YEREVAN, JULY 28, ARMENPRESS. The Embassy of the United States warmly congratulates the Government of Armenia on maintaining Tier I status for the third year in a row in the Department of State’s 2015 Trafficking in Persons assessment. As Armenpress was informed from The Press and Media Section of the US Embassy in Armenia, of the 188 countries covered in the report, only 31 achieved the coveted Tier 1 status

The Government of Armenia earned its Tier 1 ranking by taking concrete actions to fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. For example, in 2014,  the Armenian Parliament approved a law establishing standard procedures for the identification, support, protection, and reintegration of suspected and identified trafficking victims by national and local government bodies, NGOs, international organizations, and civil society.  In addition, the Armenian police have successfully identified foreign victims trafficked in Armenia and referred them to care, and the government has maintained strong collaborative working ties with anti-trafficking NGOs, local media, donor organizations, and regional partners.

The Embassy values its partnership with the Government of Armenia in the fight against trafficking in persons and looks forward to working with the Government more, particularly in the areas of formal victim-witness protection and victim identification.

The full Trafficking in Persons report for Armenia can be found here