Lanka's anti-trafficking measures commended

by Shanika SRIYANANDA

The 2011 Report on Trafficking in Persons prepared by the US State Department has upgraded Sri Lanka from Tier 2 Watch List to Tier 2 in recognition of efforts made by the Lankan Government to address human trafficking.Commending on the progress made by the Government, Political Officer of the US Embassy in Colombo Jacob Chriqui said Sri Lanka has made significant progress to reduce trafficking, both internally and externally.

"The Sri Lankan Government has increased public awareness about human trafficking, improved law enforcement efforts, and increased budgets for anti-trafficking activities. This year we saw the first convictions for trafficking offences under Sri Lanka's Anti-Trafficking Laws", he said."In our report each country is placed in one of three tiers. This placement is based more on the extent of government action to combat trafficking than on the size of the problem, although the latter is also an important factor.

"While Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that a country has no human trafficking problem. Rather, a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking and has made efforts that meet the standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act to address the problem.

Tier 2 countries are where governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards, but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards.

Tier 3 countries' governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so. Sri Lanka was upgraded in 2011 from the Tier 2 Watch List, between Tier 2 and Tier 3, to Tier 2", he said.

Chriqui said the program's aim to increase the capacity of Sri Lankan law enforcement officials, prosecutors and the judiciary so that they will have the training and tools to combat trafficking. Our Embassy also meets regularly with the Sri Lankan Government and law enforcement officials working in counter-trafficking, and their dedication and the services they provide have been remarkable," he said.