India retains Tier-2 category in trafficking report, US advises increase probes in cases

The United States in its Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report for the year 2020 released on Thursday (local time), placed India in the Tier-2 category for the seventh time in a row since 2013 suggesting that the country increase investigations, prosecutions and convictions of all forms of trafficking, including bonded labour.

Countries whose governments do not fully meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act's (TVPA) minimum standards but are making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards are put under Tier-2.

"The Government of India does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous reporting period and therefore, India remained on Tier-2," stated the report.

"Overall law enforcement efforts across the country, especially against bonded labour, remained inadequate compared to the scale of the problem. The law required police to file an FIR upon receipt of information about the commission of a cognisable offence, such as forced labour or sex trafficking, which legally bound police to initiate a criminal investigation," the report said.

It also pointed out that the police did not always arrest suspected traffickers or file FIRs to officially register a complaint and officials settled many other cases at the complaint stage.

"Increase investigations, prosecutions and convictions of all forms of trafficking, including bonded labour. Vigorously investigate allegations of official complicity in human trafficking and sentence perpetrators to significant prison terms," the report recommended.

It also asked the Indian government to develop and immediately implement regular monitoring mechsms of shelters to ensure adequate care and promptly disburse funding to shelters that meet official standards for care.

The TIP report is divided into Tier-1, Tier-2, Tier-2 watchlist and Tier-3. Countries whose governments fully meet the TVPA's (Trafficking Victims Protection Act) minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking are categorised as Tier-1.

Countries whose governments do not fully meet the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so are listed under Tier-3.

India's neighbour China, on the other hand, has been placed under Tier-3 category of the report as the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) and its state-owned enterprises often force citizens to work in "horrendous conditions" on Belt and Road Initiative (BRI) projects.

( With inputs from ANI )