US commends Sri Lanka’s human trafficking elimination

 

The U.S.Report for 2011 on Trafficking in Persons (TIP) released yesterday by the Secretary of State Hilary Clinton says that Sri Lanka is making significant efforts for elimination of human trafficking.  It has noted that the Sri Lankan government convicted three traffickers, in the first case under its anti-trafficking legislation, and rejuvenated its inter-agency task force.

The report says that the Sri Lankan government increased law enforcement efforts in addressing human trafficking cases over the reporting period. The report points out that Sri Lanka prohibits all forms of trafficking through an April 2006 amendment to its penal code, which prescribes punishments of up to 20 years’ imprisonment. These penalties are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious offences, such as rape.

The report  adds that amendments passed in 2009 to the Foreign Employment Act expanded the powers of the Sri Lanka Bureau of Foreign Employment (SLBFE) to prosecute recruitment agents who engage in fraudulent recruitment, prescribing a maximum penalty of four years’ imprisonment and fines of $1,000, and restricting the amount that employment agents can charge.(niz)

 

Source: Government News Portal