The US has placed Taiwan on a list of “Tier 2” countries for human trafficking for the second year in a row, saying Taiwanese authorities had failed to comply with the minimum standards to eliminate trafficking while commending them for making significant efforts to do so.
The Trafficking in Persons Report 2008 released on Wednesday by the US Department of State described Taiwan as a destination for men, women and children trafficked for the purposes of forced labor and sexual exploitation.
Taiwan is also a source of women trafficked to Japan, Australia, the UK and the US, the report said.
“Many foreign workers remain vulnerable to trafficking because legal protections, oversight by authorities and enforcement efforts are inadequate,” it said.
The report recommended that Taiwan pass and implement a comprehensive anti-trafficking law prohibiting and punishing all severe forms of trafficking and extend full Labor Standards Law (勞動基準法) protection to all categories of foreign workers, including domestic helpers and caregivers.
It also suggested that Taiwan fully implement a recent Immigration Law amendment to extend its protection to trafficking victims and ensure that law enforcement personnel, prosecutors and judges consistently follow formal trafficking victim identification procedures to prevent the prosecution of trafficking victims.
Taiwan should establish procedures for referring victims to shelters, improve incentives for victims to assist in the prosecution of traffickers, and increase police efforts to investigate trafficking crimes and to identify trafficking victims, the report said.
Taiwan should also launch a campaign to discourage child sex tourism by Taiwanese and improve cooperation with the governments of labor source countries, it said.
The report this year rated 170 countries and regions and placed them on three lists, based primarily on the extent of government action to combat trafficking.
Governments that fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking are placed on the “Tier 1” list, while those that are making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards are placed under “Tier 2.” Governments that do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so are placed on the “Tier 3” list and may be subject to certain sanctions.
In 2006, Taiwan was placed on the “Tier 2 Watch List” for not fully complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. The US government removed Taiwan from the watch list and ranked it among “Tier 2” countries again last year in view of the country’s significant efforts to tackle the problem.
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