Published: October 1, 2025
MONROVIA -- Liberia has again been placed on the U.S. State Department's Tier 2 Watch List for human trafficking, a public rebuke that highlights the government's failure to secure even a single conviction for traffickers for a second consecutive year and exposes its inability to protect the country's most vulnerable citizens.
The 2025 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, released Monday in Washington, credits Liberia with "significant efforts", including several high-profile arrests, but concludes that those steps "were not serious and sustained enough to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking."
"The government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period," the report states. "For a second year, no traffickers were convicted, and victim protection services remained largely ineffective."
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The designation keeps Liberia on the Tier 2 Watch List, one step above the most severe Tier 3 category that can trigger restrictions on certain kinds of U.S. non-humanitarian aid.
Launching the global report in Washington, U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken stressed that trafficking "remains a persistent and serious problem where corruption and weak institutions allow perpetrators to act with impunity."
High-Profile Arrests, but No Convictions
The report cites the arrest of Rev. Emmanuel Nimely, a former presidential religious adviser under ex-President George Weah, in an alleged trafficking scheme tied to fraudulent overseas recruitment. Nimely spent weeks at Monrovia Central Prison before being released on bail; the case remains in court.
In another incident, a director at the National Anti-Human-Trafficking Task Force, the very body meant to coordinate Liberia's response, was charged with running a similar illegal recruitment ring.
"Such cases underscore how official complicity weakens the entire response system," the TIP Report warns. "While arrests were made, the government again failed to secure convictions of any traffickers, including complicit officials, thereby undermining deterrence."
Victims Without Safe Haven
The report describes Liberia's sole government-run shelter in Monrovia as "under-resourced and largely inoperable." Outside the capital, there are no functional shelters, despite the law requiring nationwide protection services.
The national 24-hour anti-trafficking hotline, once hailed as a breakthrough, is "not consistently operational," the report adds.
A social worker who has worked with rescued street children said in an interview:
"We sometimes keep survivors in our own homes for a night or two because the shelter cannot take them. There is no food budget, no counselors, and no security. It's heartbreaking."
Scope of the Crime
Human trafficking in Liberia is described as pervasive and multifaceted, from child labor in artisanal mines and street vending to coerced domestic servitude and fraudulent recruitment for work abroad.
The TIP Report stresses that "street children, workers in informal mining camps, rural women, and people seeking jobs overseas remain the most vulnerable."
Civil-society activist Josephine Finda, head of a community-based NGO in Gbarpolu County, said:
"In the mining areas, boys as young as 10 carry heavy loads for little or no pay. Girls are lured to the camps as cooks or sex workers. We alert the police, but cases rarely reach court."
Corruption and Complicity
The TIP Report singles out corruption among law-enforcement and judicial officers as a major obstacle, citing allegations that some officials solicit bribes to delay hearings or dismiss cases.
"Corruption within the justice sector continues to hamper investigations and prosecutions of traffickers," the report says. "Such practices discourage victims from coming forward."
A senior police officer, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to comment, admitted the challenges:
"We lack resources, and some officers compromise cases for money. Without better pay and oversight, it's difficult to stop."
U.S. Recommendations
Washington laid out benchmarks the Boakai administration must meet to improve Liberia's ranking:
- "Investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including complicit officials."
- "Proactively identify victims, especially among vulnerable populations such as street children and mining workers."
- "Train law-enforcement officers, prosecutors, and social workers to better detect and respond to trafficking."
- "Allocate meaningful financial resources to anti-trafficking efforts, including functional shelters outside Monrovia."
A senior State Department official warned that failure to show measurable progress by the next reporting cycle could result in Liberia being moved to Tier 3, which would bring "serious implications for foreign assistance beyond humanitarian aid."
A History of Missed Opportunities
Liberia first criminalized human trafficking in 2005 after media and humanitarian groups exposed cases of women and children being trafficked to the Middle East and neighboring West African countries for domestic servitude and forced labor.
The government has since adopted multiple national action plans and received millions of dollars in donor support, but implementation has been patchy.
An anti-trafficking advocate, who served on an earlier presidential task force, reflected on the two-decade struggle:
"Each administration launches new plans, but political will fades after the headlines. We built special units for rape cases under donor pressure, yet we still see uneven justice. Now, trafficking is following the same sad path."
Parallels to Sexual-Violence Cases
Experts note that Liberia's struggle against trafficking mirrors its mixed record in tackling sexual- and gender-based violence. International pressure in the late 2000s led to the creation of special courts and prosecution units for rape cases, but progress has been slow and convictions remain inconsistent.
The Human Toll
Survivor testimonies, though rarely made public for safety reasons, highlight the personal cost of Liberia's weak response.
One 17-year-old girl, rescued from an illegal recruitment scheme that promised her a domestic-worker job in Oman, told The Liberian Investigator:
"I thought I was going to school and work to help my family. Instead, they locked me in a room and took my passport. I still have nightmares."
Advocates say many rescued victims face stigma in their communities and lack access to psychological support, further complicating reintegration.
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CENTAL's Response to the Report
Anderson Miamen, executive director of the Center for Transparency and Accountability in Liberia (CENTAL), said it is unfortunate that Liberia continues to slip in its efforts to address human trafficking, especially at the local level.
"I have not read the report, but speaking from a general perspective as a civil society actor, the government has to do more. It has to commit more resources to ensuring that human trafficking is addressed. This is possible when there is accountability. The country's resources need to be properly managed and equitably distributed," Miamen said.
He called for stronger government action to combat human trafficking at home, saying that meaningful progress locally would help curb the crime internationally.
"For example, people in rural areas far from Monrovia are in dire need of opportunities for their children. Individuals with sinister motives approach them and promise quality education for their children--only to bring those children to Monrovia and turn them into laborers and modern-day slaves, with no hope of attending school. These children grow up frustrated and see living on the street as a normal way out, causing even more harm to society," Miamen said.
He urged the government to fight corruption and reduce poverty through the equitable distribution of state resources across the country, while also tackling corruption in the justice system.
"Liberia needs to do better, and this is only possible when corruption is fought intentionally and uncompromisingly. Our justice system needs to do better in guaranteeing justice without any concern about who knows whom or what someone has in his or her pocket," he said, adding that the report "is a wake-up call, and I hope President Boakai looks deeply into it and makes informed decisions that would change the narrative from gloomy to welcoming."
