Anti-trafficking advocates, in Nigeria, have criticized the new Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report from the U.S. State Department on the grounds that it does not discuss the role of the United States as a destination country for trafficked individuals. The State Department’s annual TIP report assesses countries that recorded more than one hundred cases of trafficking the previous year and rates both governmental and non-governmental efforts in eliminating the practice. Nigeria is among 149 governments assessed in the report. While it is well established that Nigeria is a popular source county for trafficking, significant criticism has been expressed over the reports’ refusal to acknowledge the role the United States plays as a destination country in the trafficking process. Indeed, some estimates put the number of women annually trafficked into the United States at over 17,000. Organizations such as Africans in America Inc. (AIA) and Women's Consortium of Nigeria (WOCON) have led the charge in protesting the report’s omission. A failure to fully recognize the sources of supply and demand and to accurately track the flow of people, they contend, undermines the fight against trafficking.
Compiled from: News Bulletin, "US State Department Ignores Trafficking to the United States, say Nigerian Anti-trafficking Adovcates," AdvocacyNet, www.advocacynet.org, 20 June 2006.