SWAZILAND: Tier 2 Watch List
The Government of Swaziland does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated significant efforts during the reporting period by investigating more suspected trafficking cases and training labor inspectors and police officers on victim identification and protection procedures. It increased the number of victims it identified and sheltered, and the amount of funding disbursed to a victim assistance fund for protective services. The government conducted awareness campaigns. However, the government did not demonstrate increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period. While the government prosecuted and convicted one trafficker under an assault charge, it imposed an inadequate penalty of a fine. The government did not enact the Trafficking in Persons and Migrant Smuggling Bill for the second consecutive year, leaving victims vulnerable to deportation or prosecution for crimes committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking. Although victim identification guidelines and a national referral mechanism were established in 2015, neither was fully functional or implemented during the reporting period. Therefore, Swaziland remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year.