Request for Information for the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report, 70562-70567 [2021-26806]
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III. Date of Effectiveness of the
Proposed Rule Change and Timing for
Commission Action
Because the foregoing proposed rule
change does not:
A. Significantly affect the protection
of investors or the public interest;
B. impose any significant burden on
competition; and
C. become operative for 30 days from
the date on which it was filed, or such
shorter time as the Commission may
designate,
it has become effective pursuant to
Section 19(b)(3)(A) of the Act 17 and
Rule 19b–4(f)(6) 18 thereunder.
At any time within 60 days of the
filing of the proposed rule change, the
Commission summarily may
temporarily suspend such rule change if
it appears to the Commission that such
action is necessary or appropriate in the
public interest, for the protection of
investors, or otherwise in furtherance of
the purposes of the Act. If the
Commission takes such action, the
Commission will institute proceedings
to determine whether the proposed rule
change should be approved or
disapproved.
IV. Solicitation of Comments
Interested persons are invited to
submit written data, views, and
arguments concerning the foregoing,
including whether the proposed rule
change is consistent with the Act.
Comments may be submitted by any of
the following methods:
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Electronic Comments
• Use the Commission’s internet
comment form (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml); or
• Send an email to rule-comments@
sec.gov. Please include File Number SR–
CBOE–2021–070 on the subject line.
Paper Comments
• Send paper comments in triplicate
to Secretary, Securities and Exchange
Commission, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549–1090.
All submissions should refer to File
Number SR–CBOE–2021–070. This file
number should be included on the
subject line if email is used. To help the
Commission process and review your
comments more efficiently, please use
only one method. The Commission will
post all comments on the Commission’s
internet website (https://www.sec.gov/
rules/sro.shtml). Copies of the
submission, all subsequent
amendments, all written statements
with respect to the proposed rule
17 15
18 17
U.S.C. 78s(b)(3)(A).
CFR 240.19b–4(f)(6).
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change that are filed with the
Commission, and all written
communications relating to the
proposed rule change between the
Commission and any person, other than
those that may be withheld from the
public in accordance with the
provisions of 5 U.S.C. 552, will be
available for website viewing and
printing in the Commission’s Public
Reference Room, 100 F Street NE,
Washington, DC 20549 on official
business days between the hours of
10:00 a.m. and 3:00 p.m. Copies of the
filing also will be available for
inspection and copying at the principal
office of the Exchange. All comments
received will be posted without change.
Persons submitting comments are
cautioned that we do not redact or edit
personal identifying information from
comment submissions. You should
submit only information that you wish
to make available publicly. All
submissions should refer to File
Number SR–CBOE–2021–070 and
should be submitted on or before
January 3, 2022.
For the Commission, by the Division of
Trading and Markets, pursuant to delegated
authority.19
J. Matthew DeLesDernier,
Assistant Secretary.
[FR Doc. 2021–26713 Filed 12–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 8011–01–P
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 11605]
Request for Information for the 2022
Trafficking in Persons Report
Request for information for the
2022 Trafficking in Persons Report.
ACTION:
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
SUMMARY:
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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 February 1, 2022. 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 February 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions and
supporting documentation may be
submitted by the following method:
• Email: tipreport@state.gov for
submissions related to foreign
governments and tipreportUS@state.gov
for submissions related to the United
States.
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,
2021–March 31, 2022). 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. Questions below seek to
gather information and updates from the
details provided and assessment on
government efforts made in the 2021
TIP Report.
Furthermore, we request information
on the government’s treatment of
‘‘underserved communities,’’ including
how the government may have
systemically denied opportunities to a
community to participate in aspects of
economic, social, and civic life that has
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led to heighted risk to human trafficking
or how the government’s anti-trafficking
response may have treated certain
groups differently.
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 only
includes in the TIP Report information
related to trafficking in persons as
defined by the TVPA; it does not
include, and is therefore not seeking,
information on prostitution, migrant
smuggling, visa fraud, or child abuse,
unless such crimes also involve the
elements of sex trafficking or forced
labor.
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
Definitions: The TVPA defines
‘‘severe forms of trafficking in persons’’
as:
• The recruitment, harboring,
transportation, provision, obtaining,
patronizing, or soliciting of a person for
the purpose of a commercial sex act that
is induced by force, fraud, or coercion,
or in which the person induced to
perform such act has not attained 18
years of age.
Æ Persons under age 18 in
commercial sex are trafficking in
persons victims regardless of whether
force, fraud, or coercion were involved.
• The recruitment, harboring,
transportation, provision, or obtaining
of a person for labor or services, through
the use of force, fraud, or coercion, for
the purposes of involuntary servitude,
peonage, debt bondage, or slavery.
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Æ Forced labor may take the form of
domestic servitude, forced begging,
forced criminal activity (e.g., drug
smuggling), and prison labor that is not
the product of a conviction in a court of
law.
• Children recruited or used as
soldiers or for labor or services can be
a severe form of human trafficking when
the activity involves force, fraud, or
coercion. Children may be victims
regardless of gender.
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 assessment of
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 inform 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,
international organizations, foreign
governments, and nongovernmental
organizations use the TIP Report as a
tool to examine where resources are
most 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 with information from across the
U.S. government, foreign government
officials, nongovernmental and
international organizations, survivors of
trafficking in persons, published
reports, and research related 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
prioritized 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 concrete
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
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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 2021 TIP
Report can be found at https://
www.state.gov/reports/2021-traffickingin-persons-report/.
Since the inception of the TIP Report
in 2001, the number of countries
included and ranked has more than
doubled; the 2021 TIP Report included
188 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) 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 an
indicator of serious and sustained
efforts to eliminate severe forms of
trafficking in persons. After reasonable
requests from the Department of State
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for data regarding investigations,
prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences, a government which does not
provide such data, consistent with a
demonstrably increasing capacity of
such government to obtain such data,
shall be presumed not to have
vigorously investigated, prosecuted,
convicted or sentenced such acts.
(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.
(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
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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
or enable 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 a
demonstrably increasing capacity of
such government to obtain such data,
shall be presumed not to have
vigorously investigated, prosecuted,
convicted, or sentenced such acts.
(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
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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.
Overview
1. What were the government’s major
accomplishments in addressing human
trafficking since April 1, 2021? In what
significant ways have the government’s
efforts to combat trafficking in persons
changed in the past year? How have
new laws, regulations, policies, or
implementation strategies (e.g.,
substantive criminal laws and
procedures, mechanisms for civil
remedies, and victim-witness security,
generally and in relation to court
proceedings) affected its anti-trafficking
response?
2. Over the past year, 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?
3. How has the COVID–19 pandemic
affected the government’s efforts to
coordinate, execute, and monitor its
anti-trafficking response across its
prosecution, protection, and prevention
efforts, if at all? How have antitrafficking officials, units, and
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coordinating bodies continued to
operate and adapt?
4. Please provide additional
information and/or recommendations to
improve the government’s antitrafficking efforts overall.
5. Please highlight effective strategies
and practices that other governments
could consider adopting.
Prosecution
6. Please provide observations
regarding the implementation of
existing laws, policies, and procedures.
Are there gaps in anti-trafficking
legislation that could be amended to
improve the government’s response?
Are there any government policies that
have undermined or otherwise
negatively affected anti-trafficking
efforts within that country?
7. Do government officials understand
the nature of all forms of trafficking? If
not, please provide examples of
misconceptions or misunderstandings.
Did the government effectively provide
or support anti-trafficking trainings for
officials? If not, how could they be
improved?
8. Please provide observations on
overall anti-trafficking law enforcement
efforts and the efforts of police and
prosecutors to pursue trafficking cases.
Is the government equally vigorous in
pursuing forced labor and sex
trafficking, internal and transnational
trafficking, and crimes that involve its
own nationals or foreign citizens? Was
the law equitably enforced, or were
certain communities disproportionately
affected? If not, why?
9. Please note any efforts to
investigate and prosecute suspects for
knowingly soliciting or patronizing a
sex trafficking victim to perform a
commercial sex act.
10. Does law enforcement pursue
trafficking cases that would hold
accountable private employers or
corporations for forced labor in supply
chains?
11. Do judges appear appropriately
knowledgeable and sensitized to
trafficking cases? Do they implement
and encourage trauma-informed
practices in their courts?
12. Were there allegations of official
complicity in trafficking crimes, via
contacts, media, or other sources,
including of state-sponsored forced
labor? If so, what measures did the
government take to end such practices?
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,
including investigations, prosecutions,
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convictions, and sentencing of complicit
officials? Were these efforts sufficient?
13. Is there evidence that nationals of
the country deployed abroad as part of
a diplomatic, peacekeeping, or other
similar mission have engaged in or
facilitated trafficking, including in
domestic servitude? Has the government
vigorously investigated, prosecuted,
convicted, and sentenced nationals
engaged in these activities?
Protection
14. Did the government make a
coordinated, proactive effort to identify
victims of all forms of trafficking? If the
government had any written procedures
for screening for trafficking, were those
procedures sufficient and implemented
effectively by officials? What steps do
officials take if a potential case of
human trafficking is identified, and are
those steps sufficient? Did officials
effectively coordinate among one
another and with relevant
nongovernmental organizations to
conduct screenings and refer victims to
care? Is there any trafficking screening
conducted before deportation or when
detaining migrants, including
unaccompanied minors? Are
interpreters available for screening
foreign victims? If commercial sex is
legalized or decriminalized in the
country, how did health officials, labor
inspectors, or police identify trafficking
victims among persons involved in
commercial sex? If commercial sex is
illegal, did the government proactively
identify trafficking victims during raids
or other encounters with commercial
sex establishments?
15. Does the government operate or
fund any trafficking-specific hotlines
(including those run by NGOs)? Did
calls on government or NGO-operated
hotlines lead to victim identification,
victim referral to care, and/or criminal
investigations? Did it remain in
operation during the COVID–19
pandemic?
16. What victim services are available
and provided (legal, medical, food,
shelter, interpretation, mental health
care, employment, training, etc.)? Who
provides these services? If NGOs
provide the services, does the
government adequately support their
work either financially or otherwise?
Did all victims and survivors of both
labor and sex trafficking—regardless of
citizenship, gender identity, racial/
ethnic identity, sexual orientation,
religious affiliation, and physical
ability—receive the same quality and
level of access to services?
17. What was the overall quality of
victim care? How could victim services
be improved? Are services victim-
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centered and trauma-informed? Were
benefits linked to whether a victim
assisted law enforcement or participated
in a trial, or whether a trafficker was
convicted? Could victims choose
independently whether to enter a
shelter, and could they leave at will if
residing in a shelter? Could adult
victims leave shelter premises
unchaperoned? Could victims seek
employment and work while receiving
assistance?
18. 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?
19. 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, and if not, why?
20. 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? Could
victims provide testimony via video or
written statements? Were victims’
identities kept confidential as part of
such proceedings? In what ways could
the government support increased
participation of victims in prosecutions
against their traffickers?
21. 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 foreign 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, whether a
victim participated in a trial, or whether
there was a successful prosecution?
Does the government repatriate victims
who wish to return home or assist with
third country resettlement? Are victims
awaiting repatriation or third country
resettlement offered services? Are
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victims indeed repatriated, or are they
deported?
22. 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
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?
23. Does the government arrest,
detain, imprison, or otherwise punish
trafficking victims (whether or not
identified as such by authorities) for
unlawful acts their traffickers compelled
them to commit (forgery of documents,
illegal immigration, unauthorized
employment, prostitution, theft, or drug
production or transport, etc.)? If so, do
these victims disproportionately
represent a certain gender, race,
ethnicity, or other group or particular
type of trafficking? Does law
enforcement, immigration, and social
services personnel conduct screening
for trafficking, including of migrants,
other vulnerable groups, and when
detaining or arresting individuals
engaged in commercial sex?
Prevention
24. What efforts has the government
made to prevent human trafficking? Did
the government enforce any policies
that further marginalized communities
already overrepresented among
trafficking victims, increasing their risk
to human trafficking? If so, did it take
efforts to address those policies?
25. If the government had a national
action plan to address trafficking, how
was it implemented in practice? Were
NGOs and other relevant civil society
stakeholders consulted in the
development and implementation of the
plan?
26. Please describe any governmentfunded anti-trafficking information or
education campaigns or training,
whether aimed at the public or at
specific sectors or stakeholders/actors.
Did these campaigns or trainings target
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?
27. Did the government seek the input
of survivors in crafting its antitrafficking laws, regulations, policies,
programs, or in their implementation? If
so, did the government take steps to
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ensure input was received from a
diverse group of survivors?
28. How did the government regulate,
oversee, and screen for trafficking
indicators in the labor recruitment
process, including for both licensed and
unlicensed recruitment and placement
agencies, individual recruiters, subbrokerages, and microfinance lending
operations? 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, and
confiscating or otherwise denying
workers access to their identity
documents. If there are laws or
regulations on recruitment, did the
government effectively enforce them?
Did the government allow migrant
workers to change employers in a timely
manner without obtaining special
permissions?
29. Did the government coordinate
with other governments (e.g., via
bilateral agreements with migrant labor
sending or receiving countries) on safe
and responsible recruitment that
included prevention measures to target
known trafficking indicators? To what
extent were these implemented? Are
workers (both nationals of the country
and foreign nationals) in all industries
(e.g., domestic work, agriculture, etc.)
equally and sufficiently protected under
existing labor laws?
30. Did government policies,
regulations, or agreements relating to
migration, labor, trade, and investment
facilitate vulnerabilities to, or incidence
of, forced labor or sex trafficking? If so,
what actions did the government take to
ensure that its policies, regulations, and
agreements relating to migration, labor,
trade, border security measures, and
investment did not facilitate trafficking?
31. Did the government take tangible
action to prevent forced labor in
domestic or global supply chains? Did
the government make any efforts to
prohibit and prevent trafficking in the
supply chains of its own public
procurement? What did the government
do to ensure that its policies,
regulations, and agreements relating to
migration, labor, trade, and investment
did not facilitate trafficking?
32. How did the government’s
response to the COVID–19 pandemic
affect the ability of migrant workers to
continue earning an income, to enter
and exit the country, and to maintain
their immigration status? Are there steps
did the government took in response to
the pandemic that increased or
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Fmt 4703
Sfmt 4703
mitigated the risk of human trafficking
to migrants (border closures, job
creation or placement for out-of-work
labor migrants, extension of
immigration relief, etc.)?
33. If the government has entered into
bilateral, multilateral, or regional antitrafficking information-sharing and
cooperation arrangements, are they
effective and have they resulted in
concrete and measurable outcomes? If
not, why?
34. Did the government provide
assistance to other governments in
combating trafficking in persons
through trainings or other assistance
programs?
35. What measures has the
government taken to reduce the
participation by nationals of the country
in international and domestic child sex
tourism?
Territories and Semi-Autonomous
Regions
36. Please provide any information
about trafficking trends and government
anti-trafficking efforts in non-sovereign
territories and semi-autonomous regions
to prosecute traffickers, identify and
provide services to victims, and prevent
trafficking.
Trafficking Profile
37. Describe the country’s trafficking
situation, including the forms of
trafficking that occur, industries and
sectors in which traffickers exploit
victims, countries/regions in which
traffickers recruit victims, locations and
regions in which trafficking occurs, and
recruitment methods. What groups are
at particular risk of human trafficking?
Are citizens of the country identified as
victims of human trafficking abroad?
Does child sex tourism occur in the
country or involve its nationals abroad,
and if so, in which countries? Have
trafficking methods and trends changed
in the past 12 months, including as a
result of the COVID–19 pandemic?
38. Chinese/Cuban/North Korean
workers: Are any of these populations
subjected to or at high risk of forced
labor in the country as part of
government-to-government agreements
and/or in foreign government-affiliated
projects?
Child Soldiering
39. Using the definition of ‘‘child
soldier’’ as defined by the Child
Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA),
describe instances, cases, and reports,
including anecdotal reports, of:
a. Use of any person under the age of
18 in direct hostilities as a member of
governmental armed forces, police, or
other security forces;
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
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Federal Register / Vol. 86, No. 235 / Friday, December 10, 2021 / Notices
b. Conscription or forced recruitment
of persons under the age of 18 into
governmental armed forces, police, or
other security forces;
c. Voluntary recruitment of any
person under 15 years of age into
governmental armed forces, police, or
other security forces;
d. Recruitment (forced or voluntary)
or use in hostilities of persons under the
age of 18 by armed groups distinct from
the armed forces of a state.
e. Abuse of male and female children
recruited by governmental armed forces,
police, or other security forces, and
government-supported armed groups
(e.g., sexual abuse or use for forced
labor). Describe the manner and age of
conscription, noting differences in
treatment or conscription patterns based
on gender.
40. Did the government provide
support to an armed group that recruits
and/or uses child soldiers? What was
the extent of the support (e.g., in-kind,
financial, training, etc.)? Where did the
provision of support occur (within the
country or outside of the country)? In
cases where the government was
included on the CSPA list in 2021 based
on its support to non-state armed groups
that recruit and/or use child soldiers,
describe whether the government took
steps to pressure the group to cease its
recruitment or use of child soldiers,
publicly disavow the group’s
recruitment or use of child soldiers, or
cease its support to that group.
41. Describe any government efforts to
prevent or end child soldier recruitment
or use, including efforts to disarm,
demobilize, and reintegrate former child
soldiers. (i.e., enacting any laws or
regulations, implementing a United
Nations Action Plan or Roadmap,
specialized training for officials,
procedures for age verification, etc.)
Kari Johnstone,
Senior Official, Office to Monitor and Combat
Trafficking in Persons, Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2021–26806 Filed 12–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710–17–P
SURFACE TRANSPORTATION BOARD
jspears on DSK121TN23PROD with NOTICES1
[Docket No. FD 36566]
Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V
GP, LLC—Acquisition of Control
Exemption—Grenada Railroad, LLC,
and Florida, Gulf & Atlantic Railroad,
LLC
Macquarie Infrastructure Partners V
GP, LLC (MIP GP), a noncarrier, filed on
behalf of MIP Infrastructure Partners V
fund vehicle (MIP V) and MIP V Rail,
VerDate Sep<11>2014
17:03 Dec 09, 2021
Jkt 256001
LLC (MIP Rail),1 a verified notice of
exemption under 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2) to
acquire control of two Class III railroads
currently owned by RailUSA, LLC
(RailUSA): Grenada Railroad, LLC
(GRYR), and Florida, Gulf & Atlantic
Railroad, LLC (FGA).2
The verified notice states that,
pursuant to a Purchase Agreement dated
November 23, 2021,3 MIP Rail has
agreed to acquire 100% of the equity
interests of RailUSA from its parent,
American Rail Partners, LLC, which will
result in MIP Rail’s indirect control of
both GRYR and FGA. (Verified Notice
1.) According to the verified notice, MIP
Rail, MIP V, MIP GP, and their affiliates
do not own or control any other United
States rail carriers.
MIP GP states that: (1) The lines over
which GRYR and FGA operate do not
connect with one another, (2) the
proposed transaction is not part of a
series of anticipated transactions that
would connect the lines with each
other; and (3) the transaction does not
involve a Class I rail carrier. Therefore,
the proposed transaction is exempt from
the prior approval requirements of 49
U.S.C. 11323. See 49 CFR 1180.2(d)(2).
The earliest this transaction may be
consummated is Friday, December 24,
2021, the effective date of the exemption
(30 days after the verified notice was
filed).
Under 49 U.S.C. 10502(g), the Board
may not use its exemption authority to
relieve a rail carrier of its statutory
obligation to protect the interests of its
employees. However, 49 U.S.C. 11326(c)
does not provide for labor protection for
transactions under 49 U.S.C. 11324 and
11325 that involve only Class III rail
carriers. Because this transaction
involves Class III rail carriers only, the
Board, under the statute, may not
impose labor protective conditions for
this transaction.
1 The
verified notice states that MIP Rail is wholly
owned by MIP V, which is controlled by MIP GP.
(Verified Notice 1 n.1, 3.)
2 GRYR, formerly known as Illinois Company Rail
Road, LLC (ICRR), operates 228 miles of rail line in
Mississippi pursuant to a lease with the North
Central Mississippi Regional Railroad Authority.
(Verified Notice 2 n.3); see Ill. Co. R.R.—Lease &
Operation Exemption—N. Cent. Miss. Reg’l R.R.
Auth., FD 35940, slip op. at 1 (STB served July 9,
2015) (describing ICRR’s verified notice to lease and
operate an approximately 186.82-mile rail line in
Mississippi). FGA owns and operates 430 miles of
track, including a 373-mile main line, in Florida
and Georgia. (Verified Notice 2 n.3); see RailUSA,
LLC—Continuance in Control Exemption—Fla. Gulf
& Atl. R.R., FD 36248, slip op. at 1 (STB served Dec.
21, 2018).
3 Public and confidential versions of the Purchase
Agreement were filed with the verified notice. The
confidential version was submitted under seal
concurrently with a motion for protective order,
which is addressed in a separate decision.
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Fmt 4703
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70567
If the verified notice contains false or
misleading information, the exemption
is void ab initio. Petitions to revoke the
exemption under 49 U.S.C. 10502(d)
may be filed at any time. The filing of
a petition to revoke will not
automatically stay the effectiveness of
the exemption. Petitions to stay must be
filed no later than December 17, 2021 (at
least seven days before the exemption
becomes effective).
All pleadings, referring to Docket No.
FD 36566, should be filed with the
Surface Transportation Board via efiling on the Board’s website. In
addition, a copy of each pleading must
be served on MIP GP’s representative,
Terence M. Hynes, Sidley Austin LLP,
1501 K Street NW, Washington, DC
20005.
According to MIP GP, this action is
categorically excluded from
environmental review under 49 CFR
1105.6(c) and from historic preservation
reporting requirements under 49 CFR
1105.8(b).
Board decisions and notices are
available at www.stb.gov.
Decided: December 3, 2021.
By the Board, Scott M. Zimmerman, Acting
Director, Office of Proceedings.
Eden Besera,
Clearance Clerk.
[FR Doc. 2021–26697 Filed 12–9–21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4915–01–P
TENNESSEE VALLEY AUTHORITY
Agency Information Collection
Activities: Proposed Collection;
Comment Request; Correction
Tennessee Valley Authority.
60-Day notice of submission of
information collection approval and
request for comments; Correction.
AGENCY:
ACTION:
The Tennessee Valley
Authority published a document in the
Federal Register of November 24, 2021,
concerning a proposed information
collection that will be submitted to the
Office of Management and Budget
(OMB) for review, as required by the
Paperwork Reduction Act of 1995. The
Tennessee Valley Authority is soliciting
public comments on this proposed
collection. The document contained
incorrect dates.
FOR FURTHER INFORMATION CONTACT:
Public Information Collection Clearance
Officer: Jennifer A. Wilds, Specialist,
Records Compliance, Tennessee Valley
Authority, 400 W Summit Hill Dr.,
CLK–320, Knoxville, Tennessee 37902–
1401; telephone (865) 632–6580 or by
email at pra@tva.gov.
SUMMARY:
E:\FR\FM\10DEN1.SGM
10DEN1
]]>Agencies
[Federal Register Volume 86, Number 235 (Friday, December 10, 2021)]
[Notices]
[Pages 70562-70567]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2021-26806]
=======================================================================
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 11605]
Request for Information for the 2022 Trafficking in Persons
Report
ACTION: Request for information for the 2022 Trafficking in Persons
Report.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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 February 1, 2022. 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 February 1, 2022.
ADDRESSES: Written submissions and supporting documentation may be
submitted by the following method:
Email: [email protected] for submissions related to
foreign governments and [email protected] for submissions related
to the United States.
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, 2021-March 31, 2022). 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. Questions below
seek to gather information and updates from the details provided and
assessment on government efforts made in the 2021 TIP Report.
Furthermore, we request information on the government's treatment
of ``underserved communities,'' including how the government may have
systemically denied opportunities to a community to participate in
aspects of economic, social, and civic life that has
[[Page 70563]]
led to heighted risk to human trafficking or how the government's anti-
trafficking response may have treated certain groups differently.
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 only includes in the TIP Report
information related to trafficking in persons as defined by the TVPA;
it does not include, and is therefore not seeking, information on
prostitution, migrant smuggling, visa fraud, or child abuse, unless
such crimes also involve the elements of sex trafficking or forced
labor.
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
Definitions: The TVPA defines ``severe forms of trafficking in
persons'' as:
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision,
obtaining, patronizing, or soliciting of a person for the purpose of a
commercial sex act that is induced by force, fraud, or coercion, or in
which the person induced to perform such act has not attained 18 years
of age.
[cir] Persons under age 18 in commercial sex are trafficking in
persons victims regardless of whether force, fraud, or coercion were
involved.
The recruitment, harboring, transportation, provision, or
obtaining of a person for labor or services, through the use of force,
fraud, or coercion, for the purposes of involuntary servitude, peonage,
debt bondage, or slavery.
[cir] Forced labor may take the form of domestic servitude, forced
begging, forced criminal activity (e.g., drug smuggling), and prison
labor that is not the product of a conviction in a court of law.
Children recruited or used as soldiers or for labor or
services can be a severe form of human trafficking when the activity
involves force, fraud, or coercion. Children may be victims regardless
of gender.
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 assessment of 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 inform 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, international organizations, foreign governments, and
nongovernmental organizations use the TIP Report as a tool to examine
where resources are most 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 with information from across
the U.S. government, foreign government officials, nongovernmental and
international organizations, survivors of trafficking in persons,
published reports, and research related 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
prioritized 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 concrete 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 2021 TIP Report can be found at https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-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 2021 TIP
Report included 188 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) 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 an indicator of serious
and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in
persons. After reasonable requests from the Department of State
[[Page 70564]]
for data regarding investigations, prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences, a government which does not provide such data, consistent
with a demonstrably increasing capacity of such government to obtain
such data, shall be presumed not to have vigorously investigated,
prosecuted, convicted or sentenced such acts.
(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.
(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 or enable 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 a demonstrably increasing capacity
of such government to obtain such data, shall be presumed not to have
vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted, or sentenced such acts.
(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.
Overview
1. What were the government's major accomplishments in addressing
human trafficking since April 1, 2021? In what significant ways have
the government's efforts to combat trafficking in persons changed in
the past year? How have new laws, regulations, policies, or
implementation strategies (e.g., substantive criminal laws and
procedures, mechanisms for civil remedies, and victim-witness security,
generally and in relation to court proceedings) affected its anti-
trafficking response?
2. Over the past year, 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?
3. How has the COVID-19 pandemic affected the government's efforts
to coordinate, execute, and monitor its anti-trafficking response
across its prosecution, protection, and prevention efforts, if at all?
How have anti-trafficking officials, units, and
[[Page 70565]]
coordinating bodies continued to operate and adapt?
4. Please provide additional information and/or recommendations to
improve the government's anti-trafficking efforts overall.
5. Please highlight effective strategies and practices that other
governments could consider adopting.
Prosecution
6. Please provide observations regarding the implementation of
existing laws, policies, and procedures. Are there gaps in anti-
trafficking legislation that could be amended to improve the
government's response? Are there any government policies that have
undermined or otherwise negatively affected anti-trafficking efforts
within that country?
7. Do government officials understand the nature of all forms of
trafficking? If not, please provide examples of misconceptions or
misunderstandings. Did the government effectively provide or support
anti-trafficking trainings for officials? If not, how could they be
improved?
8. Please provide observations on overall anti-trafficking law
enforcement efforts and the efforts of police and prosecutors to pursue
trafficking cases. Is the government equally vigorous in pursuing
forced labor and sex trafficking, internal and transnational
trafficking, and crimes that involve its own nationals or foreign
citizens? Was the law equitably enforced, or were certain communities
disproportionately affected? If not, why?
9. Please note any efforts to investigate and prosecute suspects
for knowingly soliciting or patronizing a sex trafficking victim to
perform a commercial sex act.
10. Does law enforcement pursue trafficking cases that would hold
accountable private employers or corporations for forced labor in
supply chains?
11. Do judges appear appropriately knowledgeable and sensitized to
trafficking cases? Do they implement and encourage trauma-informed
practices in their courts?
12. Were there allegations of official complicity in trafficking
crimes, via contacts, media, or other sources, including of state-
sponsored forced labor? If so, what measures did the government take to
end such practices? 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, including investigations, prosecutions, convictions,
and sentencing of complicit officials? Were these efforts sufficient?
13. Is there evidence that nationals of the country deployed abroad
as part of a diplomatic, peacekeeping, or other similar mission have
engaged in or facilitated trafficking, including in domestic servitude?
Has the government vigorously investigated, prosecuted, convicted, and
sentenced nationals engaged in these activities?
Protection
14. Did the government make a coordinated, proactive effort to
identify victims of all forms of trafficking? If the government had any
written procedures for screening for trafficking, were those procedures
sufficient and implemented effectively by officials? What steps do
officials take if a potential case of human trafficking is identified,
and are those steps sufficient? Did officials effectively coordinate
among one another and with relevant nongovernmental organizations to
conduct screenings and refer victims to care? Is there any trafficking
screening conducted before deportation or when detaining migrants,
including unaccompanied minors? Are interpreters available for
screening foreign victims? If commercial sex is legalized or
decriminalized in the country, how did health officials, labor
inspectors, or police identify trafficking victims among persons
involved in commercial sex? If commercial sex is illegal, did the
government proactively identify trafficking victims during raids or
other encounters with commercial sex establishments?
15. Does the government operate or fund any trafficking-specific
hotlines (including those run by NGOs)? Did calls on government or NGO-
operated hotlines lead to victim identification, victim referral to
care, and/or criminal investigations? Did it remain in operation during
the COVID-19 pandemic?
16. What victim services are available and provided (legal,
medical, food, shelter, interpretation, mental health care, employment,
training, etc.)? Who provides these services? If NGOs provide the
services, does the government adequately support their work either
financially or otherwise? Did all victims and survivors of both labor
and sex trafficking--regardless of citizenship, gender identity,
racial/ethnic identity, sexual orientation, religious affiliation, and
physical ability--receive the same quality and level of access to
services?
17. What was the overall quality of victim care? How could victim
services be improved? Are services victim-centered and trauma-informed?
Were benefits linked to whether a victim assisted law enforcement or
participated in a trial, or whether a trafficker was convicted? Could
victims choose independently whether to enter a shelter, and could they
leave at will if residing in a shelter? Could adult victims leave
shelter premises unchaperoned? Could victims seek employment and work
while receiving assistance?
18. 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?
19. 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, and
if not, why?
20. 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? Could victims
provide testimony via video or written statements? Were victims'
identities kept confidential as part of such proceedings? In what ways
could the government support increased participation of victims in
prosecutions against their traffickers?
21. 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 foreign 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, whether a
victim participated in a trial, or whether there was a successful
prosecution? Does the government repatriate victims who wish to return
home or assist with third country resettlement? Are victims awaiting
repatriation or third country resettlement offered services? Are
[[Page 70566]]
victims indeed repatriated, or are they deported?
22. 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 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?
23. Does the government arrest, detain, imprison, or otherwise
punish trafficking victims (whether or not identified as such by
authorities) for unlawful acts their traffickers compelled them to
commit (forgery of documents, illegal immigration, unauthorized
employment, prostitution, theft, or drug production or transport,
etc.)? If so, do these victims disproportionately represent a certain
gender, race, ethnicity, or other group or particular type of
trafficking? Does law enforcement, immigration, and social services
personnel conduct screening for trafficking, including of migrants,
other vulnerable groups, and when detaining or arresting individuals
engaged in commercial sex?
Prevention
24. What efforts has the government made to prevent human
trafficking? Did the government enforce any policies that further
marginalized communities already overrepresented among trafficking
victims, increasing their risk to human trafficking? If so, did it take
efforts to address those policies?
25. If the government had a national action plan to address
trafficking, how was it implemented in practice? Were NGOs and other
relevant civil society stakeholders consulted in the development and
implementation of the plan?
26. Please describe any government-funded anti-trafficking
information or education campaigns or training, whether aimed at the
public or at specific sectors or stakeholders/actors. Did these
campaigns or trainings target 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?
27. Did the government seek the input of survivors in crafting its
anti-trafficking laws, regulations, policies, programs, or in their
implementation? If so, did the government take steps to ensure input
was received from a diverse group of survivors?
28. How did the government regulate, oversee, and screen for
trafficking indicators in the labor recruitment process, including for
both licensed and unlicensed recruitment and placement agencies,
individual recruiters, sub-brokerages, and microfinance lending
operations? 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, and confiscating or
otherwise denying workers access to their identity documents. If there
are laws or regulations on recruitment, did the government effectively
enforce them? Did the government allow migrant workers to change
employers in a timely manner without obtaining special permissions?
29. Did the government coordinate with other governments (e.g., via
bilateral agreements with migrant labor sending or receiving countries)
on safe and responsible recruitment that included prevention measures
to target known trafficking indicators? To what extent were these
implemented? Are workers (both nationals of the country and foreign
nationals) in all industries (e.g., domestic work, agriculture, etc.)
equally and sufficiently protected under existing labor laws?
30. Did government policies, regulations, or agreements relating to
migration, labor, trade, and investment facilitate vulnerabilities to,
or incidence of, forced labor or sex trafficking? If so, what actions
did the government take to ensure that its policies, regulations, and
agreements relating to migration, labor, trade, border security
measures, and investment did not facilitate trafficking?
31. Did the government take tangible action to prevent forced labor
in domestic or global supply chains? Did the government make any
efforts to prohibit and prevent trafficking in the supply chains of its
own public procurement? What did the government do to ensure that its
policies, regulations, and agreements relating to migration, labor,
trade, and investment did not facilitate trafficking?
32. How did the government's response to the COVID-19 pandemic
affect the ability of migrant workers to continue earning an income, to
enter and exit the country, and to maintain their immigration status?
Are there steps did the government took in response to the pandemic
that increased or mitigated the risk of human trafficking to migrants
(border closures, job creation or placement for out-of-work labor
migrants, extension of immigration relief, etc.)?
33. If the government has entered into bilateral, multilateral, or
regional anti-trafficking information-sharing and cooperation
arrangements, are they effective and have they resulted in concrete and
measurable outcomes? If not, why?
34. Did the government provide assistance to other governments in
combating trafficking in persons through trainings or other assistance
programs?
35. What measures has the government taken to reduce the
participation by nationals of the country in international and domestic
child sex tourism?
Territories and Semi-Autonomous Regions
36. Please provide any information about trafficking trends and
government anti-trafficking efforts in non-sovereign territories and
semi-autonomous regions to prosecute traffickers, identify and provide
services to victims, and prevent trafficking.
Trafficking Profile
37. Describe the country's trafficking situation, including the
forms of trafficking that occur, industries and sectors in which
traffickers exploit victims, countries/regions in which traffickers
recruit victims, locations and regions in which trafficking occurs, and
recruitment methods. What groups are at particular risk of human
trafficking? Are citizens of the country identified as victims of human
trafficking abroad? Does child sex tourism occur in the country or
involve its nationals abroad, and if so, in which countries? Have
trafficking methods and trends changed in the past 12 months, including
as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic?
38. Chinese/Cuban/North Korean workers: Are any of these
populations subjected to or at high risk of forced labor in the country
as part of government-to-government agreements and/or in foreign
government-affiliated projects?
Child Soldiering
39. Using the definition of ``child soldier'' as defined by the
Child Soldiers Prevention Act of 2008 (CSPA), describe instances,
cases, and reports, including anecdotal reports, of:
a. Use of any person under the age of 18 in direct hostilities as a
member of governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces;
[[Page 70567]]
b. Conscription or forced recruitment of persons under the age of
18 into governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces;
c. Voluntary recruitment of any person under 15 years of age into
governmental armed forces, police, or other security forces;
d. Recruitment (forced or voluntary) or use in hostilities of
persons under the age of 18 by armed groups distinct from the armed
forces of a state.
e. Abuse of male and female children recruited by governmental
armed forces, police, or other security forces, and government-
supported armed groups (e.g., sexual abuse or use for forced labor).
Describe the manner and age of conscription, noting differences in
treatment or conscription patterns based on gender.
40. Did the government provide support to an armed group that
recruits and/or uses child soldiers? What was the extent of the support
(e.g., in-kind, financial, training, etc.)? Where did the provision of
support occur (within the country or outside of the country)? In cases
where the government was included on the CSPA list in 2021 based on its
support to non-state armed groups that recruit and/or use child
soldiers, describe whether the government took steps to pressure the
group to cease its recruitment or use of child soldiers, publicly
disavow the group's recruitment or use of child soldiers, or cease its
support to that group.
41. Describe any government efforts to prevent or end child soldier
recruitment or use, including efforts to disarm, demobilize, and
reintegrate former child soldiers. (i.e., enacting any laws or
regulations, implementing a United Nations Action Plan or Roadmap,
specialized training for officials, procedures for age verification,
etc.)
Kari Johnstone,
Senior Official, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2021-26806 Filed 12-9-21; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-17-P
