The report, which is required by law, is intended to raise global awareness, highlight efforts of the international community, and encourage foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of human trafficking. The purpose of combating human trafficking, according to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), is to protect victims, punish traffickers, and prevent trafficking from occurring. Foreign government efforts to combat human trafficking follow the "three P's"--prosecution, protection, and prevention. However, a victim-centered approach to human trafficking requires the use of the "three R's"--rescue, rehabilitate, and reintegration. Human trafficking is defined and includes trafficking humans for sexual exploitation, forced labor, and forced involvement in drug smuggling. This report places each country under analysis into one of three tiers, which is largely based on the extent of government action to combat trafficking. Tier 1 governments fully comply with the TVPA standards, Tier 2 countries do not fully comply with TVPA standards but are making efforts to bring themselves into compliance, and Tier 3 countries do not fully comply with TVPA standards and make no efforts to do so. Following the introduction, the report presents brief outlines of commendable initiatives undertaken around the world to combat human trafficking and introduces a handful of people who have made heroic actions to end human trafficking. The remainder of the report presents a country-by-country analysis of human trafficking according to their Tier placement. These analyses consider the scope and nature of the problem in the particular country, prosecution initiatives, protection of victims, and prevention efforts. Information for this report was obtained from U.S. embassies, foreign government officials, non-governmental organizations (NGOs), international organizations, published reports, research trips to every region, and information submitted to the government's tip line. Maps, figures, glossary