Belmopan --- 30 Sept. 2006---The President of the United States of America has determined that the Government of Belize is making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking in persons as outlined in the Trafficking Victims Protection Act.

As a result Belize has been removed from the list of Tier 3 countries and the U.S. Government will not impose sanctions or oppose any loan or utilization funds from multilateral agencies.

This announcement was made on 27 September 2006 by the White House.

Belize and Laos are the only two countries to be removed from the Tier 3 list.

Over June and July 2006, the Government of Belize implemented an intense 60 day mini-plan aimed at combating trafficking in persons. The plan focused on prevention, prosecution and protection and included a nation-wide public awareness campaign, unannounced intelligence driven operations and the identifying facilities and services for adequate victim prevention.

A team from the U.S. State Department visited Belize in late July 2006 to assess first hand the progress Belize was making in combating trafficking in persons.

The Government of Belize remains committed to eliminating trafficking in persons and to sustaining its efforts to this end. The Anti-trafficking in Persons Committee is in the process of finalizing a strategic plan which will assist the relevant government agencies in better implementing the Trafficking in Persons (Prohibition) Act.

The Government of Belize pledges to continue to work with regional and international partners to eliminate this form of modern day slavery.

Source: Belize Government
http://www.belize.gov.bz