Eswatini has stable relations with South Africa but claims large sections of South African territory based on the historic extent of Swazi control during the early 19th century; despite periodic negotiations, there has been little progress in resolving the dispute
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List — Eswatini does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so; Eswatini established multi-agency emergency response teams to respond to trafficking victim identification; however, the government did not demonstrate overall increasing efforts, compared with the previous year, to expand its anti-trafficking capacity; the lack of government coordination and leadership of the Prevention of People Trafficking and Smuggling Secretariat continued to hinder efforts; the government did not allocate funding for the Prevention of People Trafficking and People Smuggling Task Force to coordinate anti-trafficking efforts; the lack of specialized training for front-line officers continued to hamper efforts; serious allegations of trafficking and victim abuse by senior government officials have remained pending for multiple years; the first shelter for victims refurbished in collaboration with foreign donor support remained inoperative for the second consecutive year; therefore, Eswatini remained on Tier 2 Watch List for the second consecutive year (2023)
trafficking profile: human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Eswatini, and traffickers exploit victims from Eswatini abroad; traffickers target vulnerable communities, particularly those with high HIV/AIDS prevalence rates; Swati girls, particularly orphans, are exploited in sex trafficking and domestic servitude, primarily in Eswatini and South Africa; some Swati girls in forced domestic work are physically and sexually abused by their employers, and sex traffickers exploit orphaned girls in exchange for food and money; Swati boys and foreign children are forced into labor in agriculture, cattle herding, and market vending within Eswatini; some Mozambican boys who migrate to Eswatini for work are exploited by traffickers in forced labor; Cuban nationals on medical missions in Eswatini may have been forced to work by the Cuban government; traffickers use Eswatini as a transit country to move foreign victims, primarily Mozambicans, to South Africa for forced labor; some Mozambican women reportedly are forced into commercial sex in Eswatini or transported to South Africa; some Swati people, including orphaned girls and girls from poor families who voluntarily migrate in search of work—particularly in South Africa—are exploited in sex trafficking; Swati men recruited in border communities are exploited in forced labor in South Africa’s timber industry (2023)
NOTE: The information regarding Eswatini on this page is re-published from the 2024 World Fact Book of the United States Central Intelligence Agency and other sources. No claims are made regarding the accuracy of Eswatini 2024 information contained here. All suggestions for corrections of any errors about Eswatini 2024 should be addressed to the CIA or the source cited on each page.
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