenced to eight years' imprisonment for trafficking and six years for money laundering. This was the longest sentence ever imposed for trafficking offenses in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The judge also ordered seizure of the trafficker's apartment and payment of compensation to the victim in the amount of $62,500. A second defendant in the same case was convicted and was sentenced to five and a half years' imprisonment, and a third defendant was acquitted for lack of evidence. In the past year, 31 cases were prosecuted. In 2006, the strike force raided three well-known bars in central Bosnia, resulting in four arrests and criminal charges filed against 11 people suspected of involvement in trafficking. Although there were reports of official involvement in trafficking, there were no reported prosecutions or convictions of public officials complicit in trafficking.

Protection
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrated increased efforts to protect victims of trafficking in 2006. The government encouraged victims to assist in the prosecution of traffickers. Victims also have the opportunity to file civil suits against their exploiters. The government provides legal alternatives to the removal of trafficking victims to countries where they face hardship or retribution through the provision of short- and long-term humanitarian visas. In 2006, 11 trafficking victims received residence permits on humanitarian grounds. Prosecutors can offer victims protected status through the government's witness protection program, if they determine a victim's safety is in jeopardy. There have been at least six reported cases of trafficking victims entering the program as protected witnesses. In some cases, victims and witnesses have been relocated to third countries. Victims are not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a result of their being trafficked. The government and NGOs developed and signed a formal referral mechanism for screening, identifying, and assisting foreign victims. Police and border officers use a screening questionnaire to evaluate potential victims. The State Coordinator for Trafficking delegates victim assistance to five local anti-trafficking NGOs that provide shelter and care to victims, but oversees shelter management and adherence to standards. One NGO provides pro bono legal assistance to victims housed in NGO shelters.

Prevention
The Government of Bosnia and Herzegovina demonstrated increased public awareness and prevention activities. The State Coordinator partnered with IOM to run a major national public awareness campaign, which included leaflets, billboards, television spots, and a 30-minute documentary aired on public and private television channels. The State Coordinator for Trafficking also participated in a number of local public awareness campaigns conducted by NGOs and spoke to groups of mayors, local police, social workers, and municipal court judges as part of a capacity-building program. In collaboration with Roma community leaders and an NGO, the State Coordinator for Trafficking raised awareness of child begging and forced labor of Romani children. Posters with anti-trafficking information and hotline numbers are placed along border crossings and at the Sarajevo International Airport.

BRAZIL (Tier 2)

Brazil is a source country primarily for women and children trafficked within the country for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation, and for men trafficked internally for the purpose of forced labor. NGOs estimate that 500,000 children are in prostitution in Brazil. Brazilian women and girls are also trafficked for sexual exploitation to destinations in South America, the Caribbean, Western Europe, Japan, the United States, and the Middle East. To a lesser extent, Brazil is a destination country for some men and women who migrate voluntarily from Bolivia, Peru, and China, but are subjected to conditions of forced labor in factories in major cities in Brazil. Child sex tourism is a serious problem within the country, particularly in the resort areas and coastal cities of Brazil's northeast. An estimated 25,000 Brazilian victims, mostly men, are trafficked within the country for forced agricultural labor, mostly to areas of the Amazon and the central state of Mato Grosso.

The Government of Brazil 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 efforts to punish internal and transnational sex trafficking and took several measures to address forced labor, though prosecutions for forced labor remained lacking. In October 2006, President Lula directed the creation of a national plan of action against trafficking for all forms of exploitation, the coordination of governmental anti-trafficking efforts through the Secretariat of Justice, and the dedication of funding for the government's multi-sectoral anti-trafficking efforts. Prosecutions and convictions of trafficking offenders appeared to increase, and the Supreme Court strengthened the hand of the federal government in punishing slave labor through a November 2006 ruling. The government should increase prosecutions and convictions of traffickers, and institute more effective criminal penalties for forced labor trafficking.

Prosecution
The Government of Brazil made clear progress through law enforcement efforts against transnational and internal sex trafficking, though progress in efforts to punish acts of forced labor was less evident during the reporting period. Brazil does not prohibit all forms of trafficking, though transnational and internal trafficking for commercial sexual exploitation is criminalized under Section 231 of its penal code, which prescribes penalties of 6 to 10 years' imprisonment, penalties that are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those for rape. Brazil's laws do not criminalize all aspects of trafficking for labor exploitation, though forced labor is criminalized under statutes against slavery that prescribe penalties of one to three years' imprisonment, penalties that are not sufficiently stringent.

Brazil lacks a centralized collection and reporting system for anti-trafficking law enforcement data; therefore, no comprehensive data on trafficking investigations, prosecutions, convictions, or sentences were available for the reporting period. Limited data, however, collected from several states showed an increase in anti-trafficking efforts. A trafficking prosecution in the state of Rio Grande do Norte in 2006 resulted in the conviction of 14 traffickers, an increase over the one conviction reported for the country in 2005. The police reportedly initiated at least 35 trafficking investigations in 2006. Also during the year, federal police launched six operations to curb international trafficking, which resulted in the arrest of 38 people for international trafficking in persons. After receiving anti-trafficking training earlier in the year, federal highway patrol officers in November 2006 arrested a woman in the state of Sao Paulo for internal sex trafficking, marking the first recorded arrest for internal trafficking since it became a federal offense.

The Ministry of Labor's Special Mobile Enforcement Groups continued aggressive efforts to curb slave labor in the remote Amazon, conducting 106 operations on 206 suspected sites of slave labor in 2006. Although there were no known convictions of slave labor offenders, the number of civil actions against practitioners of slave labor rose in 2006. Moreover, in December 2006, the Brazilian Supreme Court ruled that crimes related to the use of forced labor fell under federal jurisdiction and that all forced labor cases must henceforth be prosecuted in the federal court system, settling an issue of jurisdiction that had previously hampered prosecutions and shielding these cases from pressure in state and local courts. This new ruling has not yet been tested, however. In March 2007, President Lula vetoed a bill, passed by Brazil's parliament, which would have reduced the power of the Ministry of Labor inspectors to determine culpability at worksites and impose fines where slave labor has been found.

There were scattered reports of law enforcement officials' involvement in or facilitation of trafficking in persons, though there were no reports of investigations or prosecutions of official complicity. In a high profile case of slave labor, involving the 2005 conviction of Federal Senator Joao Ribeiro for forcing 38 workers to live in slave-like conditions, the $341,000 fine imposed by the court in February 2005 was reduced by an appellate court in October 2006 to $35,500.

In 2006, Brazil issued a new regulation that requires state financial institutions to bar financial services to entities on the Ministry of Labor's "dirty list," a public listing of persons and companies that have been documented by the government as exploiters of forced labor. The Ministry of Labor in August 2006 updated the "dirty list," which contains 178 names of companies and individuals, including Senator Joao Ribeiro. Slave labor, which is used in the production of charcoal in primitive Amazon camps, was the focus of a late 2006 international news report, which alleged that this slavery is linked to the production of Brazilian pig iron, a majority of which is exported to the United States. Indeed, several of the pig iron companies mentioned are already on the Ministry of Labor's "dirty list" for documented slave labor practices.

Child Sex Tourism
Although comprehensive data is not available, limited reporting indicates that police in various tourist centers conducted a number of investigations into the sexual exploitation of Brazilian children by foreign pedophiles, who largely come from Europe and North America. Sex tourism was prevalent in 398 of 1,514 tourist destinations along the northeast coast of Brazil, according to a study by the University of Brasilia. The government in 2006 released a "code of conduct to combat sex tourism and sexual exploitation," and the local governments of the states of Pernambuco, Espirito Santo, Amazonas, Parana, and the Federal District enacted laws requiring businesses to display public warnings of the criminal punishments for sexually exploiting children. Rio de Janeiro and Bahia had previously enacted similar legislation.

Protection
The Government of Brazil made improved efforts to protect victims of sex trafficking during the reporting period. Several government programs assisted victims of trafficking, although efforts often were inconsistent and under-funded. Government officials encourage victims to assist in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers, although foreign victims are not offered legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they face hardship or retribution. Brazil's federal government funded the "Sentinela" shelter network throughout the country, which expanded from 400 to 1,104 shelters in 2006. The Brazilian Ministry of Justice and the UNODC continued to fund victim assistance centers in Sao Paulo, Rio de Janiero, Goias, and Ceara states in partnership with the respective state governments. The Ministry of Social Development and the Fight against Hunger provided emergency care for children and adolescent victims of sexual abuse and sexual exploitation. During surprise inspections of labor sites in remote areas of the Amazon, the Ministry of Labor's Special Mobile Enforcement Groups rescued a total of 3,390 victims of forced labor in 2006; victims were provided with immediate medical care, counseling, and limited compensation. Identified victims are not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a result of being trafficked.

Prevention
The government made greater efforts to prevent trafficking throughout the reporting period. At the direction of President Lula, the Ministry of Justice's Secretariat was tasked in October 2006 with forming a national committee on trafficking represented by 14 ministries and producing by the end of August 2007 a comprehensive national plan of action against trafficking, including budgeted allocations for funding of anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts and victim protection. The National Secretariat for Justice, which coordinates the government's anti-trafficking efforts, continued to lead a governmental public-awareness campaign to deter international traffickers and increase awareness among potential victim populations. In conjunction with the UNODC, the Secretariat conducted a campaign which included radio ads and large posters stating "first they take your passport, then your freedom" in airports around the country. The second phase of the campaign, which included the creation of a separate database and police and prosecutor training, began in late 2006.

BULGARIA (Tier 2)

Bulgaria is a source, transit, and destination country for men and women trafficked from Moldova, Romania, Russia, Ukraine, and Armenia to Bulgaria and through Bulgaria to Spain, Austria, Germany, France, Italy, the Netherlands, Belgium, the Czech Republic, and Macedonia for the purposes of sexual exploitation. Men and women from Bulgaria are trafficked to Cyprus, Greece, and Turkey for purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor. Roma children are trafficked within Bulgaria and to Austria, Italy, and other West European countries for purposes of forced begging and petty theft. Approximately 20 percent of identified trafficking victims in Bulgaria are children.

The Government of Bulgaria does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Bulgaria improved its victim assistance infrastructure by opening a government-run child trafficking shelter and continued to demonstrate increased law enforcement efforts. However, Bulgaria's National Anti-Trafficking Commission could not effectively monitor and improve national and local efforts due to inadequate staffing. Bulgaria should improve support for the Executive Secretary of the Commission and ensure implementation of the National Anti-Trafficking Strategy, which was adopted in February 2005. The government should focus serious and sustained efforts to develop its crime statistics database. Bulgaria should also take steps to reduce the domestic demand for commercial sexual exploitation.

Prosecution
The Bulgarian government significantly improved its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts over the last year. Bulgaria prohibits trafficking for both sexual exploitation and forced labor through Section 159 of its criminal code. Penalties prescribed for trafficking under Section 159 range from 1 to 15 years' imprisonment, are sufficiently stringent, and are commensurate with punishments for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2006, police conducted 202 sex trafficking and 6 labor trafficking investigations, a significant increase from 134 sex trafficking and 7 labor trafficking investigations in 2005. In 2006, 129 persons were prosecuted, an increase from 63 in 2005. Convicted traffickers numbered 71, up from 34 convictions in 2005. During the reporting period, Bulgaria extradited 33 persons on trafficking charges at the request of other countries. There were reports of low-level law enforcement officials involved in trafficking; one police officer was convicted for trafficking in 2006.

Protection
Bulgaria made adequate victim assistance and protection efforts during the reporting period. In September 2006, the government opened two crisis centers that provide rehabilitative, psychological, and medical assistance specifically tailored to address the needs of child trafficking victims; each shelter has capacity for 10 children. These centers assisted approximately 20 children from September 2006 through March 2007. The government referred repatriated Bulgarian trafficking victims and foreign victims trafficked to Bulgaria to NGOs for legal, medical, and psychological assistance. All victims in Bulgaria are eligible for free medical and psychological care provided through public hospitals and NGOs. In 2006, 11 victims gave testimony in support of trafficking prosecutions, but none was protected under the full witness protection program. Victims are encouraged to assist in trafficking investigations and prosecutions; victims who choose to cooperate with law enforcement investigators are provided with full residency and employment rights for the duration of the criminal proceedings. Foreign victims who choose not to cooperate in trafficking investigations are permitted to stay in Bulgaria for 1 month and 10 days before they are repatriated. Victims generally were not detained, fined, or otherwise penalized for unlawful acts committed as a result of their being trafficked.

Prevention
Bulgaria demonstrated diminished efforts to prevent trafficking during the reporting period. The government relied exclusively on NGOs and the international community to fund and execute public awareness campaigns about the dangers of trafficking. The National Border Police actively monitored airports and land border crossings for evidence of trafficking in persons.

BURKINA FASO (Tier 2)

Burkina Faso is a source, transit, and destination country for children and women trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation, with most victims being children. Within the country, children are trafficked for domestic servitude, sexual exploitation, forced agricultural labor, and forced labor in gold mines and stone quarries. Burkinabe children are trafficked to other West African countries for the same purposes listed above, with the majority likely trafficked to Cote d'Ivoire, and others trafficked to Mali, Benin, Nigeria, and Togo. Children are also trafficked from these West African countries to Burkina Faso for the same purposes listed above. To a lesser extent, Burkinabe women are trafficked to Europe for sexual exploitation. Women may be trafficked to Burkina Faso from Nigeria, Togo, Benin, and Niger for domestic servitude, forced labor in restaurants, and sexual exploitation.

The Government of Burkina Faso does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so, despite limited resources. To strengthen its response to trafficking, the government should draft and pass a law prohibiting trafficking of adults, impose more severe sentences on convicted traffickers, train border officials to identify traffickers and victims, and update and adopt its draft national action plan to combat trafficking.

Prosecution
The Government of Burkina Faso demonstrated steady law enforcement efforts to combat trafficking over the last year. Burkina Faso does not prohibit all forms of trafficking. Through its 2003 Law No. 038-2003 Concerning the Definition of Child Trafficking in Burkina Faso, it criminalizes all forms of child trafficking. The prescribed maximum penalty of 10 years' imprisonment for this offense is sufficient but not commensurate with the higher penalties for rape. In 2006, local vigilance committees, police, and other security forces arrested 31 suspected traffickers. Eleven traffickers were convicted, 15 prosecutions are still open, and five persons were released due to lack of evidence. Sentences imposed on convicted traffickers were inadequate, however, with three receiving 1 to 12 months' imprisonment, and eight receiving suspended sentences. In October and December 2006, the government trained law enforcement officials in several provinces about trafficking with financial help and cooperation from its NGO partners. However, the government has yet to provide border officials with such training.

Protection
The Government of Burkina Faso continued to make progress in protecting trafficking victims during the past year. The government continued to operate a center in Ouagadougou for the rehabilitation and reintegration of at-risk children, including trafficking victims. With assistance from UNICEF, the government also continued to provide land grants and personnel to operate 21 trafficking victim transit centers. During the year, these centers assisted approximately 1,043 victims, who were rescued by police, security forces, or local vigilance committees. In 2006, Burkinabe officials cooperated with Malian authorities to intercept and repatriate 39 Burkinabe children trafficked to Mali and 22 Malian children trafficked to Burkina Faso. The government does not encourage victims to participate in trafficking investigations or prosecutions. The government contributes funds to help repatriate foreign victims to their countries of origin after a short stay in transit centers, but it does not provide legal alternatives to their removal to countries where they face hardship or retribution. Victims are not penalized for unlawful acts as a direct result of being trafficked.

Prevention
The Government of Burkina Faso made solid efforts to combat trafficking during the reporting period. Government-run media broadcast anti-trafficking and child labor radio and television programs and debates, often in collaboration with NGOs. Burkina Faso and the Dutch government jointly financed the film "Golden Ransom," which addresses child labor in gold mines, holding discussions after screenings throughout the country. The government's anti-trafficking committee, established in 2002, continued to meet quarterly. A national action plan to combat trafficking, drafted in 2004, was adopted by the Cabinet in April 2007.

BURMA (Tier 3)

Burma is a source country for women, children, and men trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. Burmese women and children are trafficked to Thailand, the People's Republic of China (P.R.C.), Bangladesh, Malaysia, South Korea, and Macau for sexual exploitation, domestic servitude, and forced labor. Some Burmese migrating abroad for better economic opportunities wind up in situations of forced or bonded labor or forced prostitution. Burmese children are trafficked to Thailand as forced street hawkers and beggars, unlawfully used internally as child soldiers and trafficked to work in shops, agriculture, and small-scale industries. Reports indicate some trafficking of Bangladeshi persons to Malaysia and P.R.C. nationals to Thailand through Burma. Internal sex trafficking of women and girls occurs primarily from villages to urban centers and transportation and economic hubs, such as truck stops, fishing villages, border towns, and mining and military camps. The military junta's gross economic mismanagement, human rights abuses, and its policy of using forced labor are the top causal factors for Burma's significant trafficking problem. The official ban on overland emigration of most young women drives some seeking to leave the country into the hands of "travel facilitators," who may have ties with traffickers.

The Government of Burma does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so. Military and civilian officials are directly involved in trafficking for forced labor and the unlawful conscription of child soldiers. During 2006, the Burmese government did not take action against military or civilian officials who engaged in forced labor. Relations with the ILO, which are focused on addressing forced labor in Burma, improved in 2006 with the halt of death threats directed at the ILO Liaison Officer in Rangoon and government threats to withdraw from the organization. The ruling junta implemented a moratorium on prosecution of forced labor complainants and released two prisoners who were jailed for supporting forced labor complaints. The government acknowledged that forced labor is a problem, and began negotiations with ILO on a mechanism to address forced labor, but did not otherwise take actions to stop it. The government continued to deny UNICEF permission to make unannounced visits to military recruitment centers. Over the past year, the government took steps to combat trafficking for sexual exploitation by increasing law enforcement efforts at border crossings, raising the number of trafficking arrests, prosecutions, and convictions, and conducting training for law enforcement officers.

Prosecution
The Burmese government demonstrated progress to combat sex trafficking throughout the past year, but continued to take no law enforcement action against official or military-sanctioned forced labor. Burma criminally prohibits sex and labor trafficking through its 2005 Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law. Penalties for sex trafficking are commensurate with those for rape. The law prescribes penalties for trafficking that are sufficiently stringent. The lack of a functioning independent judiciary, however, results in military trials lacking transparency, accountability, and due process. The ruling junta claims that its police identified over 400 traffickers in 191 cases in 2006, and information sharing with international organizations improved, but government statistics cannot be independently verified. Similarly, the regime reports that 65 trafficking offenders were convicted under the new law with offenders receiving sentences ranging from under five years to life imprisonment. Past data provided by the regime conflated smuggling and trafficking crimes. Recently, police units that have received anti-trafficking training have provided separate smuggling and trafficking statistics, while other officials do not differentiate. Authorities report having exposed a trafficking ring based in Ruili that reportedly sold over 90 women into the P.R.C. as forced brides, arrested 34 suspects, and rescued 17 victims. In January 2007, police reportedly arrested an additional 47 suspected traffickers. Although pervasive corruption is present along the borders, there were no reports of actions taken against officials complicit in profiting from or involved in trafficking.

Protection
The Burmese government requires a 30-day program of "rehabilitation" for most victims of external trafficking. It provides much more limited assistance to female victims of internal sex trafficking, forced child labor, or male victims of forced labor. The Department of Social Welfare provides temporary shelter to repatriated trafficking victims at eight vocational training centers. In 2006, over 80 victims spent time in these shelters. The government encourages internationally trafficked victims to assist in investigations. Victims have a right to file civil suits and seek legal action against the traffickers, though no such civil suits have been documented. Victims are penalized through the aforementioned "rehabilitation" program that does not respect victims' privacy and does not allow them to choose their future actions upon removal from a trafficking situation. The government has no formal procedures to identify victims of trafficking among the many Burmese who are deported from neighboring countries. The government refers victims to the few NGOs and international organizations providing reintegration assistance.

Prevention
The Burmese government marginally increased its efforts to prevent international trafficking in persons. The Women's Affairs Federation and National Committee for Women's Affairs conducted almost 8,000 educational sessions for women around the country that included information about the risks of trafficking. The government also distributed pamphlets and newsletters by an international organization, published press articles, and aired television and radio plays on trafficking. The Central Police Training Institute includes trafficking in its curriculum for incoming cadets and in-service police training.

BURUNDI (Tier 2 Watch List)

Burundi is a source country for children trafficked within the country for the purposes of child soldiering, domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation. The country continues to emerge from civil war in which government and rebel forces unlawfully used approximately 7,000 children in a variety of capacities, including as cooks, porters, spies, sex slaves, and combatants. The one rebel faction that remained outside the peace process until signing a cease-fire in September 2006, the PALIPEHUTU-FNL (Party for the Liberation of the Hutu People-National Liberation Force-also known as the FNL), continued to recruit and use hundreds of young children as fighters, manual laborers, and logistical support. There are infrequent reports that some government soldiers unlawfully force children to perform menial tasks. Burundian children are trafficked internally for domestic servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; there were reports of destitute parents selling their daughters into domestic servitude or encouraging them to enter prostitution.

The Government of Burundi does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. Burundi is placed on Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat trafficking in persons over the last year, as well as complicity in trafficking in persons through its military's continued practice of forcing children into servitude, performing work in support of the armed forces. To improve its anti-trafficking efforts, the government should investigate the nature of child commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude within the country and take steps to remove affected children from these situations. Government forces should immediately cease the unlawful practice of using children to perform menial tasks or act as informants and release detained children suspected of association with the FNL.

Prosecution
The government failed to undertake any discernable anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts during the year. Burundi's laws do not prohibit trafficking in persons, but its criminal code prohibits forced labor, kidnapping, brothel keeping, and pimping. There were no investigations, prosecutions, or convictions under these statutes during the reporting period. In late 2006, a committee comprised of the Second Vice President of the National Assembly, the Minister of Justice's Director of Legislation, NGOs, and civil society completed a preliminary draft of a code outlawing crimes against humanity; the draft was introduced and debated in the National Assembly in November 2006. The proposed statutes contain mandatory sentences of five to 10 years' imprisonment for human trafficking, including such offenses as sexual slavery and forced prostitution. This new legislation will also allow any act of trafficking during times of future conflict or unrest to be considered a war crime. Although official policy prohibits such practices, soldiers reportedly forced children to carry wood and water; police stated that, in at least one case, the soldiers involved faced disciplinary action. The Ministry of Defense confirmed that soldiers with such disciplinary problems would be the first to leave the military during downsizing; however, there are no known cases of such soldiers being encouraged to leave or decommissioned.

Protection
The government does not have a formalized system for identifying victims of trafficking or referring them to organizations that provide protective services. It did not encourage victims to participate in investigations or prosecutions of trafficking offenders; nor did it ensure that victims were not penalized for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. In mid-April, the government reopened the Randa "Welcome Center," a demobilization camp in Bubanza Province, to house captured or surrendered FNL combatants until the completion of peace negotiations. Without a peace agreement between the government and the rebel group, FNL child combatants could not be demobilized or receive the benefits package afforded to the country's other former child soldiers. By August, the camp housed more than 450 detainees, of which 26 were children; a number of these child victims needed, but did not receive, medical and psychosocial care. Detained children were not separated from adult combatants, placed in school, or provided with constructive activities. During the year, the government also detained more than 100 minors, who were under suspicion of association with the FNL, in prisons and police holding cells across the country; some of them were used by the police and military as informants, thus further jeopardizing their secu