US adds Vietnam, Cambodia, Macao to trafficking blacklist

 

CAN | 20 Jul 2022 

WASHINGTON: The United States on Tuesday (Jul 19) added Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Macao to a human trafficking blacklist that already counts Malaysia, alleging weak efforts to stop forced sex work or assist migrant labourers.

In an annual report, the US also added authoritarian-ruled Belarus to the blacklist and, in a rare criticism of a Western ally, put Bulgaria on a watchlist over concerns it is not taking trafficking seriously.

"If you look at the report, you're going to see a mixed picture of progress," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he presented it.

Blinken said that corruption was a "top tool" of traffickers who count on a blind eye from governments.

"As we tackle issues like climate and corruption throughout our diplomacy, we also have to address how they intersect with trafficking in persons," he said.

The State Department's annual trafficking report has historically not spared close allies, often causing friction, although US officials say the unflattering headlines have led governments to act.

Nations that are put on the blacklist - Tier 3 - are subject to US sanctions, although the administration routinely waives punishment for friendly nations that promise improvements.

Kari Johnstone, a senior State Department official in charge of combatting human trafficking, said that several Asian governments were downgraded because they had previously been on the watchlist and had not shown progress.

"Unfortunately, there were a number of countries this year within that region that did not make the increasing efforts," she told reporters.

WEAK ENFORCEMENT

Vietnam, which has a warming relationship with Washington due to shared concerns over a rising China, was downgraded to Tier 3, with the State Department saying that prosecutions dropped off in 2021.

The report especially found fault with Hanoi taking no action against a Vietnamese diplomat and embassy staff member posted in Saudi Arabia who were accused of complicity in trafficking several of their citizens.

In Cambodia, the State Department said that "endemic corruption" has impeded efforts to help thousands including children trafficked to entertainment establishments, brick kilns and online scam operations.

"Authorities often overlooked, denied or downplayed labour abuses - including forced child labour - in factories and at brick kilns and colluded with brick manufacturers to arrest, jail and return indentured labourers who had attempted to escape," the report said.