China
current situation: China is a source, transit, and destination
country for women, men, and children trafficked for purposes of
sexual exploitation and forced labor; the majority of trafficking in
China is internal, but there is also international trafficking of
Chinese citizens; women are lured through false promises of
legitimate employment into commercial sexual exploitation in Taiwan,
Thailand, Malaysia, and Japan; Chinese men and women are smuggled to
countries throughout the world at enormous personal expense and then
forced into commercial sexual exploitation or exploitative labor to
repay debts to traffickers; women and children are trafficked into
China from Mongolia, Burma, North Korea, Russia, and Vietnam for
forced labor, marriage, and sexual slavery; most North Koreans enter
northeastern China voluntarily, but others reportedly are trafficked
into China from North Korea; domestic trafficking remains the most
significant problem in China, with an estimated minimum of
10,000-20,000 victims trafficked each year; the actual number of
victims could be much greater; some experts believe that the serious
and prolonged imbalance in the male-female birth ratio may now be
contributing to Chinese and foreign girls and women being trafficked
as potential brides
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - China failed to show evidence of
increasing efforts to address transnational trafficking; while the
government provides reasonable protection to internal victims of
trafficking, protection for Chinese and foreign victims of
transnational trafficking remain inadequate
Cuba
current situation: Cuba is a source country for women and
children trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and
forced child labor; Cuba is a major destination for sex tourism,
which largely caters to European, Canadian, and Latin American
tourists and involves large numbers of minors; there are reports
that Cuban women have been trafficked to Mexico for sexual
exploitation; forced labor victims also include children coerced
into working in commercial agriculture
tier rating: Tier 3 - Cuba does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making
significant efforts to do so
Cyprus
current situation: Cyprus is primarily a destination country
for a large number of women trafficked from Eastern and Central
Europe, the Philippines, and the Dominican Republic for the purpose
of sexual exploitation; traffickers continued to fraudulently
recruit victims for work as dancers in cabarets and nightclubs on
short-term "artiste" visas, for work in pubs and bars on employment
visas, or for illegal work on tourist or student visas; there were
credible reports of female domestic workers from India, Sri Lanka,
and the Philippines forced to work excessively long hours and denied
proper compensation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Cyprus does not fully comply with
the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and failed
to show evidence of increasing efforts to address its serious
trafficking for sexual exploitation problem; however, it is making
significant efforts to do so
Djibouti
current situation: Djibouti is a source, transit, and
destination country for women and children trafficked for the
purposes of sexual exploitation and possibly forced labor; small
numbers are trafficked from Ethiopia and Somalia for sexual
exploitation; economic migrants from these countries also fall
victim to trafficking upon reaching Djibouti City or the
Ethiopia-Djibouti trucking corridor; women and children from
neighboring countries reportedly transit Djibouti to Arab countries
and Somalia for ultimate use in forced labor or sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Djibouti does not fully comply with
the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however,
it is making significant efforts to do so based partly on the
government's commitments to undertake future action
Egypt
current situation: Egypt is a transit country for women
trafficked from Eastern Europe to Israel for the purpose of sexual
exploitation; these women generally arrive as tourists and are
subsequently trafficked through the Sinai Desert by Bedouin tribes;
men and women from sub-Saharan Africa and Asia are believed to be
trafficked through the Sinai Desert to Israel and Europe for labor
exploitation; some Egyptian children from rural areas are trafficked
within the country to work as domestic servants or laborers in the
agriculture industry
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Egypt is placed on the Tier 2 Watch
List for its failure to show evidence of increasing efforts to
address trafficking over the past year, particularly in the area of
law enforcement
Equatorial Guinea
current situation: Equatorial Guinea is a transit
and destination country for women and children trafficked for forced
labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and commercial sexual
exploitation from surrounding countries - primarily Benin, Nigeria,
Mali, and Cameroon; victims work in the agricultural and commercial
sectors of Malabo and Bata, where demand is high due to a booming
oil sector; children work as farmhands, street vendors, or household
servants; girls and women are also trafficked for commercial sexual
exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Equatorial Guinea is placed on the
Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide adequate evidence of
concrete measures to address trafficking over the past year
India
current situation: India is a source, destination, and transit
country for men, women, and children trafficked for the purposes of
forced or bonded labor and commercial sexual exploitation; the large
population of men, women, and children - numbering in the millions -
in debt bondage face involuntary servitude in brick kilns, rice
mills, and embroidery factories, while some children endure
involuntary servitude as domestic servants; internal trafficking of
women and girls for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation
and forced marriage also occurs; the government estimates that 90
percent of India's sex trafficking is internal; India is also a
destination for women and girls from Nepal and Bangladesh trafficked
for the purpose of commercial sexual exploitation; boys from
Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Bangladesh are trafficked through India
to the Gulf states for involuntary servitude as child camel jockeys;
Indian men and women migrate willingly to the Persian Gulf region
for work as domestic servants and low-skilled laborers, but some
later find themselves in situations of involuntary servitude
including extended working hours, nonpayment of wages, restrictions
on their movement by withholding of their passports or confinement
to the home, and physical or sexual abuse
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - India has been on the Tier 2 Watch
List since 2004 for its failure to show evidence of increasing
efforts to address trafficking in persons
Indonesia
current situation: Indonesia is a source, transit, and
destination country for women, children and men trafficked for the
purposes of sexual exploitation and forced labor; Indonesian victims
are trafficked to Malaysia, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, UAE, Hong Kong,
Taiwan, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore; a significant number of
Indonesian women who go overseas each year to work as domestic
servants or "cultural performers" are subjected to conditions of
involuntary servitude and commercial sexual exploitation; to a
minimal extent, Indonesia is a destination for women from East Asia,
Europe, and South America who are trafficked for sexual
exploitation; there is extensive trafficking within Indonesia from
rural to urban metropolitan areas particularly for sexual
exploitation and involuntary domestic servitude
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Indonesia is placed on the Tier 2
Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts
to combat trafficking
Iran
current situation: Iran is a source, transit, and destination
country for women and girls trafficked for the purposes of sexual
exploitation and involuntary servitude; according to foreign
observers, women and girls are trafficked to Pakistan, Turkey, the
Persian Gulf, and Europe for sexual exploitation, while boys from
Bangladesh, Pakistan, and Afghanistan are trafficked through Iran en
route to Persian Gulf states where they are ultimately forced to
work as camel jockeys, beggars, or laborers; Afghan women and girls
are trafficked to the country for forced marriages and sexual
exploitation; women and children are also trafficked internally for
the purposes of forced marriage, sexual exploitation, and
involuntary servitude
tier rating: Tier 3 - Iran is downgraded to Tier 3 after persistent,
credible reports of Iranian authorities punishing victims of
trafficking with beatings, imprisonment, and execution
Israel
current situation: Israel is a destination country for
low-skilled workers from Eastern Europe and Asia who migrate
voluntarily for contract labor in the construction, agriculture, and
health care industries, some of whom are subsequently subjected to
conditions of involuntary servitude; many labor recruitment agencies
in source countries and in Israel require workers to pay large
up-front fees that often lead to debt bondage and vulnerability to
forced labor; Israel is also a destination country for women
trafficked from Eastern Europe for the purpose of sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Israel is placed on the Tier 2
Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts
to address trafficking, namely the conditions of involuntary
servitude allegedly facing thousands of foreign migrant workers