authorities initiated prosecutions against 57 alleged traffickers, compared with 59 in 2013, and convicted 25 traffickers, compared with 41 in 2013. Under the Criminal Code, authorities initiated prosecutions against nine alleged sex traffickers, compared with 35 in 2013, and convicted four traffickers, compared with six in 2013. A Cambodian court convicted six Taiwan nationals for enslaving 74 Cambodians onboard Taiwan fishing vessels, but at the end of the reporting period,Taiwan authorities had not yet convicted any traffickers associated with this case (five of six remain at-large in Taiwan) or prosecuted other cases involving abuses onboard Taiwan-flagged vessels. During the year, authorities continued to train law enforcement officers, prosecutors, and judges through various workshops, seminars, and conferences; however, many prosecutors and judges continued to demonstrate a limited understanding of trafficking crimes. Authorities did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of Taiwan authorities complicit in human trafficking offenses.

PROTECTION
Authorities sustained efforts to protect victims of trafficking. Authorities identified and assisted 292 trafficking victims (86 sex trafficking victims and 206 forced labor victims), compared with 366 in 2012; all 292 were referred to shelters for assistance. Law enforcement officials used standardized questions and evaluation forms when interviewing and referring potential trafficking victims. The National Immigration Agency (NIA) operated three shelters dedicated to trafficking victims, and the Ministry of Labor subsidized an additional 19 shelters and a 24-hour hotline trafficking victims could access. These shelters provided trafficking victims—both men and women—with medical and psychological services, legal counseling, vocational training, small stipends, interpretation, and repatriation assistance. Authorities encouraged victims to participate in investigations against their traffickers by offering temporary residence and work permits.Authorities made available permanent residence visas to foreign trafficking victims who faced retribution or hardship if they returned to their country of origin. Victims were able to obtain restitution or file civil suits against traffickers, but no victims sought this option. Although victims could receive immunity for crimes committed as a result of being subjected to trafficking, NGOs reported authorities occasionally treated trafficking victims as criminals.

PREVENTION
Authorities sustained efforts to prevent trafficking through numerous awareness campaigns, workshops, and conferences. A cabinet-level minister-without-portfolio continued to implement the national plan of action and oversee an interagency working group, which met twice in 2014. Members of the working group established standard operating procedures to handle offshore disputes involving Taiwan-flagged vessels, including incidents of trafficking.Various agencies continued to fund advertisements and public service announcements on human trafficking prevention in newspapers, magazines, and on the radio, and distributed anti-trafficking posters and pocket cards in seven languages. Authorities continued to operate foreign-worker service stations and international airport service counters around Taiwan to assist migrant workers and educate them on their rights. To address exploitation associated with labor recruitment, authorities denied 21 business licenses to those complicit in trafficking and fined 73 individuals. Authorities continued to operate the Direct Hiring Service Center to allow employers to directly hire their labor force, instead of utilizing brokers; the hiring process, however, remained

cumbersome and the services were not well-publicized.Taiwan’s laws criminalize sexual exploitation of children byTaiwan passport holders traveling abroad, but authorities have not investigated or prosecuted any child sex tourism offenses committed abroad since 2006.Authorities provided anti-trafficking information to personnel posted overseas but did not fully implement pre-departure human trafficking training for new diplomats.

TAJIKISTAN:  Tier 2 
Tajikistan is a source and, to a lesser extent, destination country for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor, and a source country for women and children subjected to sex trafficking. Extensive economic migration exposes Tajik men, women, and children to exploitation.Tajik men and women are subjected to forced labor in agriculture and construction in Russia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and, to a lesser extent, in neighboring Central Asian countries.Women and children from Tajikistan are subjected to sex trafficking primarily in the UAE and Russia, and also in Saudi Arabia, Kazakhstan, and Afghanistan, as well as within Tajikistan. Women are increasingly vulnerable to trafficking after they are informally divorced from their absent migrant husbands and need to provide for their families. Reports indicate Tajik women and girls are transported to Afghanistan for the purpose of forced marriage, which can lead to sex trafficking and debt bondage. Reports from previous years indicate Tajik children are subjected to sex trafficking and forced labor, including forced begging, in Tajikistan and Afghanistan.Tajik children and adults may be subjected to agricultural forced labor in Tajikistan—mainly during the fall cotton harvest. Afghan and Bangladeshi citizens are vulnerable to forced labor in Tajikistan.
The Government of Tajikistan does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so. In 2014, the government adopted a new law, Counteracting Trafficking in Persons and Providing Support to Victims of Trafficking in Persons, which created a legal framework for designating a person a “victim of trafficking” and established programs to protect and provide services to such victims. However, the government continued to lack procedures to proactively identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations and remained unable to provide adequate victim protection services. In particular, budget limitations and high turnover of officials with the necessary specialized knowledge to assist trafficking victims constrained such efforts. Nonetheless, the government modestly increased its anti-trafficking law enforcement efforts, investigating and prosecuting an increased number of cases in 2014.

RECOMMENDATIONS   FOR TAJIKISTAN:
Develop standard operating procedures for identifying trafficking victims; vigorously investigate and prosecute suspected trafficking

offenses, respecting due process, and increase convictions of traffickers; dedicate funding or provide in-kind assistance specifically for combating trafficking in persons and offering comprehensive victim assistance; continue to enforce the prohibition against the forced labor of children in the annual cotton harvest by inspecting fields during the harvest, in collaboration with local officials and civil society organizations; protect victims and encourage their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers; train law enforcement to screen women in prostitution for trafficking victimization and ensure sex trafficking victims are not penalized for prostitution offenses; improve the collection of anti-trafficking law enforcement data; ensure that the inter-ministerial commission meets quarterly to continue coordinating governmental anti- trafficking efforts; and provide anti-trafficking training or guidance for diplomatic personnel to prevent their engagement or facilitation of trafficking crimes.