The U.S. Department of State says the Liberia National Police lacked the basic resources and equipment to fully respond to and investigate trafficking allegations, especially outside the capital.
The U.S. Department of State has released its Trafficking in Person report, revealing that the Government of Liberia does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.
The report acknowledges that the Liberian government is making significant efforts to meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking.
The report states that these efforts included completing renovations for two victim shelters initiated in the previous reporting period and conducting awareness campaigns.
However, the U.S. disclosed that the Liberian government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period.
It indicated that the government prosecuted fewer traffickers and did not convict any of them.
It indicated that law enforcement officials continued to lack adequate resources and understanding of trafficking to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes effectively.
"Victim services remained insufficient, and the government referred significantly fewer trafficking victims to care," the report said.
It continued that the government did not allocate adequate funding for anti-trafficking efforts, and concerns of official complicity remained.
It therefore downgraded Liberia to Tier 2 Watch List. In its recommendations, the U.S. Department of State called for increased efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers.
It wants Liberia to include those involved in internal trafficking and officials accused of complicity and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.
The U.S. further recommends increased availability of protection services for all trafficking victims - including victims outside the capital, male victims, and victims requiring long-term care - including by partnering with and allocating funding to civil society.
It also called on the Liberian government to allocate financial and in-kind resources to support anti-trafficking efforts, including the national anti-trafficking task force and implementation of the 2019-2024 NAP.
It urges Liberia to train officials, including law enforcement, labor inspectors, and social workers, on the use of standard victim identification procedures and the national referral mechanism to identify and refer trafficking victims to care proactively.
It recommends improved collaboration between anti-trafficking police units, immigration, labor, and judicial authorities.
"Train law enforcement and judicial officials on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting trafficking cases," the U.S. recommended.
Liberia has been asked to increase labor inspections in the informal sector and mining regions to improve the identification of trafficking cases, including child forced labor.
"Increase efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking, including internal trafficking," the report recommended.
According to the report, the Liberian government decreased law enforcement efforts, detailing that the 2021 Revised Act to Ban Trafficking in Persons Within the Republic of Liberia criminalized sex and labor trafficking and prescribed minimum sentences of 20 years imprisonment.
It said this was sufficiently stringent and, concerning sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as kidnapping.
However, the U.S. noted that the Liberian government investigated nine trafficking cases involving 13 suspects and continued investigations of six cases involving nine suspects.
This compared with investigating eight trafficking cases involving 12 suspects in the previous reporting period.
It observed that the government initiated the prosecution of one defendant, compared with prosecuting 13 defendants in the previous reporting period.
But it said courts did not convict any traffickers, compared with four convictions during the previous reporting period.
"Officials continued to lack understanding of internal trafficking crimes, and some continued to view forms of trafficking, especially of children in domestic servitude, as a culturally acceptable practice rather than a crime," the report said.
In addition, it said some prosecutors may have pursued other charges, including rape and child endangerment in lieu of sex trafficking or forced labor, because of a lack of understanding of the crime.
The report said that a lack of centralized record-keeping further hindered law enforcement efforts.
"The government did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government officials complicit in human trafficking crimes," the report noted.
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It said corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action.
After an investigation into trafficking allegations involving a Liberian diplomat in the United States that occurred during previous reporting periods, the report said authorities in the United States did not bring criminal charges.
According to the U.S. report, observers reported some court clerks and prosecutors allegedly required bribes to schedule trafficking cases.
"The Liberian National Police (LNP) Anti-Trafficking in Persons Unit was the primary investigator of trafficking cases.'
"The Ministry of Labor (MOL) had the authority to prosecute trafficking and child labor cases. The Liberian Immigration Service (LIS) and Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency investigated transnational trafficking cases," the report noted.
The LIS Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Unit, comprised of 14 officers, stationed at least one officer at each of Liberia's five major ports of entry and other minor ports of entry.
However, the U.S. noted that the LNP lacked the basic resources and equipment to fully respond to and investigate trafficking allegations, especially outside the capital.
