KOK News

U.S. Country Report on Trafficking in Persons in Germany - 2021 Trafficking in Persons Report

The Trafficking in Persons Country Reports, issued annually by the U.S. Department of State's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, were released in early July.

The annual reports categorize countries into tiers from 1 to 3 according to their compliance with minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking. Germany is categorized, as it was the year before, under tier 2, "countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA's* minimum standards but are making significant efforts to meet those standards."

The report notes efforts on the part of Germany with regard to prosecution and conviction of perpetrators, as well as an increase in financial resources for the protection of victims, but also that the minimum standards were not met in some priority areas. These include fewer investigative procedures by law enforcement and the lack of a national "victim investigation and referral system for all forms of trafficking". The report makes a number of recommendations and measures to combat trafficking, including a stronger focus on trafficking for labor exploitation, better identification of trafficked persons, the creation of a "national victim investigation and referral guideline" and the promotion of assistance structures, counseling and accompaniment work by specialized counseling centers.

In addition to measures taken by the relevant federal and state authorities, the country report also mentions the work of specialized counseling centers as well as projects and cooperations of funded non-governmental organizations, including KOK. The policy paper "Recognizing Trafficked Persons in the Context of Asylum", published by KOK in November 2020, is also mentioned.

The U.S. Department of State prepared this report based on information from U.S. embassies, government officials, nongovernmental and international organizations, published reports, news articles, academic studies, consultations with agencies and organizations in all regions of the world, and information submitted to tipreport@state.gov.

* Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000.

 

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