[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

BOLIVIA (Tier 2 Watch List) – Extracted in part from the U.S. State Dept 2023 TIP Report - Bolivia

The Government of Bolivia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  These efforts included adopting a new NAP for the elimination of trafficking and reportedly sentencing three traffickers who had been in pretrial detention since 2016.  However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period.  Officials did not report investigating, prosecuting, or convicting traffickers and did not report identifying or referring victims to care.  Therefore Bolivia was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List.

Prioritized Recommendations

Vigorously investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison time.

Provide victim protection services for all trafficking victims nationwide, including men and boys, and reopen the shelter for child victims of trafficking in La Paz.

Fund and implement the 2021-2025 NAP.

Appoint specialized labor inspectors and train all labor inspectors on victim identification and criminal referral of forced labor cases.

Expand training of officials on the use of established protocols for the proactive identification of trafficking victims among vulnerable populations and for the referral of victims to care services.

Amend the anti-trafficking law to ensure that a demonstration of force, fraud, or coercion is not required to constitute a child sex trafficking offense.

Screen displaced Venezuelan migrants for trafficking indicators, including individuals in commercial sex and those working in high-risk sectors.

Develop and implement a centralized data collection system on trafficking to reconcile duplicative data stored across different systems.

Direct Ministry of Health staff to screen vulnerable populations for trafficking indicators when conducting medical screenings.

Provide interpreters to assist law enforcement officials investigating child sex tourism cases in popular tourist locations.

Increase the time law enforcement officials serve in anti-trafficking units to preserve institutional knowledge.

Expedite the issuance of humanitarian visas for victims of trafficking.

Train officials on the difference between migrant smuggling and human trafficking.