Allies added to U.S. human trafficking blacklist

With an estimated 800,000 persons trafficked each year, 80 percent of whom are women and children, the U.S. State Department has given 16 nations to “Tier 3” status in an effort to combat modern slavery, The Associated Press reported Tuesday.

Among the list of countries of concern in the 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report are Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman and Qatar – states that are classified as U.S. allies. There is no indication of reactions in countries such as Bahrain, the home to the U.S. Fifth Fleet. According to the report, “Bahrain made no discernible progress in preventing trafficking this year.”

“We hope this report encourages responsible nations across the globe to stand together, to speak with one voice and to say that freedom and security are nonnegotiable demands of human dignity, and to say ... No one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave,” U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza told reporters.

The complete list of “Tier 3” countries cited by the State Department is: Algeria, Bahrain, Cuba, Equatorial Guinea, Iran, Kuwait, Malaysia, Myanmar, North Korea, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan and Venezuela.

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For access to the State Department’s 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, click here.