RIYADH — The International Organization for Migration (IOM), a global intergovernmental organization in the field of migration that works closely with governments and other partners, has lauded Saudi Arabia's anti-trafficking efforts that have been acknowledged by the United States in its State Department's human trafficking report. In a press statement, the IOM said: "The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has received an improved ranking in the US State Department's Trafficking in Person's report. The opening remarks of the report, which now holds the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia at Tier 2 Watchlist, recognized ‘significant efforts' and ‘greater transparency' in the government's response to Trafficking in Persons." "The report is recognized as the most comprehensive overview of the situation of governmental response to trafficking in 187 countries across the world. Government efforts to address the crimes and ramifications of trafficking are broadly categorized into Prosecution, Protection and Prevention analysis, which provides a well-rounded view of each government's progress and required each year," the IOM statement added. "In 2019, the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia was ranked at Tier 3; since then, significant and concerted efforts have been made to improve the government's response, and the upgraded ranking in 2020 reflects this." The IOM and the Saudi government reignited a previously Memorandum of Understanding signed in 2016, through the launch of a program with the Human Rights Commission (HRC) to address trafficking response, in January 2020. The program hosts an ambitious series of activities, focused on the prevention of trafficking and the protection of those affected by the crime. Simultaneously, the HRC is working with the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) to strengthen the prosecution response. In March 2020, the Saudi government formally launched its National Referral Mechanism (NRM), which brings together key stakeholders in a multi-entity platform that coordinates trafficking response in the Kingdom. The newly launched programs with the IOM and the UNODC will support the government to operationalize the NRM and capacitate those concerned with trafficking response. Carmela Godeau, IOM Regional Director for the Middle East and North Africa, on hearing of the improved ranking within the TiP Report, said "The TiP report represents a global standard for a response to trafficking in persons, and the improvement of the ranking of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia is a recognition of the concerted efforts the government has made this year, to improve its response structure. IOM is glad to be a key partner in the efforts and expects to build on recent momentum for years to come."
