The U.S. State Department in its 23rd annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report assessing anti-trafficking efforts of 188 governments has ranked the Gambia in the Second Tier.
A statement made available Thursday disclosed that the report ranks the Gambia as Second Tier after assessing the country as not fully meeting the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons set forth in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 but making significant efforts to do so.
“Tier 2 consists of countries that are making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards but failed to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat human trafficking over the previous year.”
These should include “increased investigations, prosecutions, and convictions of trafficking crimes, increased assistance to victims, and decreasing complicity in trafficking by government officials, or where the estimated number of victims is very significant or significantly increasing and the country is not taking proportional concrete actions”.
“Countries assessed as fully meeting the TVPA’s minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking are placed on Tier 1, while those assessed as not fully meeting the minimum standards and not making significant efforts to do so are ranked Tier 3,” the report said.
“The TIP Report narrative contains prioritized recommendations for the Government of The Gambia to consider implementing over the coming year. These recommendations constitute a suggested action plan that aims to provide the government with guidance on key efforts necessary to better meet the maximum standards to the elimination of trafficking in persons.
“The Gambia’s ranking is a testament to the hard work of all members of the anti-trafficking community. The Gambia and the United States will continue to find ways to collaborate in the fight to End Human Trafficking,” the report added.
Human trafficking is a shared challenge. In the United States, human trafficking cases have been reported in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and U.S. territories.
In the spirit of transparency and with a goal of strengthening efforts at home and in partnership with other countries, the TIP Report contains a tier ranking and narrative of U.S. efforts to address human trafficking.
This assessment evaluates the United States according to the same standards as other countries. The TIP Report has included the United States every year since the 2010 Report.