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Zim on people-trade blacklist
05/06/2006 22:55 - (SA)
Washington - Zimbabwe has been added to a United States blacklist of countries trafficking in people, says their state department.
Iran, Syria, Uzbekistan, Laos and Belize are the other inclusions on the department's "trafficking in persons" report.
It analyses efforts in about 150 countries to combat trafficking for forced labour, prostitution, military service and other purposes.
The six countries join Venezuela, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, Sudan, Cuba and Myanmar in the "Tier 3" list as the worst offenders of human trafficking and who could face sanctions if they do not take immediate measures within 90 days.
US secretary of state Condoleezza Rice said in the presentation of the 290-page report: "By calling to account any nation, friend or foe, that can and should do more to confront human trafficking, we are pressing countries into action.
800 000 victims yearly
"The harsh reality of human trafficking stuns even the hardest of hearts," she said.
The United States estimates that up to 800 000 people - primarily women and children - fall victims each year to trafficking, Rice said.
Iran and Syria, both of which have been accused by Washington of backing international terrorism, were cited in the report for being a "source, transit, and destination country" for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation.
Quoting foreign observers, the state department said women and girls were trafficked through Iran for sexual exploitation or into the Islamic republic for forced marriages and sexual exploitation.
"The government of Iran does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so," it said.
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