Sri Lanka on Tier 2 watch list on human trafficking

The US State Department has placed Sri Lanka on ‘Tier 2’ watch list on human trafficking which has now become a burning issue in the island nation.

In the latest report compiled by the US State Department on human trafficking has stated that Sri Lanka primarily a source and, to a much lesser extent, a destination for men and women subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced prostitution.

The report had also mentioned that there is evidence some sub-agents cooperated with Sri Lankan officials to procure forged or modified documents, or real documents with false data, to facilitate travel abroad. Some women were promised jobs as domestic workers in other countries, but after arriving were instead forced to work in brothels, mainly in Singapore.

The report strongly recommended that Sri Lanka to take necessary action to crackdown on those involved in human trafficking and to provide maximum sentences to those involved.

Currently the National Counter Human Trafficking Resource Center of the Sri Lanka Department of Immigration and Emigration conducted two training sessions in partnership with the IOM since its inauguration in June 2009. The Sri Lanka Bureau for Foreign Employment has also provided training on protection and assistance to its staff members who worked at embassies and consulates in foreign countries. Fifty immigration officers attended training sessions on the identification of trafficking victims.

- Asian Tribune -