United States Secretary of State Michael Pompeo released the eighteenth annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report at a public event at the State Department in Washington, D.C. on June 28. The theme of this year’s TIP Report is “Local Solutions to a Global Problem: Supporting Communities in the Fight against Human Trafficking.” This year’s report notes that the government made key achievements during the reporting period; therefore Sudan was upgraded from Tier 3 to Tier 2 Watch List.
About Sudan’s upgrade ranking, Chargé d’Affaires Steven Koutsis said, “Sudan’s achievements over the previous year have included increasing the number of investigations, prosecutions, and arrests of traffickers, including complicit officials, as well as improving screening processes to prevent government armed forces’ recruitment of child soldiers, expanding training for law enforcement and judicial officials, highlighting the differences between trafficking and migrant smuggling, and identifying more victims through law enforcement operations.” Koutsis said, “We will continue to work with the Government of Sudan to strengthen their efforts in the fight against modern slavery.”
The report’s introduction focuses on effective ways local communities can address human trafficking proactively, and on how national governments can support and empower them. Each year, the State Department honors TIP Report Heroes from around the world, including NGO workers, survivors, lawmakers, police officers, and concerned citizens, who have demonstrated outstanding efforts to combat trafficking in persons. The 2018 TIP Report features Dr. Yosief Abrham Mehari as a Hero and highlights the impact he has made in advancing the fight against human trafficking in Sudan and across the globe.
The entire TIP Report is available online at www.state.gov/j/tip. A link to the video of the ceremony, transcripts of the Secretary’s remarks at the TIP Report rollout event and press briefings and interviews, and fact sheets transcript of the Secretary’s public remarks also are available on the Department’s website.
