Georgia: The annual report of the US State Department on the generation of trafficking in persons (trafficking) was published, according to which Georgia is still at the highest level with measures taken against human trafficking and it has been the 9th among 186 countries worldwide, “In the first basket.”
This year, only 33 countries took place in the highest assessment scale. Georgia is the only one in the region and among the EU candidate states that holds the highest rating from the US State Department. Notably, 12 countries did not get to the top first basket directly from the EU Member States.
Georgia pays significant attention to the effective fight against the trafficking of human beings, which is also an essential part of the integration process of Georgia into the European Union and creates a safe and reliable environment in the country and the region in terms of combating transnational organized crime.
According to the US State Department report, Georgia meets anti-trafficking standards. It continues to take firm, sustainable, consistent, and coordinated measures to combat trafficking, which is attributed to the highest rating in the country.
The US State Department report highlights the efforts of the Georgian government in all aspects of the fight against human trafficking (trafficking) in all aspects of crime prevention, identification, punishment, and protection of victims. The score was positive:
- A working group headed by the Ministry of Justice of Georgia, whose goal is to produce an annual wide-scale information campaign about the risks of human trafficking and ways to protect themselves from it;
- Proactive measures to expose crime and punishment of more criminals;
- Increase the number of shelters for victims of trafficking;
- Improvement of labor migration legislation for the prevention of human trafficking and others.
Georgia’s advanced position in the USA State Department report and the progress made during the reporting period result from the practical work of the Inter-Secular Coordination Council for Implementing Measures Against Trafficking in Persons.
The Council is headed by the Minister of Justice of Georgia and includes representatives of all relevant state agencies, public protection apparatus, and non-governmental and international organizations.
