Trafficking in persons Equatorial Guinea, in 19 editions.

current situation: Equatorial Guinea is mainly a transit and destination country for women and children trafficked for forced labor, involuntary domestic servitude, and commercial sexual exploitation from surrounding countries - primarily Benin, Nigeria, Mali, Gabon, and Cameroon; victims work in the agricultural and commercial sectors of Malabo and Bata, where demand is high due to a booming oil sector; sector and a flourishing expatriate business community; children work as farmhands, street vendors, or household servants; girls and women are also trafficked for commercial sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List 3 - Equatorial Guinea is placed on failed to demonstrate the Tier 2 Watch List for political commitment to address its failure human trafficking problem; despite efforts to provide adequate evidence raise awareness of concrete measures to address trafficking over problems, in 2006 the past year government failed to investigate and prosecute traffickers or protect victims

current situation:
Equatorial Guinea is primarily a destination country for children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and possibly for the purpose of sexual exploitation; children have been trafficked from nearby countries for domestic servitude, market labor, ambulant vending, and possibly sexual exploitation; women may also be trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for sexual exploitation
tier rating:
Tier 2 Watch List - Equatorial Guinea is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to eliminate trafficking, particularly in the areas of prosecuting and convicting trafficking offenders and failing to formalize mechanisms to provide assistance to victims; although the government made some effort to enforce laws against child labor exploitation, it failed to report any trafficking prosecutions or convictions in 2007; the government continued to lack shelters or formal procedures for providing care to victims (2008)

current situation:
Equatorial Guinea is primarily a destination country for children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and possibly for the purpose of sexual exploitation; children have been trafficked from nearby countries for domestic servitude, market labor, ambulant vending, and possibly sexual exploitation; women may also be trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for sexual exploitation
tier rating:
Tier 2 Watch List 3 - Equatorial Guinea is on the Tier 2 Watch List for its failure to provide evidence of increasing not making significant efforts to eliminate trafficking, particularly in comply with the areas minimum standards on the elimination of prosecuting and convicting trafficking offenders trafficking; despite limited law enforcement action against suspected human smugglers and failing to formalize mechanisms to provide assistance to victims; although traffickers, including complicit public officials, the government has made some effort to enforce laws against child labor exploitation, it failed no tangible efforts to report any provide victims of trafficking prosecutions or convictions with the protective services mandated in 2007; its 2004 anti-trafficking law; prevention efforts have decreased, as the government continued to lack shelters or formal procedures for providing care did not hold any public awareness campaigns and its interagency commission on human trafficking took little, if any, action; the government's response to victims (2008) human trafficking has been inadequate, particularly given the government's substantial financial resources (2011)

current situation:
Equatorial Guinea is primarily a destination country for children trafficked for the purpose of forced labor and possibly for the purpose of sexual exploitation; children have been trafficked from nearby countries for domestic servitude, market labor, ambulant vending, and possibly sexual exploitation; women may also be trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for sexual exploitation
tier rating:
Tier 3 - Equatorial Guinea is not making significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards on the elimination of trafficking; despite limited law enforcement action against suspected human smugglers and traffickers, including complicit public officials, the government has made no tangible efforts to provide victims of trafficking with the protective services mandated in its 2004 anti-trafficking law; prevention efforts have decreased, as the government did not hold any public awareness campaigns and its interagency commission on human trafficking took little, if any, action; the government's response to human trafficking has been inadequate, particularly given the government's substantial financial resources (2011) (2008)

current situation:
Equatorial Guinea is primarily a source and destination country for women and children trafficked for the purpose of subjected to forced labor and possibly for the purpose of sexual exploitation; children have been trafficked from nearby countries for work as domestic servitude, servants, market labor, laborers, ambulant vending, vendors, and possibly sexual exploitation; launderers; women may also be trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for sexual exploitation forced labor or prostitution; Equatorial Guinean girls may be encouraged by their parents to engage in the sex trade in urban centers to receive groceries, gifts, housing, and money
tier rating:
Tier 3 - Equatorial Guinea is does not making significant efforts to fully comply with the minimum standards on the elimination of trafficking; despite limited law enforcement action against suspected human smugglers trafficking and traffickers, including complicit public officials, is not making significant efforts to do so; the government has made initiated no tangible investigations or prosecutions of suspected trafficking offenses and demonstrated no efforts to provide identify victims of trafficking or to provide them with the protective services mandated in necessary services, despite being required to do so under its 2004 anti-trafficking law; prevention efforts have decreased, as the government did not hold any public awareness campaigns and shows a slight increase in its interagency commission on human efforts to prevent trafficking took little, if any, action; with the government's response creation in 2012 of a working-level committee to combat human trafficking trafficking, but it has been inadequate, particularly given the government's substantial financial resources (2008) not launched any public anti-trafficking campaigns or implemented any programs to address forced child labor (2013)

current situation:
Equatorial Guinea is a source country for children subjected to sex trafficking and destination country for women men, women, and children subjected to forced labor labor; Equatorial Guinean girls may be encouraged by their parents to engage in the sex trade in urban centers to receive groceries, gifts, housing, and sexual exploitation; money; children have been are also trafficked from nearby countries for work as domestic servants, market laborers, ambulant vendors, and launderers; women may also be are trafficked to Equatorial Guinea from Cameroon, Benin, other neighboring countries, and China for forced labor or prostitution; Equatorial Guinean girls may be encouraged by their parents to engage in the sex trade in urban centers to receive groceries, gifts, housing, and money prostitution
tier rating:
Tier 3 - – Equatorial Guinea does not fully comply with the minimum standards on the elimination of trafficking and is not making significant efforts to do so; in 2014, the government has initiated made no investigations efforts to investigate or prosecutions of prosecute any suspected trafficking offenses and demonstrated no efforts offenders or to identify victims or to provide them with necessary services, protect victims, despite being required to do so under its 2004 anti-trafficking law; the government shows a slight increase in its efforts to prevent law prohibiting all forms of trafficking with and mandating the creation in 2012 provision of a working-level committee services to combat human trafficking, but it has victims; undocumented migrants continued to be deported without being screened to assess whether any were trafficking victims; authorities did not launched undertake any public anti-trafficking campaigns or implemented trafficking awareness campaigns, implement any programs to address forced child labor (2013) labor, or make any other efforts to prevent trafficking (2015)

current situation: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Equatorial Guinea and Equatoguineans abroad; the majority of trafficking victims are subjected to forced domestic service and commercial sex in cities, particularly in the hospitality and restaurant sector; local and foreign women, including Latin Americans, are exploited in commercial sex domestically, while some Equatoguinean women are sex trafficked in Spain; some children from rural areas have been forced into domestic servitude; children from nearby countries are forced to labor as domestic workers, market workers, vendors, and launderers; individuals recruited from African countries and temporary workers from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela are sometimes exploited in forced labor and sex trafficking
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Equatorial Guinea does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; authorities investigated, and for the first time since 2010, initiated the prosecution of alleged human traffickers; the government partnered with an international organization to provide training for more than 700 officials and civil society actors; authorities developed and implemented formal screening procedures to identify victims within vulnerable populations, an effort that had stalled for five years; however, the government still has not convicted a trafficker or any complicit government employees under its 2004 anti-trafficking law; a lack of training among judicial officials has resulted in potential trafficking crimes being tried under related statutes; victim services remained inadequate; authorities did not report referring any trafficking victims to government housing that was supposed to serve as temporary shelter (2020)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Equatorial Guinea and Equatoguineans abroad; the majority of trafficking victims are subjected to forced domestic service and commercial sex in cities, particularly in the hospitality and restaurant sector; local and foreign women, including Latin Americans, are exploited in commercial sex domestically, while some Equatoguinean women are sex trafficked in Spain; some children from rural areas have been forced into domestic servitude; children from nearby countries are forced to labor as domestic workers, market workers, vendors, and launderers; individuals recruited from African countries and temporary workers from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela are sometimes exploited in forced labor and sex trafficking

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Equatorial Guinea does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; authorities investigated, and for the first time since 2010, initiated the prosecution of alleged human traffickers; the government partnered with increased anti-trafficking awareness campaigns, as well as finalized and began implementing an international organization to provide training for more than 700 updated 2022-2024 national action plan and standard operating procedures on victim protection and care; officials improved internal coordination, trained local leaders and civil society actors; authorities developed law enforcement officials in trafficking indicators, victim identification, and implemented formal screening procedures to identify victims within vulnerable populations, an effort that had stalled for five years; investigation; however, the government still has did not demonstrate overall increased anti-trafficking efforts compared with the previous year; officials have never convicted a trafficker or any complicit government employees under its 2004 anti-trafficking law; a lack law, did not prosecute traffickers or identify victims during the reporting period, and the law did not criminalize all forms of training among judicial trafficking; senior government officials has resulted allegedly were complicit in potential trafficking crimes being tried under related statutes; victim services remained inadequate; authorities did not report referring any trafficking victims to crimes; because the government housing that devoted sufficient resources to a plan that, if implemented, would constitute significant efforts to meet minimum standards, Equatorial Guinea was supposed granted a waiver per the Trafficking Victims Protection Act from an otherwise required downgrade to serve as temporary shelter (2020) Tier 3, and therefore remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the third consecutive year (2022)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Equatorial Guinea and Equatoguineans abroad; the majority of trafficking victims are subjected to forced domestic service and commercial sex in cities, particularly in the hospitality and restaurant sector; local and foreign women, including Latin Americans, are exploited in commercial sex domestically, while some Equatoguinean women are sex trafficked in Spain; some children from rural areas have been forced into domestic servitude; children from nearby countries are forced to labor as domestic workers, market workers, vendors, and launderers; individuals recruited from African countries and temporary workers from Brazil, the Dominican Republic, and Venezuela are sometimes exploited in forced labor and sex trafficking; observers report LGBTQI+ youth are often left homeless and stigmatized by family and society, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking (2022)