The United States says Russia has failed to make “significant efforts” to battle human trafficking, placing it on a blacklist that leaves open the possibility of U.S. sanctions.
For the second straight year the United States gave Russia the lowest rating in its annual human trafficking report issued by the U.S. State Department on June 20.
Moscow reacted angrily when it was downgraded to the “tier 3” classification in last year’s report.
Both Iran and Uzbekistan were also left on the “tier 3” blacklist in this year’s report.
Pakistan and Bosnia-Herzegovina, meanwhile, were downgraded from the “tier 2” and placed on a watch list for countries that saw a sharp rise in victims of sex trafficking and forced labor and which failed to provide evidence of increased efforts to tackle the problem.
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