[Federal Register Volume 83, Number 236 (Monday, December 10, 2018)]
[Notices]
[Pages 63553-63557]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2018-26617]
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DEPARTMENT OF STATE
[Public Notice: 10630]
Request for Information for the 2019 Trafficking in Persons
Report
AGENCY: Department of State.
ACTION: Request for information.
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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 (``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 government efforts 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.
DATES: Submissions must be received by 5 p.m. on January 15, 2019.
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.
Facsimile (fax): 202-453-8562.
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' efforts to meet
the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons
during the reporting period (April 1, 2018-March 31, 2019). The minimum
standards are listed in the Background section or can be found here.
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 conduct occurs in
the context of trafficking in persons as defined in the TVPA.
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:
I. 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 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 Report is used by international organizations, foreign
governments, and nongovernmental organizations as a tool to examine
where resources are most needed. Prosecuting traffickers, protecting
victims, and preventing trafficking are the ultimate goals of the
[[Page 63554]]
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 Report focuses on concrete actions that governments take to
fight trafficking in persons, including prosecutions, convictions, and
sentences for traffickers, as well as victim protection measures and
prevention efforts. Each 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 2018 TIP Report can be found at
www.state.gov/j/tip/rls/tiprpt/2018/index.htm.
Since the inception of the TIP Report in 2001, the number of
countries included and ranked has more than doubled; the 2018 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.
(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
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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 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?
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? 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 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
operating as traffickers (whether subjecting persons to forced labor
and/or sex trafficking
[[Page 63556]]
offenses) or taking actions that may facilitate trafficking (including
accepting bribes to allow undocumented border crossings or suspending
active investigations of suspected traffickers, etc.)? Were there
examples of trafficking occurring in state institutions (e.g., prisons,
child foster homes, institutions for mentally or physically disabled
persons)? 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?
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
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 protections
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
the government or file civil suits against traffickers for restitution,
and did this happen in practice? Did prosecutors request 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 material
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 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
identified 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 victims were identified
as a result of calls to the hotline? Were any investigations initiated
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
[[Page 63557]]
resulted in concrete and measureable 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
agencies and individual recruiters, both licensed and unlicensed? What
efforts did the government make to punish labor recruiters or brokers
involved in the recruitment of workers through knowingly fraudulent
offers of employment (including misrepresenting wages, working
conditions, location, or nature of the job), charging workers of
excessive fees for migration or job placement, retention of identity
documents with an aim to control job seekers, 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 foreigners) 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? Were these campaigns targeting
potential trafficking victims and/or the demand for 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.
Joel F. Maybury,
Deputy Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,
Department of State.
[FR Doc. 2018-26617 Filed 12-7-18; 8:45 am]
BILLING CODE 4710-17-P