The United States has decided to place Myanmar on its global list of worst offenders in human trafficking, Reuters reported on 27 June. The report quoted officials saying, the move was aimed at prodding the country’s new democratically elected government and its still-powerful military to do more to curb the use of child soldiers and forced labour.
The reprimand of Myanmar comes despite U.S. efforts to court the strategically important country to help counteract China’s rise in the region and build a Southeast Asian bulwark against Beijing’s territorial assertiveness in the South China Sea, the report said.
Myanmar’s demotion is part of the State Department’s closely watched annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report which is due to be released on Thursday.