An annual report on human trafficking issued by the US State Department identifies Georgia, Kazakhstan, Turkey and Uzbekistan as among the worst nations in the world in preventing forced prostitution and slave labor.
Overall, 15 nations were designated as "Tier 3" countries in the State Department's
Trafficking in Persons report, released in June. According to the State Department, nations in the Tier 3 category failed to meet minimum standards outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, passed by the US Congress in 2000. In addition, Tier 3 states are "not making significant efforts to eliminate human trafficking and bondage," the report said.
Concerning Georgia, the report said the country is "a source country for women trafficked primarily to Turkey, Greece, and the UAE, with smaller numbers trafficked to Israel, Spain, Portugal and the United States for purposes of sexual exploitation, domestic servitude and forced labor." It expressed special concern that "thousands of children living in the streets and in orphanages" were vulnerable to trafficking.
Kazakhstan received a Tier 3 designation largely because of authorities' diminished response to the human trafficking issue over the past year. Though Kazakh law forbids "illicit migration" and officials investigated several reports of trafficking, no cases have yet gone to court. However the reported noted that the government "presented to Parliament long-awaited draft anti-trafficking legislation, which passed the lower house of Parliament on May 15."
The report described Turkey as "a destination country for persons trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and labor." It also said Turkey served as a transit country for women and girls being trafficked to Western Europe. Most women and girls trafficked to or via Turkey come from the former Soviet Union, according to the report. It went on to note that the Turkish government "does not have a system for victim identification and protection."
The State Department called Uzbekistan "primarily a source, and to a lesser extent, a transit country" for trafficked individuals. "Confirmed information on the extent of trafficking from Uzbekistan only recently emerged, and there is a concern that the deterioration in the economy may lead to a growing problem," the report said.
The human-trafficking report asserts that between 40 percent and 80 percent of Uzbeks have slipped into poverty since 1991. "Trafficking could become a greater problem if left unchecked," the report added. It went on to note that during the first half of 2003, Uzbek authorities "showed a greater willingness to focus on the [trafficking] issue, especially through improved dialogue with victim assistance NGOs. This recognition came late in the reporting period, and now its treatment of known victims and of women fitting the victim profile must be improved."
