[ Human Trafficking, Country-by-Country ]

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

The Government of Vanuatu does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.  These efforts included sentencing four traffickers to adequate prison terms, following their conviction in the previous reporting period.  However, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, even considering the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, if any, on its anti-trafficking capacity.  For the fourth consecutive year, authorities did not identify any trafficking victims and did not provide any protection services to trafficking victims, including among victims who remained in the country at the close of the previous reporting period.  For the third consecutive year, the government did not investigate any trafficking crimes.  The government also did not conduct public awareness campaigns or administer systematic anti-trafficking training for its law enforcement officials.  Therefore Vanuatu was downgraded to Tier 2 Watch List.

Prioritized Recommendations

Amend anti-trafficking legislation to remove sentencing provisions that allow fines in lieu of imprisonment for sex trafficking crimes. 

Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers under anti-trafficking laws and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms. 

In coordination with civil society, develop and implement comprehensive SOPs for victim identification and referral, including by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, such as individuals in commercial sex, LGBTQI+ persons, migrant workers, and persons displaced by natural disasters. 

Provide systematic training for all relevant officials on the trafficking law, victim identification, and referral mechanisms. 

Allocate resources for and implement victim protection benefits, including permission to work for foreign victims who wish to participate in prosecutions against alleged traffickers. 

Refer all identified victims to services. 

Cease compelling foreign victims to remain in Vanuatu for the length of prosecutions against alleged traffickers. 

Institute a campaign to raise public awareness of trafficking, including among remote and vulnerable communities. 

Improve anti-trafficking coordination with international partners, including by increasing information sharing with sending countries and instituting standard repatriation procedures. 

Accede to the 2000 UN TIP Protocol.