Justice Ministry participates in filling questionnaire for US Annual Trafficking in Persons Report

The Justice Ministry announces it has participated this week in completing the answer of the Romanian authorities on the assessment questionnaire sent by the US Department of State for the 2022 Trafficking in Persons Report or TIP Report.

According to a ministry release sent to AGERPRES on Friday, the process was conducted under the coordination of the National Agency against Trafficking in Persons and the Chancellery of the Prime Minister.

The TIP report is an annual assessment by the US Government, which examines the efforts of countries around the world to prevent and combat human trafficking.

Based on the findings, this mechanism places the evaluated states in four levels - Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List, and Tier 3.

"The 2022 edition of the report is of crucial value for Romania, as it will decide to promote or demote the Romanian state from the Tier 2 Watch List level it has been on for two years. A possible demotion of Romania would have undesirable consequences in terms of bilateral relations, as it may impose certain restrictions on the nature of financial assistance," the release informs.

The Ministry of Justice adds that, since the end of 2019, it has organised an inter-institutional front to fight human trafficking.

In this regard, repeated working meetings were held with the leadership of the Public Prosecutor's Service, the Directorate for Investigating Organised Crime and Terrorism (DIICOT), the Interior Ministry (MAI), the United States Embassy, as well as with other institutions with responsibilities in the field.

At the same time, working meetings were held with EU counterparts, the Commissioner for Justice and ambassadors, for a close cooperation in combating the phenomenon on a cross-border level.