Malaysia remains in Tier 3 of US human trafficking report
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia remains in Tier 3 of the US State Department’s annual human trafficking report. Released today, the report said the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, even considering the impact of the…
PETALING JAYA: Malaysia remains in Tier 3 of the US State Department’s annual human trafficking report.
Released today, the report said the government does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so, even considering the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic on the country’s anti-trafficking capacity.
“Therefore, Malaysia remains in Tier 3,” said the report.
Malaysia was placed on the Tier 2 Watchlist from 2018 to 2020 before dropping to Tier 3, the lowest tier, last year.
The report added that the government has continued to conflate human trafficking and migrant smuggling crimes, which impeded law enforcement and victim identification efforts.
“Anti-trafficking investigations declined, and the government did not prosecute or convict government officials allegedly complicit in trafficking crimes,” stated the report.
The report also said that as in previous years, the government did not adequately address or criminally pursue credible allegations from multiple sources alleging labour trafficking in the rubber manufacturing industry and palm oil sector. — Free Malaysia Today
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