WASHINGTON: Citing general advancements in the fight against trafficking, the United States on Tuesday raised Pakistan from the Tier 2 watch list to Tier 2 on its trafficking in persons list.
According to the study, Pakistan was raised to Tier 2 because “the government displayed overall rising efforts compared with the previous reporting period, recognising the impact of the Covid-19 epidemic, if any.”
Tier 2 nations are those whose governments are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with the standards for preventing human trafficking but do not entirely adhere to all of them.In contrast, the Tier 2 watch list contains nations who, if they don’t comply, could be demoted to Tier 3 and subject to sanctions, limited access to US aid, and other forms of international support. Prior to being promoted to Tier 2 in 2018 and staying there the following year, Pakistan was on the watch list from 2015 to 2017. In 2020, the nation was relegated once more to the Tier 2 watch list, where it remained in 2021.
The report was released at the State Department by Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who also disclosed the identities of people from all across the world whose selfless efforts have had a long-lasting influence on the battle against human trafficking.The 2018 Prevention of Trafficking in Persons Act was one of the laws that received praise from the study for improving investigations, prosecutions, and convictions (PTPA).
The report also stated that although Pakistan’s government “is making significant efforts to do so,” it “does not fully achieve the minimum conditions for the elimination of trafficking.” The government referred more victims for protection services in 2021, the report claims. The provincial ministries of the government trained more stakeholders and improved the use of standard operating procedures (SOPs) for victim identification and referral.
