THE United States (US) has kept Zimbabwe on a list of countries that are failing to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking amid claims that girls are being traded for sexual exploitation at a large scale. According to the US Department of State, Zimbabwe did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts to fight the scourge of human trafficking compared with the previous reporting period and this meant the country remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year. In a statement on the release of the 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, secretary of State Marco Rubio said human trafficking was ahorrific and devastating crime that enriched transnational criminal organisations and immoral, anti-American regimes.
“The 25th edition of the Trafficking in Persons Report pushes countries to take serious action against forced labour and sex trafficking and ensures that those who fail to act face consequences,” Rubio said. According to the report, significant efforts included identifying more trafficking victims, investigating officials allegedly complicity in trafficking crimes, and signing a memorandum of understanding with a non-governmental organisation (NGO) to conduct anti-trafficking training for officials. “However, the government did not amend its anti-trafficking law to criminalise all forms of trafficking.
Reports of low-level official complicity in trafficking crimes persisted,” the report said. “The government decreased anti-trafficking funding, closed one shelter, and disbanded its six provincial task forces that investigated trafficking and co-ordinated victim services, hindering overall efforts.” It said human traffickers exploited domestic and foreign victims in Zimbabwe, and traffickers exploited victims from Zimbabwe abroad. “Internal trafficking is prevalent and under-reported.
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Traffickers exploit Zimbabwean adults and children in sex trafficking and forced labour, including in cattle herding, domestic service and mining,” the report added. “Child labour occurs in agriculture, including on tobacco, sugarcane and cotton farms, and on small, unregulated farms, as well as in forestry and fishing. “Observers reported that unaccompanied children are at risk of exploitation.
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