US Downgrades Myanmar, Raises Thailand In Human Trafficking Report

The United States placed Myanmar, Uzbekistan, Sudan and Haiti on its list of worst human trafficking offenders on Thursday, drawing guarded praise from some human rights groups following criticism that last year’s State Department report was politicized.

While more than two dozen countries were downgraded in the closely watched Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, Thailand was removed from the bottom rung despite what the State Department described as “widespread forced labor” in the country’s vital seafood industry.