Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment - Tajikistan
| Publisher | United States Department of State |
| Publication Date | 24 February 2010 |
| Cite as | United States Department of State, Trafficking in Persons Interim Assessment - Tajikistan, 24 February 2010, available at: https://www.refworld.org/docid/4b8e7a6ac.html [accessed 7 June 2023] |
| Disclaimer | This is not a UNHCR publication. UNHCR is not responsible for, nor does it necessarily endorse, its content. Any views expressed are solely those of the author or publisher and do not necessarily reflect those of UNHCR, the United Nations or its Member States. |
[From the introductory text accompanying this report on the U.S. Department of State website: "In most cases, the Interim Assessment is intended to serve as a tool by which to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that may be in danger of slipping a tier in the upcoming June 2010 TIP Report and to give them guidance on how to avoid a Tier 3 ranking. It is a tightly focused progress report, assessing the concrete actions a government has taken to address the key deficiencies highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. The Interim Assessment covers actions undertaken between the beginning of May – the cutoff for data covered in the June TIP Report – and November. Readers are requested to refer to the annual TIP Report for an analysis of large-scale efforts and a description of the trafficking problem in each particular country or territory."]
The Government of Tajikistan demonstrated modest progress in addressing human trafficking problems since the release of the 2009 TIP Report. Although the government did not provide in-kind or financial assistance to the two existing IOM-run trafficking shelters, Tajikistan increased its diplomatic staffing in the UAE and Russia to assist trafficking victims and to coordinate with local immigration officials in trafficking cases. Tajik diplomats in Dubai provided shelter for nine victims of sex trafficking at the government's Dubai Consulate and assisted with their repatriation from the UAE to Tajikistan in 2009. The government reported no significant efforts to investigate 2008 allegations of government officials' abuse of trafficking victims; no new allegations of victim mistreatment were reported since the release of the 2009 Report, however.
There were reports that the use of forced child labor during the annual cotton harvest decreased in 2009 following a presidential decree issued in April banning the use of student labor in the harvesting of cotton; however, some cases of forced child labor occurred. Local authorities also ordered adult government employees, including doctors and teachers, to pick cotton in lieu of their normal duties. There were no reported efforts to investigate, prosecute, convict, or punish local government officials who forced children or adults to pick cotton during the 2009 cotton harvest.
