This is the second annual report to the U.S. Congress on the status of severe forms of trafficking in persons worldwide; it is required by the U.S. Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. The report compiles 89 source, transit or destination countries where there was credible evidence of at least 100 trafficking victims; it ranks these countries into three tiers, according to their efforts to address human trafficking.
The report's "Introduction" section looks at the problem of trafficking over the past year (2001); it discusses the causes of and magnitude of trafficking, describes the relevance of the "The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000" (Division A of Public Law 106-386) highlighting the act's definition of "Severe Forms of Trafficking in Persons" and minimum standards for other countries. It describes some U.S. efforts pursuant to this act including the roles of the U.S. President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, and steps taken by the U.S. Department of State
This annual report describes itself as a tool through which: "the United States seeks to bring international attention, both of governments and the general public, to the horrific practice of trafficking in persons. This report serves as a major diplomatic tool for the U.S. Government, which hopes that other governments will view this as an instrument for continued dialogue, encouragement for their current work, and an instrument to help them focus their future work on prosecution, protection, and prevention programs and policies." (p. 7)
The report estimated that 50,000 people were trafficked each year to the U.S. and between 700,000 and 4 million people are trafficking victims globally.
The report's second section provides a "Trafficking In Persons" list of the countries catagorized by tier. The third section provides a 1-2 page narrative for each country describing the degree to which the country complied with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.
