Vienna -- Countries in the SEEECA region have been singled out for special praise in the annual TiP (Trafficking in Persons) Report, issued earlier this month by the US Government.

Bosnia and Herzegovina and Uzbekistan received special mention for their upgrades to Tier 2 on the scale use to measure efforts to combat trafficking, despite the immense challenges posed by the COVID pandemic.

Every year, the TIP report highlights and recognizes the efforts of eight “TIP heroes” – this year two are from the SEEECA region: Albania and Kazakhstan.

Several of IOM’s projects are believed to have had a bearing on the good performance by countries in the region.

In Bosnia and Herzegovina, the government, through an IOM/USAID project created a new database to standardize data collection on trafficking victims, established 18 regional monitoring teams to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts, and helped recruit and train 25 Romani activists to join these teams.

Since 2015, IOM has been directly partnering with key Uzbek Government agencies on counter trafficking and victim protection issues, and our cooperation continues to blossom.

Commenting on the data contained the TiP report, Regional Director Renate Held noted “seeing positive results in our anti-trafficking efforts is always welcome news, but to achieve this in the midst of a global health crisis, where vulnerabilities have been augmented, is nothing short of remarkable”.

The TiP report assesses the efforts by governments of 188 countries and territories to combat human trafficking. Widely seen as one of the most influential publications on trafficking in persons, the theme of this year’s TiP is “Human Trafficking in the Context of a Global Pandemic.”

The full TiP Report can be found at https://www.state.gov/reports/2021-trafficking-in-persons-report/