U.S. Talks Tough On Sex Slave Trade

12 Countries Accused Of Not Fighting Trafficking

(AP) 
Ambassador John Miller, who heads the State Department's trafficking office, acknowledged that the administration worries about a trafficking spike during the World Cup.

"I have expressed my concern directly to the German ambassador here," Miller told reporters.

The area that appeared to make the biggest strides toward combating human trafficking, according to the report, was the Persian Gulf.

Three regional countries listed a year ago among the worst violators — Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates — were found in the 2006 report to have improved.

Saudi Arabia was the only repeat country from the Gulf. Iran, a new entry, was described as a "source, transit and destination country for women and girls trafficked for the purposes of sexual exploitation and involuntary servitude."

Similar language was used for a number of other countries on the list of worst offenders.

Other countries in this category for the first time are Laos, Syria, Uzbekistan and Zimbabwe.

The closest U.S. ally where serious problems were found was Israel. The report said Israel is a destination for lower-skilled workers from Europe and Asia, adding that some were "subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude" in Israel.

Miller said Venezuela has shown no interest in combating its trafficking problem. "They have never had an arrest, a prosecution or a conviction of a trafficker," he said.

The report also noted that the United States itself has been subjected to allegations of trafficking of third country nationals into Iraq by Defense Department contractors.

The report noted that alleged victims are from India, Nepal, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka and the Philippines.

The reported abuses included confiscation of passports, deceptive hiring practices and excessive recruitment fees, the study said, noting that the Pentagon has taken remedial measures.