YEREVAN. – U.S. Ambassador to Armenia John Heffern congratulated Armenia for its strong commitment to combat human trafficking.

On June 19, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry released the 2013 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, in which Armenia’s status improved from Tier 2 to Tier 1. 

Ambassador Heffern noted that preventing trafficking, freeing victims and bringing traffickers to justice are the goals of the U.S. trafficking policy. In the report the countries are ranked based on their governments’ efforts to comply with minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking.

“Armenia now is considered among the world’s most successful countries in confronting this international scourge,” he said.

Ambassador Heffern recalled that the U.S. has provided over $2 million to Armenia’s trafficking efforts since 2003. He said the Embassy is working with NGOs and journalists, stressing the key role of the OSCE.

Since Tier 1 is the highest ranking, it does not mean that the country does not have trafficking problem. On the contrary, this indicates that the government acknowledges the problem, is making significant efforts to address it and complies with the international standards.