FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

U.S. Embassy
June 14, 2004

U.S. Embassy Announces the Release of the
2004 Trafficking in Persons Report

The Department of State has released its Fourth Annual Trafficking in Persons Report.  The United States condemns trafficking in persons as one of the greatest human rights challenges of our time.  Trafficking in persons is a problem that few countries are immune from, including the United States.  A U.S. Justice Department report on the situation in the United States is available at the web site cited below. 

In order to help galvanize greater international cooperation and action, each year in its Trafficking in Persons report the State Department evaluates the efforts of all countries to combat this global problem. Cyprus is included in the report for the first time this year based on information received from the Cypriot Government Ombudswoman’s report and from non-governmental organizations that a significant number of victims have been trafficked into the country. 

Cyprus’s designation as a Tier 2 Watch List country -- a category that includes both Greece and Turkey -- means that the Government of Cyprus does not fully comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, but is making significant efforts to do so.  Cyprus is on the Tier 2 Watch List because its efforts against trafficking are based largely on the government’s expressed commitment to take additional future steps to combat trafficking.  In February 2005, the State Department will issue an assessment of the efforts of all Watch List countries, including Cyprus, towards improving their anti-trafficking activities.

We intend to continue to work closely with the government of Cyprus, as well as other governmental and non-governmental actors in the region and around the world, in combating the global scourge of human trafficking. 

For more information on the State Department’s 2004 Trafficking in Persons Report and for U.S. and international efforts to combat trafficking, please see the U.S. Embassy’s website at http://www.americanembassy.org.cy/tip.htm.