United States (US) puts Bangladesh on Tier 2 in its recently released ‘2025 Trafficking in Persons Report’ and said that the government of Bangladesh does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is ‘making significant efforts’ to do so.

"The Government of Bangladesh does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, Bangladesh remained on Tier 2," said the report.

According to the report, the government decreased overall law enforcement efforts and maintained efforts to prevent trafficking. Bangladesh has also made notable advances in victim protection, institutional capacity building, and inter-agency coordination to address trafficking in persons.

The report commended the government for increasing victim identification and protection services, expanding training for frontline officials, and formally adopting a National Referral Mechanism (NRM), a milestone that strengthens the country's structured response to trafficking.

The government identified 1462 trafficking victims, including 144 sex trafficking victims, 285 forced labour victims, and 1,033 victims of unspecified forms of trafficking. This compares with 1210 victims identified in the previous reporting period.

After identification, the government referred the victims to protection services, said the report.

Authorities also provided access to health care, legal aid, and shelter through centers operated by the Women and Children Affairs, Social Welfare and Expatriates' Welfare and Overseas Employment ministries.

In partnership with civil society, the government trained police, immigration officers, and labour inspectors on trauma-informed care and victim-sensitive procedures. These measures were praised as key steps toward aligning national practices with international anti-trafficking standards.

The report also acknowledged Bangladesh's ongoing cooperation with international partners, including INTERPOL, India, and South Africa, in investigating transnational trafficking networks.

The government's continued efforts to strengthen anti-trafficking tribunals and improve coordination among the Criminal Investigation Department (CID), Police Bureau of Investigation (PBI), and Counterterrorism and Transnational Crime Unit (CTTC) were also highlighted.

The government has maintained strong prevention efforts under the National Anti-Human Trafficking Authority, which coordinates policy implementation across ministries.

The Ministry of Home Affairs (MOHA), serving as the lead agency, continued to implement the National Action Plan (NAP) 2018-2025, allocating Taka 621.49 million for prevention and awareness activities, a significant increase from the previous year.

National and local-level Counter-Trafficking Committees (CTCs) conducted awareness campaigns through print, radio, and digital platforms in both Bangla and English.

The Bureau of Manpower, Employment and Training (BMET) continued to operate 104 technical training centers and launched pre-departure training sessions for outbound workers, including a 30-day specialized course for women domestic workers.

The government has strengthened bilateral labour agreements with major destination countries such as Malaysia, South Korea, and Brunei, establishing employer-paid recruitment models designed to protect migrant workers from excessive fees.

It also drafted a National Reintegration Policy for returning migrants, including trafficking survivors, to support reintegration and livelihood opportunities upon return.

Bangladesh continued to work with neighbouring countries under the 2015 Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with India to streamline victim repatriation and cross-border cooperation.

The report also noted that Bangladesh is participating in a regional working group with India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, and Thailand to strengthen anti-trafficking coordination in the Bay of Bengal region.

The TIP report acknowledged that Bangladesh faces challenges, particularly in addressing internal trafficking and improving law enforcement coordination.

However, it emphasized that the country's continued policy reforms, institutional development, and international engagement reflect strong political will to combat human trafficking in all its forms.

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Bangladesh's Tier 2 ranking underscores its growing commitment to strengthening rule of law, protecting migrant workers, and ensuring justice for trafficking victims, as the government continues to invest in a more resilient and rights-based anti-trafficking framework.

Meanwhile, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government investigated, prosecuted, and convicted fewer traffickers and did not take adequate steps to address internal trafficking crimes, including sex trafficking and forced child labor, which remained pervasive.

Labor inspectors severely lacked the capacity to adequately monitor informal sectors and hold companies accountable for labor violations.

Victim protection and reintegration efforts remained insufficient, particularly for Rohingya refugees and returning Bangladeshi migrant workers.

The government continued to permit set recruitment fees that rendered many migrant workers indebted, increasing their vulnerability to trafficking.

The US report recommended increased efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, including complicit officials and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.

Other recommendations include: consistently enforce regulations and monitor labor recruitment companies, dalals (sub-agents), and brokers who supply labor to recruiting agencies, including by eliminating recruitment fees charged to migrant workers and holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.

Increase the capacity of labor inspectors to identify trafficking crimes, including monitoring the informal sector, filing cases in labor courts and referring cases for criminal courts investigations.

Increase efforts to identify trafficking victims among vulnerable populations, including disseminating and implementing formal victim identification procedures and the NRM to refer victims to appropriate services.

Increase law enforcement efforts to investigate and prosecute credible allegations of trafficking of Rohingya, including cases that do not involve movement, and establish clear procedures for referring Rohingya to protection services.

Increase training for officials, including law enforcement, labor inspectors, immigration officers, and health care providers, on a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach and on victim identification and referral to services.

Improve quality of pre-departure training for migrant workers, including sessions on labor rights, labour laws, and access to justice and overseas assistance.

Cease the inappropriate penalization of adult trafficking victims solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of trafficking.