Maseru, Dec. 13–According to the 2025 Human Trafficking Report, the Government of the Kingdom of Lesotho does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
The report shows that the government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period, therefore, Lesotho remained on Tier two.
These efforts included increasing investigations and prosecutions of alleged traffickers and funding for anti-trafficking law enforcement and protection efforts.
It points out that the government identified significantly more trafficking victims and increased efforts to raise awareness of trafficking. However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. It cites that shelter and services for victims, especially male victims, remained limited. The government did not prohibit worker-paid recruitment fees, increasing vulnerabilities to trafficking.
The recommendations made include institutionalizing annual anti-trafficking training for front-line officials, including police, immigration officers, and labor inspectors, on the indicators of trafficking, victim-centered and trauma-informed trafficking investigations, increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, including complicit officials, which should involve significant prison terms, increase the availability of protection services for all trafficking victims, especially male victims, including by partnering with civil society service providers, institutionalize and consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including by eliminating worker-paid recruitment fees and holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable, and systematically collect and analyze anti-trafficking law enforcement and victim protection data…
MP/BM
