Washington describes Morocco’s efforts in fight against human trafficking as ‘significant’

The U.S. State Department has described Morocco’s efforts in the fight against human trafficking as “significant” and underlined, in this connection, the adoption by the Kingdom of a 2023-2030 anti-trafficking strategy and an accompanying 2023-2026 implementation plan.

The Government of Morocco “is making significant efforts” to eliminate human trafficking, says the State Department in the 2023 Trafficking in Persons Report, which was presented Thursday in Washington by US Secretary of State, Antony Blinken.

The report stresses the Kingdom’s “increasing efforts” in improving law enforcement data collection efforts and disaggregating trafficking from smuggling cases in the data.

Morocco “increased overall efforts to protect trafficking victims”, the document notes, adding that “foreign trafficking victims could benefit from various services, including reintegration assistance, education, vocational training, social services, and legal aid”.

“The government increased efforts to prevent human trafficking”, the report underscores, stressing that the national inter-ministerial anti-trafficking committee, which was administered by the ministry of Justice and included two representatives from civil society, coordinated the government’s efforts to combat trafficking.

The U.S. State Department underlines that the 2023-2030 national strategy and the accompanying 2023-2026 implementation plan were drafted “in coordination with international organizations”, and that the government fully approved the new strategy and implementation plan in March 2023.

In an introductory message of the report, the Secretary of State deplored that “every year millions of people are exploited within and across borders. They are forced to work in factories for little or no pay; harvest crops; toil in terrible conditions in mines, construction sites, and fishing boats; or work in private homes. Many victims are exploited for commercial sex, adults and children alike.”

Antony Blinken who underlined the US administration’s commitment to combat human trafficking, pointed out that the report is “an immediate call to action,” and that tackling a global problem like trafficking requires a global coalition, one that cuts across government, business, and civil society.
Although progress has been made in the fight against human trafficking, there is more work to be done, he pointed out, vowing to continue to improve and adapt efforts to combat this crime, and build stronger partnerships with governments, businesses, survivor leaders, and NGOs. “We will ensure survivors of trafficking have access to the services they need to rebuild their lives. Together, we can make human trafficking a relic of the past,” the Secretary of State wrote in his message.