US adds Vietnam, Cambodia, Macau to trafficking blacklist

WASHINGTON • The United States has added Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei and Macau to a human trafficking blacklist that already counts Malaysia, alleging weak efforts to stop forced sex work or assist migrant labourers.

In an annual report, the US also added authoritarian-ruled Belarus to the blacklist and, in a rare criticism of a Western ally, put Bulgaria on a watch-list over concerns it is not taking trafficking seriously.

"If you look at the report, you're going to see a mixed picture of progress," Secretary of State Antony Blinken said as he presented it on Tuesday.

Mr Blinken said that corruption was a "top tool" of traffickers who count on a blind eye from governments.

"As we tackle issues like climate and corruption throughout our diplomacy, we also have to address how they intersect with trafficking in persons," he said.

The State Department's annual trafficking report has historically not spared close allies, often causing friction, although US officials say the unflattering headlines have led governments to act.

Nations that are put on the blacklist - "Tier 3" - are subject to US sanctions, although the administration routinely waives punishment for friendly nations that promise improvements.

Ms Kari Johnstone, a senior State Department official in charge of combating human trafficking, said that several Asian governments were downgraded because they had previously been on the watch-list and had not shown progress.

"Unfortunately, there were a number of countries this year within that region that did not make the increasing efforts," she told reporters.

Vietnam, which has a warming relationship with Washington due to shared concerns over a rising China, was downgraded to Tier 3, with the State Department saying that prosecutions dropped off last year.

The report especially found fault with Hanoi taking no action against a Vietnamese diplomat and embassy staff member posted in Saudi Arabia who were accused of complicity in trafficking several of their citizens.

Also newly added to the Tier 3 blacklist was the tiny Dutch Caribbean territory of Sint Maarten.

Along with Malaysia, nations that remained on the list from the previous year were Afghanistan, Cuba, Eritrea, Guinea-Bissau, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Nicaragua, Russia, South Sudan, Syria, Turkmenistan and Venezuela.

Algeria and the Indian Ocean archipelago the Comoros both were upgraded off the blacklist this year following improvements.

AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE