US trafficking report keeps Lebanon on Tier 2, citing progress and gaps

The US State Department's latest global trafficking assessment keeps Lebanon on Tier 2, saying the government does not fully meet minimum standards but "continues to make progress", Naharnet reported.

According to the report, authorities increased trafficking investigations and convictions, launched procedures to identify victims, adopted new rules to protect domestic workers and cracked down on fraudulent recruitment agencies. It notes that the war, which displaced over a million people, strained the state's capacity.

The report also lists serious gaps: there is still no approved national action plan and no central interagency task force, so law-enforcement data remain fragmented. Inconsistent screening means some victims may be penalised for acts they were forced to commit, and the employer-based sponsorship system leaves migrant workers exposed to abuse.

Lebanese law still does not criminalise employers confiscating workers' passports. Closing that gap, and giving prosecutors and judges the tools to pursue traffickers, would protect the vulnerable and strengthen the rule of law.