(Washington) The United States on Monday unveiled its annual report on human trafficking in the world, which emphasizes the role of technologies and sees several countries rewarded for their efforts such as South Africa but others, such as Brunei, reprimanded.
“The South African government does not fully respect the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, but it is making significant efforts to achieve this”, as do Algeria and Egypt, underlines this report, which slides these countries to a higher category.
In contrast, the Sultanate of Brunei, a member of ASEAN, is demoted to the category of “level 3” countries, i.e. not doing enough to combat human trafficking.
The State Department’s annual report on human trafficking lists countries that are making efforts to combat the scourge and others that Washington believes are not doing enough.
This blacklisting could lead to sanctions or the withdrawal of American aid.
In this 2024 edition, the United States is examining in particular “the growing role of digital technology in human trafficking,” noted American Secretary of State Antony Blinken in presenting the report which covers 188 countries, including UNITED STATES.
It specifically cites traffickers who “target and recruit victims online through social media, dating apps and gaming platforms, and conduct financial transactions in opaque cryptocurrencies.”
Mr. Blinken particularly noted the case of traffickers who use false job offers to lure people away from their homes, finding themselves, for example, “in Burma without freedom of movement.”
In total, some 27 million people around the world are subject to human trafficking, which generates approximately $236 billion in illegal income annually, according to figures from the International Labor Organization (ILO). .