PREVENTION
The government continued efforts to prevent trafficking. The anti-trafficking committee met twice during the reporting period and its technical committee met 10 times. In April 2014, the anti- trafficking committee published a report documenting Jordan’s anti- trafficking efforts from 2010 to 2014.The government continued to distribute anti-trafficking brochures to foreign migrants at border crossings, police stations, airports, and in the garment sector. The government did not report taking measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts or forced labor. The government did not provide specific anti-trafficking training or guidance for its diplomatic personnel.The Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported its finance department directly paid locally-hired domestic staff of Jordanian diplomats posted abroad, in accordance with labor laws and wage rates in the host country. The government did not provide specific anti-trafficking training for its peacekeepers before their deployment abroad.
The MOL employed 160 inspectors, up from 120 employed in 2013, responsible for enforcing the labor code. In 2014, the MOL conducted 88,208 labor inspections, found 24,034 labor violations, and recommended the closure of 8,112 workplaces, of which 2,095 were subsequently closed. The MOL inspected 60 recruitment agencies and closed two. A 2011 decree issued by the labor minister requiring employers to pay their domestic workers by direct deposit to a bank account was not fully implemented or enforced in 2014. In February 2015, the government published regulations governing domestic worker recruitment agencies, which would require employers to provide insurance for health and labor incidents, as well as “runaway insurance” as part of the contract for foreign domestic workers; should a worker not complete his or her contract, this “insurance” ensures an employer will be reimbursed the original recruitment fee paid to acquire a worker. The MOL continued to operate a hotline that received labor complaints and included interpretation services available in some  source-country languages.

KAZAKHSTAN:  Tier 2 
Kazakhstan is a destination and, to a lesser extent, a source and transit country for men, women, and children subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor. Domestic trafficking is a consistent problem, accounting for most identified victims. Kazakhstani women and girls are subjected to sex trafficking in the Middle East, Europe, and United States. Women and girls from neighboring Central Asian and Eastern European countries, as well as from rural areas in Kazakhstan, are subjected to sex trafficking in Kazakhstan; in most cases, traffickers target young girls and women, luring them with promises of employment as waitresses, models, or nannies in large cities.The relative economic prosperity in the government capital Astana, the financial capital Almaty, and the western oil cities Aktau and Atyrau, attract large numbers of Kazakhstanis from rural villages, some of whom become victims of labor trafficking and sexual exploitation. Chinese, Kazakhstani, and other Central Asian nationals, in particular Uzbekistani men and women, are subjected to conditions of forced labor in domestic service, construction,

and agriculture in Kazakhstan. Some children are forced to beg and others may be coerced into criminal behavior or pornography. Many victims indicate they were lured through fraud and deceit, sometimes by friends or acquaintances, and, at times, exploited by small organized criminal groups in Kazakhstan.
The Government of Kazakhstan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.The government demonstrated its commitment to combating trafficking in persons by improving its anti-trafficking legislation, continuing its training of law enforcement officials, and investigating and prosecuting suspected police officers complicit in trafficking offenses. The government significantly increased its funding for victim assistance and continued its robust partnership with international organizations and NGOs to protect victims and raise awareness of trafficking crimes. However, victim identification, investigations, and convictions decreased.The government’s long-term shelter capacity also remained insufficient and funding for awareness campaigns declined.

RECOMMENDATIONS  FOR KAZAKHSTAN:
Continue to improve efforts to identify trafficking victims— particularly foreign forced labor victims—among vulnerable populations and refer these victims for assistance; increase efforts to vigorously investigate and prosecute suspected trafficking cases, respecting due process; continue to increase the number of government-funded trafficking shelters; refrain from deporting victims; provide legal alternatives to forced repatriation; train labor inspectors to better identify victims of forced labor and report potential trafficking cases to the police; continue to investigate and prosecute police officers suspected of corruption; develop the mechanism to provide longer-term shelter and rehabilitation to trafficking victims; and provide anti-trafficking training or guidance for diplomatic personnel to prevent their engagement or facilitation of trafficking crimes.

PROSECUTION
The government maintained progress in anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts. Kazakhstan prohibits all forms of sex and labor trafficking through Articles 128, 133, 125(3b), 126(3b), 270, and 132-1 of its penal code, prescribing penalties of up to 15 years’ imprisonment, which are sufficiently stringent and commensurate with those prescribed for other serious crimes, such as rape. Police investigated 82 trafficking cases in 2014, compared with 138 in 2013. Kazakhstani authorities completed 37 cases, resulting in 32 offenders convicted in 2014, a decrease from 43 convictions the previous year. Convicted offenders for sex and labor trafficking offenses received sentences ranging from one year of probation to 10 years’ imprisonment. Two police officers were convicted for abusing their professional roles and facilitating illegal migration and pimping; the officers received a 3-year and 5-year prison sentence, respectively.
The government continued to provide a variety of specialized

training courses in the recognition, investigation, and prosecution of trafficking crimes for police, prosecutors, and judges and funded police participation in international anti-trafficking events. In 2014, the judicial institute conducted eight training sessions for 400 judges on the protection of trafficking victims during the criminal process. The Ministry of Internal Affairs (MVD) conducted five in-service training courses on victim identification and investigative techniques for 84 police officers, the migration police, community police, and school inspectors. During the reporting period, Kazakhstan jointly investigated 10 cases related to trafficking with other countries, including Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. The government continued to investigate police officials allegedly complicit in trafficking and related offenses, including a case in Mangystau Oblast where officials protected a brothel owner, previously convicted of trafficking. Experts noted a recent decrease in the number of trafficking cases related to pimping and brothel maintenance after the maximum penalty for this crime increased to 10 years’ imprisonment and believe pimps are bribing low-ranking police officials to avoid such charges.