US human trafficking report: Bangladesh stuck in Tier 2 for 6yrs

Bangladesh has retained its position on Tier 2 of the US State Department's Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for the sixth year in a row.

It means the country continues to make significant efforts to eliminate human trafficking, but has failed to fully meet the minimum standards required for the top tier.

However, compared with the previous reporting period, the government demonstrated overall increasing efforts, said the 2025 report released on Monday.  

Among the progresses acknowledged by the report include increasing training for frontline officials on victim identification and trauma-informed care, as well as the formal adoption of a National Referral Mechanism (NRM).

Authorities identified and referred more victims to services compared to the previous year.

Yet, the report stresses that the government fell short in several critical areas, such as internal trafficking -- including sex trafficking and forced child labour -- which remained pervasive.

The number of traffickers who faced investigation, prosecution, and conviction dropped.

Labour inspectors remained severely under-resourced, particularly in monitoring the informal sector. Victim protection and reintegration services continued to be inadequate, especially for Rohingya refugees and returning migrant workers.

The TIP report criticised the government for continuing to allow high recruitment fees that left many Bangladeshi migrant workers indebted and vulnerable to trafficking.

It said that courts often imposed fines instead of prison sentences, weakening deterrence and undercutting the government's overall efforts.

Corruption and official complicity inhibiting law enforcement efforts also remained significant concerns, with no convictions of complicit officials reported.

The US State Department has issued a set of prioritised recommendations, including expanding Anti-Trafficking Tribunals, strengthening labour inspector capacity, improving services for all categories of victims, eliminating recruitment fees, investigating credible allegations of Rohingya exploitation, and adopting a fully resourced National Action Plan.

The TIP report places countries in four categories based on compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

Among Bangladesh's South Asian neighbours, India, Pakistan and Bhutan have also remained on Tier 2.

Nepal and the Maldives continue to be on the Tier 2 Watch List -- the third category, while Afghanistan has again been placed in Tier 3, the lowest ranking reserved for governments that make little effort to meet the minimum standards.