Request for Information for the 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report, 67505-67509 [2019-26520]
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• Minimize the reporting burden on
those who are to respond, including the
use of automated collection techniques
or other forms of information
technology.
Please note that comments submitted in
response to this Notice are public
record. Before including any detailed
personal information, you should be
aware that your comments as submitted,
including your personal information,
will be available for public review.
Abstract of Proposed Collection
Under Section 101(a)(27)(A) of the
Immigration and Nationality Act
(‘‘INA’’), 8 U.S.C. 1101, a special
immigrant is defined as an immigrant,
lawfully admitted for permanent
residence, who is returning from a
temporary visit abroad. INA § 203(b)(4)
generally authorizes issuance of an
immigrant visa to such ‘‘special
immigrants’’ as defined in INA
§ 101(a)(27). Department of State
regulations at 22 CFR 42.22 provide that
such applicants may be issued a
returning resident special immigrant
visa if he or she remained out of the
United States for a protracted period
due to reasons outside of his or her
control for which he or she was not
responsible. 22 CFR 42.22. The DS–117
is used, in addition to a personal
interview, to collect information
necessary to determine a returning
resident’s eligibility for a special
immigrant visa.
Methodology
Applicants will submit the DS–117
electronically via email, or print the
form and submit it at the time of their
interview at a U.S. embassy or
consulate.
Edward J. Ramotowski,
Deputy Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2019–26512 Filed 12–9–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–06–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10970]
Request for Information for the 2020
Trafficking in Persons Report
ACTION:
Notice; request for information.
The Department of State (‘‘the
Department’’) requests written
information to assist in reporting on the
degree to which the United States and
foreign governments meet the minimum
standards for the elimination of
trafficking in persons (‘‘minimum
standards’’) that are prescribed by the
Trafficking Victims Protection Act of
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SUMMARY:
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2000, as amended (‘‘TVPA’’). This
information will assist in the
preparation of the Trafficking in Persons
Report (‘‘TIP Report’’) that the
Department submits annually to the
U.S. Congress on governments’ concrete
actions to meet the minimum standards.
Foreign governments that do not meet
the minimum standards and are not
making significant efforts to do so may
be subject to restrictions on
nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related
foreign assistance from the United
States, as defined by the TVPA.
Submissions must be made in writing to
the Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons at the Department
of State by January 15, 2020. Please refer
to the Addresses, Scope of Interest, and
Information Sought sections of this
Notice for additional instructions on
submission requirements.
DATES: Submissions must be received by
5 p.m. on January 15, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions and
supporting documentation may be
submitted by the following methods:
• Email (preferred): tipreport@
state.gov for submissions related to
foreign governments and tipreportUS@
state.gov for submissions related to the
United States.
• Mail, Express Delivery, Hand
Delivery and Messenger Service: U.S.
Department of State, Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/
TIP), 2201 C Street NW, SA–09 Suite
NE3054, Washington, DC 20520–0903.
Please note that materials submitted by
mail may be delayed due to security
screenings and processing.
Scope of Interest: The Department
requests information relevant to
assessing the United States’ and foreign
governments’ concrete actions to meet
the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking in persons
during the reporting period (April 1,
2019–March 31, 2020). The minimum
standards are listed in the Background
section. Submissions must include
information relevant to efforts to meet
the minimum standards and should
include, but need not be limited to,
answering the questions in the
Information Sought section.
Submissions need not include answers
to all the questions; only those
questions for which the submitter has
direct professional experience should be
answered and that experience should be
noted. For any critique or deficiency
described, please provide a
recommendation to remedy it. Note the
country or countries that are the focus
of the submission.
Submissions may include written
narratives that answer the questions
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presented in this Notice, research,
studies, statistics, fieldwork, training
materials, evaluations, assessments, and
other relevant evidence of local, state/
provincial, and federal/central
government efforts. To the extent
possible, precise dates and numbers of
officials or citizens affected should be
included.
Written narratives providing factual
information should provide citations of
sources, and copies of and links to the
source material should be provided.
Please send electronic copies of the
entire submission, including source
material. If primary sources are used,
such as research studies, interviews,
direct observations, or other sources of
quantitative or qualitative data, provide
details on the research or data-gathering
methodology and any supporting
documentation. The Department does
not include in the TIP Report, and is
therefore not seeking, information on
prostitution, migrant smuggling, visa
fraud, or child abuse, unless such
crimes also involve the elements of sex
or labor trafficking.
Confidentiality: Please provide the
name, phone number, and email address
of a single point of contact for any
submission. It is Department practice
not to identify in the TIP Report
information concerning sources to
safeguard those sources. Please note,
however, that any information
submitted to the Department may be
releasable pursuant to the provisions of
the Freedom of Information Act or other
applicable law. Submissions related to
the United States will be shared with
U.S. government agencies, as will
submissions relevant to efforts by other
U.S. government agencies.
Response: This is a request for
information only; there will be no
response to submissions.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
The TIP Report: The TIP Report is the
most comprehensive worldwide report
on governments’ efforts to combat
trafficking in persons. It represents an
annually updated, global look at the
nature and scope of trafficking in
persons and the broad range of
government actions to confront and
eliminate it. The U.S. government uses
the TIP Report to engage in diplomacy,
to encourage partnership in creating and
implementing laws and policies to
combat trafficking, and to target
resources on prevention, protection, and
prosecution programs. Worldwide, the
TIP Report is used by international
organizations, foreign governments, and
nongovernmental organizations as a tool
to examine where resources are most
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needed. Prosecuting traffickers,
protecting victims, and preventing
trafficking are the ultimate goals of the
TIP Report and of the U.S government’s
anti-trafficking policy.
The Department prepares the TIP
Report using information from across
the U.S. government, foreign
government officials, nongovernmental
and international organizations,
survivors of trafficking in persons,
published reports, and research trips to
every region. The TIP Report focuses on
concrete actions that governments take
to fight trafficking in persons, including
prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences for traffickers, as well as
victim identification and protection
measures and prevention efforts. Each
TIP Report narrative also includes
recommendations for each country.
These recommendations are used to
assist the Department in measuring
governments’ progress from one year to
the next and determining whether
governments meet the minimum
standards for the elimination of
trafficking in persons or are making
significant efforts to do so.
The TVPA creates a four-tier ranking
system. Tier placement is based
principally on the extent of government
action to combat trafficking. The
Department first evaluates whether the
government fully meets the TVPA’s
minimum standards for the elimination
of trafficking. Governments that do so
are placed on Tier 1. For other
governments, the Department considers
the extent of such efforts. Governments
that are making significant efforts to
meet the minimum standards are placed
on Tier 2. Governments that do not fully
meet the minimum standards and are
not making significant efforts to do so
are placed on Tier 3. Finally, the
Department considers Special Watch
List criteria and, when applicable,
places countries on Tier 2 Watch List.
For more information, the 2019 TIP
Report can be found at www.state.gov/
reports/2019-trafficking-in-personsreport/.
Since the inception of the TIP Report
in 2001, the number of countries
included and ranked has more than
doubled; the 2019 TIP Report included
187 countries and territories. Around
the world, the TIP Report and the
promising practices reflected therein
have inspired legislation, national
action plans, policy implementation,
program funding, protection
mechanisms that complement
prosecution efforts, and a stronger
global understanding of this crime.
Since 2003, the primary reporting on
the United States’ anti-trafficking
activities has been through the annual
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Attorney General’s Report to Congress
and Assessment of U.S. Government
Activities to Combat Human Trafficking
(‘‘AG Report’’) mandated by section 105
of the TVPA (22 U.S.C. 7103(d)(7)).
Since 2010, the TIP Report, through a
collaborative interagency process, has
included an assessment of U.S.
government anti-trafficking efforts in
light of the minimum standards to
eliminate trafficking in persons set forth
by the TVPA.
II. Minimum Standards for the
Elimination of Trafficking in Persons
The TVPA sets forth the minimum
standards for the elimination of
trafficking in persons as follows:
(1) The government of the country
should prohibit severe forms of
trafficking in persons and punish acts of
such trafficking.
(2) For the knowing commission of
any act of sex trafficking involving
force, fraud, coercion, or in which the
victim of sex trafficking is a child
incapable of giving meaningful consent,
or of trafficking which includes rape or
kidnapping or which causes a death, the
government of the country should
prescribe punishment commensurate
with that for grave crimes, such as
forcible sexual assault.
(3) For the knowing commission of
any act of a severe form of trafficking in
persons, the government of the country
should prescribe punishment that is
sufficiently stringent to deter and that
adequately reflects the heinous nature of
the offense.
(4) The government of the country
should make serious and sustained
efforts to eliminate severe forms of
trafficking in persons.
The following factors should be
considered as indicia of serious and
sustained efforts to eliminate severe
forms of trafficking in persons:
(1) Whether the government of the
country vigorously investigates and
prosecutes acts of severe forms of
trafficking in persons, and convicts and
sentences persons responsible for such
acts, that take place wholly or partly
within the territory of the country,
including, as appropriate, requiring
incarceration of individuals convicted
of such acts. For purposes of the
preceding sentence, suspended or
significantly reduced sentences for
convictions of principal actors in cases
of severe forms of trafficking in persons
shall be considered, on a case-by-case
basis, whether to be considered as an
indicator of serious and sustained
efforts to eliminate severe forms of
trafficking in persons. After reasonable
requests from the Department of State
for data regarding investigations,
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prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences, a government which does not
provide such data, consistent with the
capacity of such government to obtain
such data, shall be presumed not to
have vigorously investigated,
prosecuted, convicted, or sentenced
such acts. During the periods prior to
the annual report submitted on June 1,
2004, and on June 1, 2005, and the
periods afterwards until September 30
of each such year, the Secretary of State
may disregard the presumption
contained in the preceding sentence if
the government has provided some data
to the Department of State regarding
such acts and the Secretary has
determined that the government is
making a good faith effort to collect
such data.
(2) Whether the government of the
country protects victims of severe forms
of trafficking in persons and encourages
their assistance in the investigation and
prosecution of such trafficking,
including provisions for legal
alternatives to their removal to countries
in which they would face retribution or
hardship, and ensures that victims are
not inappropriately incarcerated, fined,
or otherwise penalized solely for
unlawful acts as a direct result of being
trafficked, including by providing
training to law enforcement and
immigration officials regarding the
identification and treatment of
trafficking victims using approaches
that focus on the needs of the victims.
(3) Whether the government of the
country has adopted measures to
prevent severe forms of trafficking in
persons, such as measures to inform and
educate the public, including potential
victims, about the causes and
consequences of severe forms of
trafficking in persons, measures to
establish the identity of local
populations, including birth
registration, citizenship, and
nationality, measures to ensure that its
nationals who are deployed abroad as
part of a diplomatic, peacekeeping, or
other similar mission do not engage in
or facilitate severe forms of trafficking in
persons or exploit victims of such
trafficking, a transparent system for
remediating or punishing such public
officials as a deterrent, measures to
prevent the use of forced labor or child
labor in violation of international
standards, effective bilateral,
multilateral, or regional information
sharing and cooperation arrangements
with other countries, and effective
policies or laws regulating foreign labor
recruiters and holding them civilly and
criminally liable for fraudulent
recruiting.
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(4) Whether the government of the
country cooperates with other
governments in the investigation and
prosecution of severe forms of
trafficking in persons and has entered
into bilateral, multilateral, or regional
law enforcement cooperation and
coordination arrangements with other
countries.
(5) Whether the government of the
country extradites persons charged with
acts of severe forms of trafficking in
persons on substantially the same terms
and to substantially the same extent as
persons charged with other serious
crimes (or, to the extent such extradition
would be inconsistent with the laws of
such country or with international
agreements to which the country is a
party, whether the government is taking
all appropriate measures to modify or
replace such laws and treaties so as to
permit such extradition).
(6) Whether the government of the
country monitors immigration and
emigration patterns for evidence of
severe forms of trafficking in persons
and whether law enforcement agencies
of the country respond to any such
evidence in a manner that is consistent
with the vigorous investigation and
prosecution of acts of such trafficking,
as well as with the protection of human
rights of victims and the internationally
recognized human right to leave any
country, including one’s own, and to
return to one’s own country.
(7) Whether the government of the
country vigorously investigates,
prosecutes, convicts, and sentences
public officials, including diplomats
and soldiers, who participate in or
facilitate severe forms of trafficking in
persons, including nationals of the
country who are deployed abroad as
part of a diplomatic, peacekeeping, or
other similar mission who engage in or
facilitate severe forms of trafficking in
persons or exploit victims of such
trafficking, and takes all appropriate
measures against officials who condone
such trafficking. A government’s failure
to appropriately address public
allegations against such public officials,
especially once such officials have
returned to their home countries, shall
be considered inaction under these
criteria. After reasonable requests from
the Department of State for data
regarding such investigations,
prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences, a government which does not
provide such data consistent with its
resources shall be presumed not to have
vigorously investigated, prosecuted,
convicted, or sentenced such acts.
During the periods prior to the annual
report submitted on June 1, 2004, and
June 1, 2005, and the periods afterwards
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until September 30 of each such year,
the Secretary of State may disregard the
presumption contained in the preceding
sentence if the government has provided
some data to the Department of State
regarding such acts and the Secretary
has determined that the government is
making a good faith effort to collect
such data.
(8) Whether the percentage of victims
of severe forms of trafficking in the
country that are non-citizens of such
countries is insignificant.
(9) Whether the government has
entered into effective, transparent
partnerships, cooperative arrangements,
or agreements that have resulted in
concrete and measurable outcomes with
(A) domestic civil society
organizations, private sector entities, or
international nongovernmental
organizations, or into multilateral or
regional arrangements or agreements, to
assist the government’s efforts to
prevent trafficking, protect victims, and
punish traffickers; or
(B) the United States toward agreed
goals and objectives in the collective
fight against trafficking.
(10) Whether the government of the
country, consistent with the capacity of
such government, systematically
monitors its efforts to satisfy the criteria
described in paragraphs (1) through (8)
and makes available publicly a periodic
assessment of such efforts.
(11) Whether the government of the
country achieves appreciable progress
in eliminating severe forms of
trafficking when compared to the
assessment in the previous year.
(12) Whether the government of the
country has made serious and sustained
efforts to reduce the demand for
(A) commercial sex acts; and
(B) participation in international sex
tourism by nationals of the country.
III. Information Sought Relevant to the
Minimum Standards
Submissions should include, but need
not be limited to, answers to relevant
questions below for which the submitter
has direct professional experience.
Citations to source material should also
be provided. Note the country or
countries that are the focus of the
submission. Please see the Scope of
Interest section above for detailed
information regarding submission
requirements.
1. How have trafficking methods and
trends changed in the past 12 months?
For example, are there victims from new
countries of origin? Have new
vulnerable groups at particular risk of
human trafficking emerged? Is internal
trafficking or child trafficking
increasing? Has sex trafficking changed,
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for example from brothels to private
apartments? Is labor trafficking now
occurring in additional types of
industries or agricultural operations? Is
forced begging a problem? Does child
sex tourism occur in the country or
involve its nationals abroad, and if so,
what are their destination countries?
2. What were the government’s major
accomplishments in addressing human
trafficking?
3. What were the greatest deficiencies
in the government’s anti-trafficking
efforts? What were the limitations on
the government’s ability to address
human trafficking problems in practice?
4. In what ways have the
government’s efforts to combat
trafficking in persons changed in the
past year? What new laws, regulations,
policies, and implementation strategies
exist (e.g., substantive criminal laws and
procedures, mechanisms for civil
remedies, and victim-witness security,
generally and in relation to court
proceedings)? Have government policies
undermined or otherwise negatively
impacted anti-trafficking efforts within
that country? Does the country’s
legislation require proof of force, fraud,
or coercion (the ‘‘means’’) even in the
case to meet the legal definition of sex
trafficking for minors?
5. Please provide observations
regarding the implementation of
existing laws, policies, and procedures.
Are there laws criminalizing those who
knowingly solicit or patronize a
trafficking victim to perform a
commercial sex act and what are the
prescribed penalties?
6. Are the anti-trafficking laws and
sentences strict enough to reflect the
nature of the crime (e.g., commensurate
with crimes such as rape or
kidnapping)?
7. Please provide observations on
overall anti-trafficking law enforcement
efforts and the efforts of police and
prosecutors to pursue trafficking cases.
Were any trafficking cases investigated
and/or prosecuted, and any traffickers
convicted during the reporting period?
Is the government equally vigorous in
pursuing labor trafficking and sex
trafficking, internal and transnational
trafficking, and crimes that involve its
own nationals or foreign citizens? Please
note any efforts to investigate and
prosecute suspects for knowingly
soliciting or patronizing a sex trafficking
victim to perform a commercial sex act.
8. Do government officials understand
the nature of all forms of trafficking? If
not, please provide examples of
misconceptions or misunderstandings.
9. Do judges appear appropriately
knowledgeable and sensitized to
trafficking cases? What sentences have
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courts imposed upon traffickers? How
common are suspended sentences and
prison time of less than one year for
convicted traffickers? How does this
compare to other crimes such as rape
and kidnapping?
10. What was the extent of official
complicity in trafficking crimes? Were
officials, government contractors, or
government grantees condoning
trafficking in persons, operating as
traffickers (whether subjecting persons
to forced labor and/or sex trafficking
offenses), enabling traffickers, or taking
actions that may facilitate trafficking
(including accepting bribes to allow
undocumented border crossings or
suspending active investigations of
suspected traffickers, etc.)? Was there a
policy or pattern of trafficking in
government-funded programs? Were
there examples of trafficking occurring
in state institutions (e.g., prisons,
orphanages or child foster homes,
institutions for mentally or physically
disabled persons, camps, compounds, or
outposts)? What proactive measures did
the government take to prevent official
complicity in trafficking in persons
crimes? How did the government
respond to reports of complicity that
arose during the reporting period? Has
the government made efforts to
investigate, prosecute, convict, and
sentence complicit officials?
11. Has the government vigorously
investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and
sentenced nationals of the country
deployed abroad as part of a diplomatic,
peacekeeping, or other similar mission
who engage in or facilitate trafficking,
including domestic servitude?
12. Has the government investigated,
prosecuted, convicted, and sentenced
members of organized crime groups that
are involved in trafficking?
13. Did government officials engage
in, support, or otherwise facilitate the
unlawful recruitment and use of
children in armed forces or security
forces? [Note: this can include combat
roles as well as support roles, but please
be specific in this regard if possible.]
Did any government-supported
organizations or armed groups engage in
the unlawful recruitment and use of
children in such roles? Does the
government have any children held in
military detention due to their
suspected roles as child soldiers? Do
international monitoring organizations
(e.g., United Nations, International
Committee of the Red Cross, Human
Rights Watch) have unhindered access
to interview these detained children
and/or child soldiers and monitor the
conditions of their detention? Does the
government have any hand-over
procedures to transfer these children to
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civilian authorities? Describe the
conditions of military detention of child
soldiers and/or children accused of
association with armed groups,
including: (1) The typical length of time
the children are held; (2) access to legal
aid and rehabilitation services; (3) the
conditions of the detention facility
including food, sanitation, crowding,
etc. and whether children are segregated
from adults and by gender; (4)
allegations of suspected sexual
exploitation while in detention,
including of female child soldiers; and
(5) allegations children and/or child
soldiers are used for labor, intelligence
gathering, or to screen other detained
persons.
14. Please provide observations
regarding government efforts to address
the issue of unlawful child soldiering.
Describe the government’s efforts to
disarm and demobilize child soldiers, to
provide protection services and
reintegrate former child soldiers, and to
monitor the wellbeing of such children
after reintegration.
15. Did the government make a
coordinated, proactive effort to identify
victims of all forms of trafficking? Did
officials effectively coordinate among
one another and with relevant
nongovernmental organizations to refer
victims to care? Is there any screening
conducted before deportation or when
detaining migrants, including
unaccompanied minors, to determine
whether individuals were subjected to
trafficking? Were such individuals
referred for protection services? Does
the government also partner with
nongovernmental organizations to
conduct screenings? What happens if a
potential case of human trafficking is
identified?
16. What victim services are provided
(legal, medical, food, shelter,
interpretation, mental health care,
employment, training, etc.)? Who
provides these services? If
nongovernment organizations provide
the services, does the government
support their work either financially or
otherwise? Are these service providers
required to be trained on human
trafficking and victim identification?
17. What was the overall quality of
victim care? How could victim services
be improved? Was government funding
for trafficking victim protection and
assistance adequate? Are there gaps in
access to victim services? Are services
available regardless of geographic
location within the country? Are
services victim-centered and traumainformed?
18. Are services provided adequately
to victims of both labor and sex
trafficking? Adults and children,
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including men and boys? Citizens and
noncitizens? LGBTI persons? Persons
with disabilities? Were such benefits
linked to whether a victim assisted law
enforcement or participated in a trial, or
whether a trafficker was convicted?
Could adult victims leave shelters at
will? Could victims seek employment
and work while receiving assistance?
19. Do service providers and law
enforcement work together
cooperatively, for instance to share
information about trafficking trends or
to plan for services after a raid? What is
the level of cooperation,
communication, and trust between
service providers and law enforcement?
20. Were there means by which
victims could obtain restitution from
defendants in criminal cases or file civil
suits against traffickers for damages, and
did this happen in practice? Did
prosecutors request and/or courts order
restitution in all cases where it was
required?
21. How did the government
encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of
trafficking? How did the government
protect victims during the trial process?
If a victim was a witness in a court case,
was the victim permitted to obtain
employment, move freely about the
country, or leave the country pending
trial proceedings? How did the
government work to ensure victims
were not re-traumatized during
participation in trial proceedings? Can
victims provide testimony via video or
written statements? Were victims’
identities kept confidential as part of
such proceedings?
22. Did the government provide,
through a formal policy or otherwise,
temporary or permanent residency
status, or other relief from deportation,
for foreign victims of human trafficking
who may face retribution or hardship in
the countries to which they would be
deported? Were victims given the
opportunity to seek legal employment
while in this temporary or permanent
residency? Were such benefits linked to
whether a victim assisted law
enforcement, participated in a trial or
whether there was a successful
prosecution? Does the government
repatriate victims who wish to return
home? Does the government assist with
third country resettlement? Are victims
awaiting repatriation or third country
resettlement offered services? Are
victims indeed repatriated or are they
deported?
23. Does the government effectively
assist its nationals exploited abroad?
Does the government work to ensure
victims receive adequate assistance and
support for their repatriation while in
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destination countries? Does the
government provide adequate assistance
to repatriated victims after their return
to their countries of origin, and if so,
what forms of assistance?
24. Does the government
inappropriately detain or imprison
trafficking victims? Does the
government punish, penalize, or detain
trafficking victims for unlawful acts
committed as a result of being subjected
to trafficking, such as forgery of
documents, illegal immigration,
unauthorized employment, prostitution,
theft, or drug production or transport?
Does law enforcement screen for
trafficking victims when arresting
individuals in prostitution?
25. What efforts has the government
made to prevent human trafficking? Are
there laws prohibiting employers or
labor agents from confiscating workers’
passports or travel documents,
switching contracts without the
workers’ consent, or withholding
payment of salaries as a means of
keeping workers in a state of compelled
service? Are these laws implemented to
hold violators accountable and/or are
such crimes investigated by law
enforcement as potential indicators of
trafficking?
26. Do authorities conduct criminal
investigations when indicators of
trafficking are identified in the context
of labor inspections?
27. Does the government operate a
hotline for potential victims? If so, how
many calls did the hotline receive?
What are the hours of operation? What
languages are spoken? How many
potential victims were identified and
cases referred to law enforcement as a
result of calls to the hotline?
28. Has the government entered into
effective bilateral, multilateral, or
regional information-sharing and
cooperation arrangements that have
resulted in concrete and measurable
outcomes?
29. Did the government provide
assistance to other governments in
combating trafficking in persons
through trainings or other assistance
programs?
30. Does the government have
effective policies or laws regulating
foreign labor recruitment, including the
activities of recruitment and placement
agencies and individual recruiters, both
licensed and unlicensed? What did the
government do to regulate recruitment
practices that are known to contribute to
trafficking in persons? Specifically, did
the government prohibit (in any context)
charging workers recruitment fees? Also
indicate if the government prohibited
the recruitment of workers through
knowingly fraudulent job offers
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:08 Dec 09, 2019
Jkt 250001
(including misrepresenting wages,
working conditions, location, or nature
of the job), contract switching,
confiscating or otherwise denying
workers access to their identity
documents, or recruitment of workers in
hazardous or unsafe work? What steps
did the government take to minimize
the trafficking risks faced by migrant
workers departing from or arriving in
the country and to raise awareness
among potential labor migrants about
the risks of human trafficking, legal
limits on recruitment fees, or their rights
while abroad? What agreements does
the government have with either
sending or receiving countries of
migrant labor regarding safe and
responsible recruitment? Are domestic
workers (both nationals of the country
and foreign nationals) protected under
existing labor laws?
31. What measures has the
government taken to reduce the
participation by nationals of the country
in international and domestic child sex
tourism? If any of the country’s
nationals are perpetrators of child sex
tourism, do the country’s child sexual
abuse laws allow the prosecution of
suspected sex tourists for crimes
committed abroad?
32. What measures did the
government take to establish the
identity of local populations, including
birth registration and issuance of
documentation, citizenship, and
nationality?
33. Did the government fund any antitrafficking information, education, or
awareness campaigns or training? Were
these campaigns or trainings targeting
potential trafficking victims, potential
first responders or other trusted
authorities, known trafficking sectors or
vulnerabilities, and/or the demand for
human trafficking (e.g. buyers of
commercial sex or goods produced with
forced labor)? Does the government
provide financial support to
nongovernment organizations working
to promote public awareness?
34. Were there government policies,
regulations, and agreements relating to
migration, labor, trade, and investment
that had an impact, positive or negative,
on forced labor or sex trafficking or
vulnerabilities to such crimes? Please
describe how this has impacted antitrafficking efforts.
35. Please provide additional
information and/or recommendations to
improve the government’s antitrafficking efforts.
PO 00000
Frm 00087
Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
67509
36. Please highlight effective
strategies and practices that other
governments could consider adopting.
Kari A. Johnstone,
Acting Director, Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2019–26520 Filed 12–9–19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–17–P
DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
National Highway Traffic Safety
Administration
[Docket No. NHTSA–2018–0104, Notice 1]
Spartan Motors USA, Inc., Receipt of
Petition for Decision of
Inconsequential Noncompliance
National Highway Traffic
Safety Administration (NHTSA),
Department of Transportation (DOT).
ACTION: Receipt of petition.
AGENCY:
Spartan Motors USA, Inc.
(Spartan), has determined that certain
model year (MY) 2017–2019 Spartan
Emergency Response Gladiator and
Metro Star chassis do not fully comply
with Federal Motor Vehicle Safety
Standard (FMVSS) No. 121, Air Brake
Systems. Spartan filed a noncompliance
report dated December 26, 2018,
subsequently petitioned NHTSA on
November 12, 2018, and amended on
July 31, 2019, for a decision that the
subject noncompliance is
inconsequential as it relates to motor
vehicle safety. This document
announces receipt of petition and offers
the opportunity for public comment.
DATES: The closing date for comments
on the petition is January 9, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Interested persons are
invited to submit written data, views,
and arguments on this petition.
Comments must refer to the docket
number and notice number cited in the
title of this notice and may be submitted
by any of the following methods:
• Mail: Send comments by mail
addressed to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590.
• Hand Delivery: Deliver comments
by hand to the U.S. Department of
Transportation, Docket Operations, M–
30, West Building Ground Floor, Room
W12–140, 1200 New Jersey Avenue SE,
Washington, DC 20590. The Docket
Section is open on weekdays from 10
a.m. to 5 p.m. except for Federal
Holidays.
• Electronically: Submit comments
electronically by logging onto the
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
10DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 84, Number 237 (Tuesday, December 10, 2019)]
[Notices]
[Pages 67505-67509]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2019-26520]
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10970]
Request for Information for the 2020 Trafficking in Persons
Report
ACTION: Notice; request for information.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
SUMMARY: The Department of State (``the Department'') requests written
information to assist in reporting on the degree to which the United
States and foreign governments meet the minimum standards for the
elimination of trafficking in persons (``minimum standards'') that are
prescribed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as
amended (``TVPA''). This information will assist in the preparation of
the Trafficking in Persons Report (``TIP Report'') that the Department
submits annually to the U.S. Congress on governments' concrete actions
to meet the minimum standards. Foreign governments that do not meet the
minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so may
be subject to restrictions on nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign
assistance from the United States, as defined by the TVPA. Submissions
must be made in writing to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
in Persons at the Department of State by January 15, 2020. Please refer
to the Addresses, Scope of Interest, and Information Sought sections of
this Notice for additional instructions on submission requirements.
DATES: Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on January 15, 2020.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions and supporting documentation may be
submitted by the following methods:
Email (preferred): [email protected] for submissions
related to foreign governments and [email protected] for
submissions related to the United States.
Mail, Express Delivery, Hand Delivery and Messenger
Service: U.S. Department of State, Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), 2201 C Street NW, SA-09 Suite NE3054,
Washington, DC 20520-0903. Please note that materials submitted by mail
may be delayed due to security screenings and processing.
Scope of Interest: The Department requests information relevant to
assessing the United States' and foreign governments' concrete actions
to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in
persons during the reporting period (April 1, 2019-March 31, 2020). The
minimum standards are listed in the Background section. Submissions
must include information relevant to efforts to meet the minimum
standards and should include, but need not be limited to, answering the
questions in the Information Sought section. Submissions need not
include answers to all the questions; only those questions for which
the submitter has direct professional experience should be answered and
that experience should be noted. For any critique or deficiency
described, please provide a recommendation to remedy it. Note the
country or countries that are the focus of the submission.
Submissions may include written narratives that answer the
questions presented in this Notice, research, studies, statistics,
fieldwork, training materials, evaluations, assessments, and other
relevant evidence of local, state/provincial, and federal/central
government efforts. To the extent possible, precise dates and numbers
of officials or citizens affected should be included.
Written narratives providing factual information should provide
citations of sources, and copies of and links to the source material
should be provided. Please send electronic copies of the entire
submission, including source material. If primary sources are used,
such as research studies, interviews, direct observations, or other
sources of quantitative or qualitative data, provide details on the
research or data-gathering methodology and any supporting
documentation. The Department does not include in the TIP Report, and
is therefore not seeking, information on prostitution, migrant
smuggling, visa fraud, or child abuse, unless such crimes also involve
the elements of sex or labor trafficking.
Confidentiality: Please provide the name, phone number, and email
address of a single point of contact for any submission. It is
Department practice not to identify in the TIP Report information
concerning sources to safeguard those sources. Please note, however,
that any information submitted to the Department may be releasable
pursuant to the provisions of the Freedom of Information Act or other
applicable law. Submissions related to the United States will be shared
with U.S. government agencies, as will submissions relevant to efforts
by other U.S. government agencies.
Response: This is a request for information only; there will be no
response to submissions.
SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION:
1. Background
The TIP Report: The TIP Report is the most comprehensive worldwide
report on governments' efforts to combat trafficking in persons. It
represents an annually updated, global look at the nature and scope of
trafficking in persons and the broad range of government actions to
confront and eliminate it. The U.S. government uses the TIP Report to
engage in diplomacy, to encourage partnership in creating and
implementing laws and policies to combat trafficking, and to target
resources on prevention, protection, and prosecution programs.
Worldwide, the TIP Report is used by international organizations,
foreign governments, and nongovernmental organizations as a tool to
examine where resources are most
[[Page 67506]]
needed. Prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing
trafficking are the ultimate goals of the TIP Report and of the U.S
government's anti-trafficking policy.
The Department prepares the TIP Report using information from
across the U.S. government, foreign government officials,
nongovernmental and international organizations, survivors of
trafficking in persons, published reports, and research trips to every
region. The TIP Report focuses on concrete actions that governments
take to fight trafficking in persons, including prosecutions,
convictions, and sentences for traffickers, as well as victim
identification and protection measures and prevention efforts. Each TIP
Report narrative also includes recommendations for each country. These
recommendations are used to assist the Department in measuring
governments' progress from one year to the next and determining whether
governments meet the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking in persons or are making significant efforts to do so.
The TVPA creates a four-tier ranking system. Tier placement is
based principally on the extent of government action to combat
trafficking. The Department first evaluates whether the government
fully meets the TVPA's minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking. Governments that do so are placed on Tier 1. For other
governments, the Department considers the extent of such efforts.
Governments that are making significant efforts to meet the minimum
standards are placed on Tier 2. Governments that do not fully meet the
minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so are
placed on Tier 3. Finally, the Department considers Special Watch List
criteria and, when applicable, places countries on Tier 2 Watch List.
For more information, the 2019 TIP Report can be found at
www.state.gov/reports/2019-trafficking-in-persons-report/.
Since the inception of the TIP Report in 2001, the number of
countries included and ranked has more than doubled; the 2019 TIP
Report included 187 countries and territories. Around the world, the
TIP Report and the promising practices reflected therein have inspired
legislation, national action plans, policy implementation, program
funding, protection mechanisms that complement prosecution efforts, and
a stronger global understanding of this crime.
Since 2003, the primary reporting on the United States' anti-
trafficking activities has been through the annual Attorney General's
Report to Congress and Assessment of U.S. Government Activities to
Combat Human Trafficking (``AG Report'') mandated by section 105 of the
TVPA (22 U.S.C. 7103(d)(7)). Since 2010, the TIP Report, through a
collaborative interagency process, has included an assessment of U.S.
government anti-trafficking efforts in light of the minimum standards
to eliminate trafficking in persons set forth by the TVPA.
II. Minimum Standards for the Elimination of Trafficking in Persons
The TVPA sets forth the minimum standards for the elimination of
trafficking in persons as follows:
(1) The government of the country should prohibit severe forms of
trafficking in persons and punish acts of such trafficking.
(2) For the knowing commission of any act of sex trafficking
involving force, fraud, coercion, or in which the victim of sex
trafficking is a child incapable of giving meaningful consent, or of
trafficking which includes rape or kidnapping or which causes a death,
the government of the country should prescribe punishment commensurate
with that for grave crimes, such as forcible sexual assault.
(3) For the knowing commission of any act of a severe form of
trafficking in persons, the government of the country should prescribe
punishment that is sufficiently stringent to deter and that adequately
reflects the heinous nature of the offense.
(4) The government of the country should make serious and sustained
efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.
The following factors should be considered as indicia of serious
and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in
persons:
(1) Whether the government of the country vigorously investigates
and prosecutes acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons, and
convicts and sentences persons responsible for such acts, that take
place wholly or partly within the territory of the country, including,
as appropriate, requiring incarceration of individuals convicted of
such acts. For purposes of the preceding sentence, suspended or
significantly reduced sentences for convictions of principal actors in
cases of severe forms of trafficking in persons shall be considered, on
a case-by-case basis, whether to be considered as an indicator of
serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking
in persons. After reasonable requests from the Department of State for
data regarding investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences, a government which does not provide such data, consistent
with the capacity of such government to obtain such data, shall be
presumed not to have vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted, or
sentenced such acts. During the periods prior to the annual report
submitted on June 1, 2004, and on June 1, 2005, and the periods
afterwards until September 30 of each such year, the Secretary of State
may disregard the presumption contained in the preceding sentence if
the government has provided some data to the Department of State
regarding such acts and the Secretary has determined that the
government is making a good faith effort to collect such data.
(2) Whether the government of the country protects victims of
severe forms of trafficking in persons and encourages their assistance
in the investigation and prosecution of such trafficking, including
provisions for legal alternatives to their removal to countries in
which they would face retribution or hardship, and ensures that victims
are not inappropriately incarcerated, fined, or otherwise penalized
solely for unlawful acts as a direct result of being trafficked,
including by providing training to law enforcement and immigration
officials regarding the identification and treatment of trafficking
victims using approaches that focus on the needs of the victims.
(3) Whether the government of the country has adopted measures to
prevent severe forms of trafficking in persons, such as measures to
inform and educate the public, including potential victims, about the
causes and consequences of severe forms of trafficking in persons,
measures to establish the identity of local populations, including
birth registration, citizenship, and nationality, measures to ensure
that its nationals who are deployed abroad as part of a diplomatic,
peacekeeping, or other similar mission do not engage in or facilitate
severe forms of trafficking in persons or exploit victims of such
trafficking, a transparent system for remediating or punishing such
public officials as a deterrent, measures to prevent the use of forced
labor or child labor in violation of international standards, effective
bilateral, multilateral, or regional information sharing and
cooperation arrangements with other countries, and effective policies
or laws regulating foreign labor recruiters and holding them civilly
and criminally liable for fraudulent recruiting.
[[Page 67507]]
(4) Whether the government of the country cooperates with other
governments in the investigation and prosecution of severe forms of
trafficking in persons and has entered into bilateral, multilateral, or
regional law enforcement cooperation and coordination arrangements with
other countries.
(5) Whether the government of the country extradites persons
charged with acts of severe forms of trafficking in persons on
substantially the same terms and to substantially the same extent as
persons charged with other serious crimes (or, to the extent such
extradition would be inconsistent with the laws of such country or with
international agreements to which the country is a party, whether the
government is taking all appropriate measures to modify or replace such
laws and treaties so as to permit such extradition).
(6) Whether the government of the country monitors immigration and
emigration patterns for evidence of severe forms of trafficking in
persons and whether law enforcement agencies of the country respond to
any such evidence in a manner that is consistent with the vigorous
investigation and prosecution of acts of such trafficking, as well as
with the protection of human rights of victims and the internationally
recognized human right to leave any country, including one's own, and
to return to one's own country.
(7) Whether the government of the country vigorously investigates,
prosecutes, convicts, and sentences public officials, including
diplomats and soldiers, who participate in or facilitate severe forms
of trafficking in persons, including nationals of the country who are
deployed abroad as part of a diplomatic, peacekeeping, or other similar
mission who engage in or facilitate severe forms of trafficking in
persons or exploit victims of such trafficking, and takes all
appropriate measures against officials who condone such trafficking. A
government's failure to appropriately address public allegations
against such public officials, especially once such officials have
returned to their home countries, shall be considered inaction under
these criteria. After reasonable requests from the Department of State
for data regarding such investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences, a government which does not provide such data consistent
with its resources shall be presumed not to have vigorously
investigated, prosecuted, convicted, or sentenced such acts. During the
periods prior to the annual report submitted on June 1, 2004, and June
1, 2005, and the periods afterwards until September 30 of each such
year, the Secretary of State may disregard the presumption contained in
the preceding sentence if the government has provided some data to the
Department of State regarding such acts and the Secretary has
determined that the government is making a good faith effort to collect
such data.
(8) Whether the percentage of victims of severe forms of
trafficking in the country that are non-citizens of such countries is
insignificant.
(9) Whether the government has entered into effective, transparent
partnerships, cooperative arrangements, or agreements that have
resulted in concrete and measurable outcomes with
(A) domestic civil society organizations, private sector entities,
or international nongovernmental organizations, or into multilateral or
regional arrangements or agreements, to assist the government's efforts
to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and punish traffickers; or
(B) the United States toward agreed goals and objectives in the
collective fight against trafficking.
(10) Whether the government of the country, consistent with the
capacity of such government, systematically monitors its efforts to
satisfy the criteria described in paragraphs (1) through (8) and makes
available publicly a periodic assessment of such efforts.
(11) Whether the government of the country achieves appreciable
progress in eliminating severe forms of trafficking when compared to
the assessment in the previous year.
(12) Whether the government of the country has made serious and
sustained efforts to reduce the demand for
(A) commercial sex acts; and
(B) participation in international sex tourism by nationals of the
country.
III. Information Sought Relevant to the Minimum Standards
Submissions should include, but need not be limited to, answers to
relevant questions below for which the submitter has direct
professional experience. Citations to source material should also be
provided. Note the country or countries that are the focus of the
submission. Please see the Scope of Interest section above for detailed
information regarding submission requirements.
1. How have trafficking methods and trends changed in the past 12
months? For example, are there victims from new countries of origin?
Have new vulnerable groups at particular risk of human trafficking
emerged? Is internal trafficking or child trafficking increasing? Has
sex trafficking changed, for example from brothels to private
apartments? Is labor trafficking now occurring in additional types of
industries or agricultural operations? Is forced begging a problem?
Does child sex tourism occur in the country or involve its nationals
abroad, and if so, what are their destination countries?
2. What were the government's major accomplishments in addressing
human trafficking?
3. What were the greatest deficiencies in the government's anti-
trafficking efforts? What were the limitations on the government's
ability to address human trafficking problems in practice?
4. In what ways have the government's efforts to combat trafficking
in persons changed in the past year? What new laws, regulations,
policies, and implementation strategies exist (e.g., substantive
criminal laws and procedures, mechanisms for civil remedies, and
victim-witness security, generally and in relation to court
proceedings)? Have government policies undermined or otherwise
negatively impacted anti-trafficking efforts within that country? Does
the country's legislation require proof of force, fraud, or coercion
(the ``means'') even in the case to meet the legal definition of sex
trafficking for minors?
5. Please provide observations regarding the implementation of
existing laws, policies, and procedures. Are there laws criminalizing
those who knowingly solicit or patronize a trafficking victim to
perform a commercial sex act and what are the prescribed penalties?
6. Are the anti-trafficking laws and sentences strict enough to
reflect the nature of the crime (e.g., commensurate with crimes such as
rape or kidnapping)?
7. Please provide observations on overall anti-trafficking law
enforcement efforts and the efforts of police and prosecutors to pursue
trafficking cases. Were any trafficking cases investigated and/or
prosecuted, and any traffickers convicted during the reporting period?
Is the government equally vigorous in pursuing labor trafficking and
sex trafficking, internal and transnational trafficking, and crimes
that involve its own nationals or foreign citizens? Please note any
efforts to investigate and prosecute suspects for knowingly soliciting
or patronizing a sex trafficking victim to perform a commercial sex
act.
8. Do government officials understand the nature of all forms of
trafficking? If not, please provide examples of misconceptions or
misunderstandings.
9. Do judges appear appropriately knowledgeable and sensitized to
trafficking cases? What sentences have
[[Page 67508]]
courts imposed upon traffickers? How common are suspended sentences and
prison time of less than one year for convicted traffickers? How does
this compare to other crimes such as rape and kidnapping?
10. What was the extent of official complicity in trafficking
crimes? Were officials, government contractors, or government grantees
condoning trafficking in persons, operating as traffickers (whether
subjecting persons to forced labor and/or sex trafficking offenses),
enabling traffickers, or taking actions that may facilitate trafficking
(including accepting bribes to allow undocumented border crossings or
suspending active investigations of suspected traffickers, etc.)? Was
there a policy or pattern of trafficking in government-funded programs?
Were there examples of trafficking occurring in state institutions
(e.g., prisons, orphanages or child foster homes, institutions for
mentally or physically disabled persons, camps, compounds, or
outposts)? What proactive measures did the government take to prevent
official complicity in trafficking in persons crimes? How did the
government respond to reports of complicity that arose during the
reporting period? Has the government made efforts to investigate,
prosecute, convict, and sentence complicit officials?
11. Has the government vigorously investigated, prosecuted,
convicted, and sentenced nationals of the country deployed abroad as
part of a diplomatic, peacekeeping, or other similar mission who engage
in or facilitate trafficking, including domestic servitude?
12. Has the government investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and
sentenced members of organized crime groups that are involved in
trafficking?
13. Did government officials engage in, support, or otherwise
facilitate the unlawful recruitment and use of children in armed forces
or security forces? [Note: this can include combat roles as well as
support roles, but please be specific in this regard if possible.] Did
any government-supported organizations or armed groups engage in the
unlawful recruitment and use of children in such roles? Does the
government have any children held in military detention due to their
suspected roles as child soldiers? Do international monitoring
organizations (e.g., United Nations, International Committee of the Red
Cross, Human Rights Watch) have unhindered access to interview these
detained children and/or child soldiers and monitor the conditions of
their detention? Does the government have any hand-over procedures to
transfer these children to civilian authorities? Describe the
conditions of military detention of child soldiers and/or children
accused of association with armed groups, including: (1) The typical
length of time the children are held; (2) access to legal aid and
rehabilitation services; (3) the conditions of the detention facility
including food, sanitation, crowding, etc. and whether children are
segregated from adults and by gender; (4) allegations of suspected
sexual exploitation while in detention, including of female child
soldiers; and (5) allegations children and/or child soldiers are used
for labor, intelligence gathering, or to screen other detained persons.
14. Please provide observations regarding government efforts to
address the issue of unlawful child soldiering. Describe the
government's efforts to disarm and demobilize child soldiers, to
provide protection services and reintegrate former child soldiers, and
to monitor the wellbeing of such children after reintegration.
15. Did the government make a coordinated, proactive effort to
identify victims of all forms of trafficking? Did officials effectively
coordinate among one another and with relevant nongovernmental
organizations to refer victims to care? Is there any screening
conducted before deportation or when detaining migrants, including
unaccompanied minors, to determine whether individuals were subjected
to trafficking? Were such individuals referred for protection services?
Does the government also partner with nongovernmental organizations to
conduct screenings? What happens if a potential case of human
trafficking is identified?
16. What victim services are provided (legal, medical, food,
shelter, interpretation, mental health care, employment, training,
etc.)? Who provides these services? If nongovernment organizations
provide the services, does the government support their work either
financially or otherwise? Are these service providers required to be
trained on human trafficking and victim identification?
17. What was the overall quality of victim care? How could victim
services be improved? Was government funding for trafficking victim
protection and assistance adequate? Are there gaps in access to victim
services? Are services available regardless of geographic location
within the country? Are services victim-centered and trauma-informed?
18. Are services provided adequately to victims of both labor and
sex trafficking? Adults and children, including men and boys? Citizens
and noncitizens? LGBTI persons? Persons with disabilities? Were such
benefits linked to whether a victim assisted law enforcement or
participated in a trial, or whether a trafficker was convicted? Could
adult victims leave shelters at will? Could victims seek employment and
work while receiving assistance?
19. Do service providers and law enforcement work together
cooperatively, for instance to share information about trafficking
trends or to plan for services after a raid? What is the level of
cooperation, communication, and trust between service providers and law
enforcement?
20. Were there means by which victims could obtain restitution from
defendants in criminal cases or file civil suits against traffickers
for damages, and did this happen in practice? Did prosecutors request
and/or courts order restitution in all cases where it was required?
21. How did the government encourage victims to assist in the
investigation and prosecution of trafficking? How did the government
protect victims during the trial process? If a victim was a witness in
a court case, was the victim permitted to obtain employment, move
freely about the country, or leave the country pending trial
proceedings? How did the government work to ensure victims were not re-
traumatized during participation in trial proceedings? Can victims
provide testimony via video or written statements? Were victims'
identities kept confidential as part of such proceedings?
22. Did the government provide, through a formal policy or
otherwise, temporary or permanent residency status, or other relief
from deportation, for foreign victims of human trafficking who may face
retribution or hardship in the countries to which they would be
deported? Were victims given the opportunity to seek legal employment
while in this temporary or permanent residency? Were such benefits
linked to whether a victim assisted law enforcement, participated in a
trial or whether there was a successful prosecution? Does the
government repatriate victims who wish to return home? Does the
government assist with third country resettlement? Are victims awaiting
repatriation or third country resettlement offered services? Are
victims indeed repatriated or are they deported?
23. Does the government effectively assist its nationals exploited
abroad? Does the government work to ensure victims receive adequate
assistance and support for their repatriation while in
[[Page 67509]]
destination countries? Does the government provide adequate assistance
to repatriated victims after their return to their countries of origin,
and if so, what forms of assistance?
24. Does the government inappropriately detain or imprison
trafficking victims? Does the government punish, penalize, or detain
trafficking victims for unlawful acts committed as a result of being
subjected to trafficking, such as forgery of documents, illegal
immigration, unauthorized employment, prostitution, theft, or drug
production or transport? Does law enforcement screen for trafficking
victims when arresting individuals in prostitution?
25. What efforts has the government made to prevent human
trafficking? Are there laws prohibiting employers or labor agents from
confiscating workers' passports or travel documents, switching
contracts without the workers' consent, or withholding payment of
salaries as a means of keeping workers in a state of compelled service?
Are these laws implemented to hold violators accountable and/or are
such crimes investigated by law enforcement as potential indicators of
trafficking?
26. Do authorities conduct criminal investigations when indicators
of trafficking are identified in the context of labor inspections?
27. Does the government operate a hotline for potential victims? If
so, how many calls did the hotline receive? What are the hours of
operation? What languages are spoken? How many potential victims were
identified and cases referred to law enforcement as a result of calls
to the hotline?
28. Has the government entered into effective bilateral,
multilateral, or regional information-sharing and cooperation
arrangements that have resulted in concrete and measurable outcomes?
29. Did the government provide assistance to other governments in
combating trafficking in persons through trainings or other assistance
programs?
30. Does the government have effective policies or laws regulating
foreign labor recruitment, including the activities of recruitment and
placement agencies and individual recruiters, both licensed and
unlicensed? What did the government do to regulate recruitment
practices that are known to contribute to trafficking in persons?
Specifically, did the government prohibit (in any context) charging
workers recruitment fees? Also indicate if the government prohibited
the recruitment of workers through knowingly fraudulent job offers
(including misrepresenting wages, working conditions, location, or
nature of the job), contract switching, confiscating or otherwise
denying workers access to their identity documents, or recruitment of
workers in hazardous or unsafe work? What steps did the government take
to minimize the trafficking risks faced by migrant workers departing
from or arriving in the country and to raise awareness among potential
labor migrants about the risks of human trafficking, legal limits on
recruitment fees, or their rights while abroad? What agreements does
the government have with either sending or receiving countries of
migrant labor regarding safe and responsible recruitment? Are domestic
workers (both nationals of the country and foreign nationals) protected
under existing labor laws?
31. What measures has the government taken to reduce the
participation by nationals of the country in international and domestic
child sex tourism? If any of the country's nationals are perpetrators
of child sex tourism, do the country's child sexual abuse laws allow
the prosecution of suspected sex tourists for crimes committed abroad?
32. What measures did the government take to establish the identity
of local populations, including birth registration and issuance of
documentation, citizenship, and nationality?
33. Did the government fund any anti-trafficking information,
education, or awareness campaigns or training? Were these campaigns or
trainings targeting potential trafficking victims, potential first
responders or other trusted authorities, known trafficking sectors or
vulnerabilities, and/or the demand for human trafficking (e.g. buyers
of commercial sex or goods produced with forced labor)? Does the
government provide financial support to nongovernment organizations
working to promote public awareness?
34. Were there government policies, regulations, and agreements
relating to migration, labor, trade, and investment that had an impact,
positive or negative, on forced labor or sex trafficking or
vulnerabilities to such crimes? Please describe how this has impacted
anti-trafficking efforts.
35. Please provide additional information and/or recommendations to
improve the government's anti-trafficking efforts.
36. Please highlight effective strategies and practices that other
governments could consider adopting.
Kari A. Johnstone,
Acting Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2019-26520 Filed 12-9-19; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-17-P
