U.S. Trafficking Report: Despite Efforts, Azerbaijan Does Not Meet Minimum Standards Yet

Washington D.C./16.06.23/Turan:    Azerbaijan remains on "Tier 2" for the second consecutive year in the State Department's Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), meaning that its government "does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so," according to the authors, TURAN's Washington correspondent reports.

In its annual TIP report, the State Department noted that the Azerbaijani government "demonstrated overall increasing efforts" compared with the previous reporting period, considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity; "therefore Azerbaijan remained on Tier 2" - it explained.

Introducing the report at the State Department Thursday, Secretary Antony Blinken stressed the need globally for partnerships between governments, non-governmental organisations, civil society and private industries — to address sex and labour trafficking.

"We simply need all hands on deck. We need law enforcement working to prosecute traffickers. We need social workers providing trauma-informed care to the victims. We need advocates holding governments accountable. We need communities coming together to support the survivors, he added.

Cindy Dyer, the US ambassador-at-large to monitor and combat trafficking in persons, also called on governments to embrace the "power of partnerships" with private companies and nonprofits.

This year's report assessed 188 countries and territories, including the U.S. "The United States is committed to combating human trafficking, because it represents an attack on human rights and freedoms," Blinken said. "It violates the universal right of every person to have autonomy. Today, more than 27 million people around the world are denied that right."

The report listed 24 countries in "Tier 3" or the lowest rating — Burma, Cambodia, Eritrea, North Korea, South Sudan, Venezuela being among them. Afghanistan, China and Russia are also among the countries noted as trouble spots.

Asked by TURAN about some of the new vulnerabilities that Russia's war against Ukraine has created, Dyer told the Department's daily briefing that they "are actively watching and observing" given that the invasion of Ukraine forced more than 8 million people to flee Ukraine and displaced 1.5 million more within its borders as of May 2023.

The U.S is also particularly concerned about the trafficking within Ukraine due to Russia's invasion, particularly for children and internally displaced persons. "We were glad that governments and organizations have actually identified relatively few confirmed cases of human trafficking among those refugees.  However, we remain very concerned and are working closely with our allies in Europe to really, vigorously monitor this system."

Blinken also highlighted steady progress in the report, with dozens of countries around the world making significant strides in preventing trafficking, protecting survivors and prosecuting those who carry out such crimes.

As for the Azeri government's efforts to address the trafficking problem, these included sentencing all convicted traffickers to prison terms in an improvement from previous years and identifying more victims of internal trafficking. The government increased funding for NGO-run shelters and amended a sub-law to establish the Interagency Commission composed of representatives from various ministries and local NGOs to improve coordination of anti-trafficking efforts.

Additionally, the Anti-Trafficking Department recognized 34 NGO leaders with monetary awards. "However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government prosecuted fewer defendants and convicted fewer traffickers.  Authorities often failed to recognize psychological coercion as a means of control over victims or required a transnational element for trafficking, which led to internal sex trafficking cases reclassified as lesser offenses.  The government continued to lack screening and proactive identification efforts, particularly for vulnerable populations, and continued its moratorium on scheduled and unannounced labor inspections through 2023," reads the report.

This years' report also prioritizes recommendations including increasing efforts to vigorously investigate, prosecute and convict traffickers and sentence them with adequate penalties which should involve significant prison terms..

Other recommendations include: increase proactive identification efforts, particularly for internal trafficking, forced labor, and child trafficking; Increase and allocate adequate funding to NGO-run shelters providing victim support services; train investigators, prosecutors, and judges on victim-centered approaches to trafficking cases, among other key steps.

Alex Raufoglu