Lebanon was among five countries that moved up from U.S. State
Department’s blacklist of human trafficking to be included among the 42
countries now on a watchlist.
Last year, U.S. President Barack Obama granted Lebanon a waiver to
allow the continuation of U.S. assistance to Lebanon, which was at risk of
being blocked due to the country’s ranking in the bottom blacklist known as
tier 3 in the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report.
Governments of countries on the Tier 3 may be subject to certain
sanctions, whereby the U.S. government may withhold or withdraw
non-humanitarian, non-trade-related foreign assistance.
In addition, countries on Tier 3 may not receive funding for
government employees’ participation in educational and cultural exchange
programs.
However, the 2012 report, which was unveiled on Tuesday, pushed
Lebanon to the tier 2 watchlist in the four-tier ranking system.
This tier 2 ranking could lead to sanctions unless the records of
the countries improve.
Out of the 185 countries included in this year’s report, only 33
complied fully with laws in place to end human trafficking, putting them at the
top of the system, said the State Department.
Up to 27 million people are living in slavery around the world,
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton estimated as she unveiled the annual
report.
"Those victims of modern slavery are women and men, girls and
boys, and their stories remind us of the kind of inhumane treatment we are
capable of as human beings," said Clinton.
"Whatever their background, they are the living, breathing
reminders that the work to eradicate slavery remains unfinished."
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