WASHINGTON (AFP) ? The United States on Monday removed the Philippines and Singapore from a human trafficking watchlist that drew concerns from the close allies, but it reported persistent abuses around Asia.
The State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons Report has become increasingly sensitive for Southeast Asian governments, which face a cutoff of US assistance if they are found to be unresponsive in fighting trafficking.
The latest report elevated the Philippines, Singapore and Laos off the watchlist to so-called Tier 2, which means that the countries do not fully meet standards on human trafficking but are making efforts to do so.
Indonesia and Cambodia stayed at Tier 2, but Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam stayed on the watchlist. The only Asian jurisdictions on Tier 1, meaning full compliance, were South Korea and Taiwan.
Releasing the report, the State Department said that millions of people around the world remained trapped in modern-day slavery for sexual exploitation or labor and called on governments around the world to take action.
The report "embodies the United States' continued dedication to fighting traffickers no matter where they may be, because fighting slavery and standing up for human rights is part of our national identity," Secretary of State Hillary Clinton wrote in a forward to the report.
But US allies have sometimes responded indignantly. Singapore last year lashed out at being put on the watchlist and urged the United States -- which again this year listed itself as Tier 1 -- to examine its own record, including the treatment of its millions of illegal residents.
In the Philippines, President Benigno Aquino took the unusual step of announcing in April that his country was off the watchlist, leading US officials to clarify that no decision had yet been made.
In Monday's report, the State Department praised an "intensified effort" by the Philippines. It said the Philippines convicted 25 trafficking offenders, compared with nine the previous year, including first-ever convictions for forced labor.
Elsewhere in Asia, the State Department removed Sri Lanka and Fiji from its watchlist. It praised Sri Lanka -- often on the receiving end of criticism over human rights -- for its first convictions under an anti-trafficking law on the island, which is a major source of workers to abuse-prone Arab countries.
On the other hand, the United States downgraded the Federated States of Micronesia to Tier 3, meaning that some assistance will be suspended to the nation of more than 600 islands that is closely linked to the United States.
The report said that Micronesian traffickers have forced women into prostitution in the United States with promises of well-paying jobs.
The State Department said that Micronesian waters are seen as easy for traffickers but that no figures are available as the government has not conducted any investigations into the problem.
Myanmar, North Korea and Papua New Guinea remained at Tier 3. In a change that begins next year, countries that stay on the watchlist for two consecutive years automatically will drop to Tier 3, causing a cutoff in aid.
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