PR-2020
June 26, 2020
The United States Releases the 2020 Trafficking In Persons Report
On June 25, 2020, the U.S. Secretary of State Michael R. Pompeo released the 2020 Traffic In Persons (TIP) Report at a virtual event accompanied by Advisor to the President Ivanka Trump and Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons John Cotton Richmond.
The 2020 TIP Report assesses the anti-trafficking efforts of 188 governments, including the United States and Taiwan. The United States and Taiwan are both listed as Tier 1. While Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that a country or a territory has no human trafficking problem or that it is doing enough to address the problem. Rather, a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has made efforts to address the problem that meet the Trafficking Victims Protection Act’s (TVPA) minimum standards. To maintain a Tier 1 ranking, governments need to demonstrate appreciable progress each year in combating trafficking. Indeed, Tier 1 represents a responsibility rather than a reprieve.
The theme of this year’s TIP Report introduction is “Looking Back on Twenty Years of the Trafficking in Persons Report.” It marks a major milestone – the 20th anniversary of the TIP Report – and lays out the evolution of the report as a touchstone anti-trafficking resource. It is a celebration of 20 years of documenting progress in combating human trafficking and, as always, a candid reminder of the work yet to be done. For 20 years, the TIP Report has demonstrated the United States’ conviction that human trafficking is a global threat necessitating a global response.
The entire TIP Report is available online at https://www.state.gov/trafficking-in-persons-report-2020/.
The Taiwan narrative is also available on the AIT website at https://www.ait.org.tw/2020-trafficking-in-persons-report-taiwan/.
