Iceland “Destination And Transit Country” For Human Trafficking

A new report from the US Department of State on global human trafficking notes Iceland’s need for improvement.

According to the report, Iceland is called “a destination and transit country for women subjected to sex trafficking and men and women subjected to labor trafficking”, and broke down the demographics as such:

“Women from Eastern Europe, the Baltics, West Africa, and Brazil are subjected to sex trafficking, often in nightclubs and bars. Men and women from Africa, Eastern Europe, South America, and South and East Asia are subjected to forced labor in construction, tourism, restaurants, fish factories, and as au pairs in private houses.”

While the State Department praised Iceland for “fully meet[ing] the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking”, it did note that “for the third consecutive year there were no prosecutions or convictions of suspected traffickers.”

Apart from stepping up prosecutions, the report also recommends that Iceland “expand training for officials on proactive identification of trafficking victims, particularly among migrant workers, unaccompanied children, and asylum seekers.”

The full report on Iceland and human trafficking can be read on page 199 of the linked report.