• Increase efforts to investigate, prosecute, and convict traffickers, including those involved in internal trafficking and officials accused of complicity, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, which should involve significant prison terms.
• Proactively identify trafficking victims by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, and train officials – including law enforcement, labor inspectors, and social workers – on the use of SOPs and the national referral mechanism.
• Increase the availability and quality of protection services – including short-term shelter and long-term housing – for all trafficking victims, especially victims outside the capital.
• Adopt and implement a comprehensive national action plan and dedicate resources to its implementation.
• Allocate financial and in-kind resources to support anti-trafficking efforts, including sufficiently resourcing the national anti-trafficking task force and partner with civil society organizations.
• Increase the engagement of anti-trafficking task force members, including in regular participation in task force meetings, and strengthen cooperation among anti-trafficking police units, immigration, labor, prosecutors, and judicial authorities.
• Train law enforcement and judicial officials on identifying, investigating, and prosecuting trafficking cases.
• Increase labor inspections in the informal sector and mining regions to improve identification of trafficking cases, including child forced labor.
• Increase efforts to raise public awareness of human trafficking, including internal trafficking.

The government made mixed law enforcement efforts.

The 2021 Revised Act to Ban Trafficking in Persons Within the Republic of Liberia criminalized sex and labor trafficking and prescribed minimum sentences of 20 years’ imprisonment, which were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with those prescribed for other grave crimes, such as kidnapping.

The government reportedly investigated 11 potential trafficking cases involving 18 suspects, including four forced labor cases and seven cases for unspecified forms of trafficking. This compared with investigating nine trafficking cases involving 13 suspects in the previous reporting period. The government reportedly initiated prosecution of two potential forced labor cases involving an unknown number of suspects and continued prosecuting eight suspects, including five suspects for forced labor and three suspects for unspecified forms of trafficking. This compared with prosecuting one suspect in the previous reporting period. Courts again did not convict any traffickers and reportedly acquitted a defendant in one case. Due to conflation of trafficking with other crimes, the government’s data likely included non-trafficking crimes such as fraud and migrant smuggling. Officials continued to lack understanding of trafficking crimes, and some continued to view forms of trafficking, especially of children in domestic servitude, as a culturally acceptable practice rather than a crime. In addition, prosecutors had difficulty building cases, and some prosecutors pursued other charges, including rape and child endangerment, in lieu of sex trafficking or forced labor. A lack of centralized record keeping further hindered law enforcement efforts.

The Liberian National Police (LNP) Women and Children Protection Section (WACPS) served as the primary investigator of trafficking cases. The Ministry of Labor (MOL) had the authority to prosecute trafficking and child labor cases. The Liberian Immigration Service (LIS) and Liberia Drug Enforcement Agency could investigate transnational trafficking cases, and the LIS Anti-Human Trafficking and Migrant Smuggling Unit stationed officers at several ports of entry. The Ministry of Justice (MOJ) oversaw the prosecution of trafficking cases, and a specialized court heard cases involving violence against women and girls, although circuit courts could also try trafficking crimes. Observers reported many police, prosecutors, judges, and labor inspectors lacked sufficient resources, impeding trafficking investigations and prosecutions. The LNP lacked basic resources and equipment to fully respond to and investigate trafficking allegations, especially outside the capital. The government had limited capacity to address trafficking crimes beyond urban areas where inadequate resources and infrastructure hindered efforts. Observers noted that vehicles lacked fuel to investigate cases or transport victims. The National Anti-Trafficking in Persons Task Force (NATT) and an international partner conducted some trainings for officials, and the MOJ conducted workshops for prosecutors on strengthening prosecutions of trafficking cases. The government engaged in limited cooperation with foreign counterparts on anti-trafficking law enforcement activities.

Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action. The government charged a NATT director with allegedly facilitating human trafficking by fraudulently recruiting victims for overseas employment where victims were then subjected to forced labor. LNP also arrested a former advisor to the previous president for alleged involvement in a fraud scheme, which potentially included human trafficking. Observers reported some court clerks and prosecutors allegedly required bribes to schedule trafficking cases.

The government maintained inadequate efforts to identify and protect trafficking victims.

The government did not report identifying or referring any trafficking victims to care, compared with 157 victims identified and 25 referred to care during the previous reporting period. The government assisted in repatriating at least one potential trafficking victim from Sierra Leone. The government also initiated a project to remove thousands of children who are homeless from the streets due to the risks of exploitation, human trafficking, and malnutrition and provide some services, including education. Observers reported trafficking crimes remained under-reported and officials struggled to identify victims, particularly among vulnerable groups such as children and domestic workers.

The government had SOPs and an NRM to identify trafficking victims and refer them to care; the government updated its SOPs and NRM to ensure compliance with international standards. However, law enforcement, immigration, and social services personnel lacked training on such procedures and, at times, likely failed to identify or misidentified trafficking victims as victims of other crimes. Due to a lack of training, insufficient resources and staffing, and inconsistent application of victim identification procedures, the government did not prevent the inappropriate penalization of potential victims solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked. The government reported providing $20,000 for protection services, compared to $12,000 in the previous reporting period. Despite the slight increase, overall resources for protection services remained very limited, especially in rural areas, and most funding for victim assistance came from an international organization. NGOs provided services to at least 15 victims, including legal aid, psychosocial support, and repatriation assistance without direct government support.

The MOL operated three shelters for adult trafficking victims, while the Ministry of Gender, Children and Social Protection (MOGCSP) operated additional shelters for children, including victims of trafficking. The MOL’s three shelters could accommodate a total of 40 victims, including men, women, and children, and one shelter was dedicated exclusively to female trafficking victims. However, two of the MOL shelters were not fully operational during the reporting period. The government did not report how many victims were assisted at the MOL or MOGCSP shelters. In addition, LNP WACPS facilities could provide short-term accommodations to child victims of crime, and occasionally adult victims, but lacked basic amenities. Adult victims were allowed to leave the shelters at will but were subject to a curfew. The government provided only basic services to trafficking victims, and the quality of care was inconsistent; resource constraints limited services, especially in rural areas. The government relied heavily on NGOs when government shelters or services were unavailable. Shelter and services were available to both domestic and foreign victims.

Victims were not required to participate in investigations and prosecutions to access protection services. The government provided victim-witness assistance to support participation in criminal justice proceedings, and at least 15 potential victims participated in prosecutions. However, resource constraints posed challenges facilitating witness travel, court fees, and other expenses necessary to ensure victim participation. The anti-trafficking law allowed victims to obtain restitution, although the government did not report whether any traffickers were ordered to pay restitution. Victims could file civil suits against traffickers, although no victims filed largely because of a lack of awareness and the prohibitive costs of retaining an attorney. The government did not have a formal policy that provided alternatives to removal to countries in which victims would face retribution or hardship but could offer temporary residency on a case-by-case basis.

The government maintained inadequate efforts to prevent human trafficking.

The MOL coordinated the government’s anti-trafficking efforts and co-chaired the NATT with the MOJ. The task force also included representatives from the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of Health, Ministry of Internal Affairs, and MOGCSP. The NATT met regularly, although staffing issues and infrequent participation of senior officials limited the effectiveness of the NATT. The government began drafting a new five-year NAP for 2025-2030 to replace its 2019-2024 NAP. For the second consecutive year, the government did not report allocating any funds to combat human trafficking, compared to allocating $230,170 in the 2023 budget. The government reported spending $40,000 on prevention efforts, compared to $32,000 during the previous reporting period. The government conducted some activities to raise public awareness of trafficking, including radio ads in various languages.

The MOL continued to combat forced labor and child labor despite budgetary and staffing constraints. The MOL reported operating an anti-trafficking hotline during business hours, though observers noted the hotline appeared understaffed and was not always operational. The government reported receiving 4,721 trafficking-related calls, compared to 5,959 calls during the previous reporting period, but it did not report referring any calls to LNP for investigation. The government conducted labor inspections but did not report identifying any child labor or trafficking victims. The government reportedly provided some anti-trafficking training to its labor inspectors. The government required labor recruiters to be licensed by the government, although the government did not actively regulate labor recruitment. The government did not prohibit worker-paid recruitment fees. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts. The government reportedly provided some anti-trafficking training to its peacekeepers.

Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years. Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Liberia, and traffickers exploit victims from Liberia abroad. Most trafficking cases involve women, children, and members of impoverished rural communities moving from rural to urban areas within Liberia. Traffickers are commonly family members or well-respected community members who promise disadvantaged relatives a better life for their children or offer young women a better life for themselves in cities. Traffickers exploit victims in sex trafficking and forced labor, including in agriculture, domestic servitude, fishing, forced begging, gold and diamond mining, and street vending and on small-scale rubber plantations. Traffickers allegedly compel children to sell illicit drugs.

Children – particularly orphans, those who are homeless, or those in state child welfare systems – face higher risks of forced labor. Traffickers exploit orphaned children in street vending and child sex trafficking. Traffickers often exploit the informal foster care system common across West Africa. Liberian law requires parents to register children within 14 days of birth; while about two-thirds of children younger than the age of five are registered, only about 30 percent have obtained a birth certificate. Although the government has expanded birth registration accessibility, continued lack of birth registration and identity documents increases individuals’ vulnerability to trafficking. Intercountry adoption regulations remain unenforced, leaving children vulnerable to exploitation.

Traffickers exploit women and girls, especially from rural areas, in sex trafficking. Women and girls living in mining and concession areas faced a heightened risk of sexual exploitation, including trafficking. Observers note concerns that children are exploited in Liberia’s commercial sex industry. NGOs report 25 percent of Liberian girls are involved in early or forced marriages, which traffickers sometimes use to compel victims into sex trafficking or forced labor. Some parents encourage their daughters’ exploitation in sex trafficking to supplement family income.

Liberia remains a source, destination, and transit country for migrants and refugees. Traffickers exploit Liberian men, women, and children in other West African countries, including Cote d’Ivoire, Guinea, Mauritania, Nigeria, Senegal, and Sierra Leone. Traffickers also exploit Liberian women for forced labor in the Middle East as domestic workers. In the past, officials have identified trafficking victims in Liberia from West African countries – including Sierra Leone and Guinea – and countries such as China, India, and Malaysia.