Tuesday Oct 13, 2026
Tuesday Oct 13, 2026
Tuesday, 13 October 2026 02:48 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
Sri Lanka has retained Tier 2 status in the US Department of State’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report for the fifth consecutive year, the Ministry of Defence said.
Tier 2 covers countries that do not fully meet the minimum US standards for eliminating trafficking but are making significant efforts to do so. The Ministry attributed the ranking to improvements in coordination, victim protection, law enforcement, prevention and institutional cooperation.
National coordination is led by the National Anti-Human Trafficking Task Force (NAHTTF), chaired by the Defence Secretary. It brings together government institutions responsible for prevention, protection, investigation, prosecution, migration management, labour, child protection and victim assistance.
The main development during the reporting period was the launch of the National Strategic Action Plan to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking 2026-2030, which sets the framework for coordinated action over the next five years, the Ministry said.
At the local level, the Government established and expanded District Anti-Trafficking Forums linking local authorities, law enforcement agencies and other institutions. According to the Ministry, the forums support early identification of victims, better referrals and more coordinated responses within districts.
Other measures included awareness and capacity-building programs for frontline officers, closer cooperation among member institutions and engagement with international and regional partners. The Ministry said greater attention was also paid to emerging forms of trafficking, including technology-facilitated recruitment, online exploitation and forced criminality, in which victims are coerced into committing crimes.
The Ministry acknowledged the need to further strengthen the national response. It said the NAHTTF remained committed to tackling outstanding challenges in prevention, victim protection, investigation, prosecution and inter-agency coordination, and credited the five-year run to the combined work of government institutions and other stakeholders.
