to combat human trafficking in 2007;
while the government conducted investigations into cases of human
trafficking, there were no prosecutions or convictions of
traffickers; government efforts to protect victims of trafficking
continued to suffer from limited resources and a lack of political
commitment (2008)

Niger
current situation: Niger is a source, transit, and destination
country for children and women trafficked for forced labor and
sexual exploitation; caste-based slavery practices, rooted in
ancestral master-slave relationships, continue in isolated areas of
the country - an estimated 8,800 to 43,000 Nigeriens live under
conditions of traditional slavery; children are trafficked within
Niger for forced begging, forced labor in gold mines, domestic
servitude, sexual exploitation, and possibly for forced labor in
agriculture and stone quarries; women and children from neighboring
states are trafficked to and through Niger for domestic servitude,
sexual exploitation, forced labor in mines and on farms, and as
mechanics and welders
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Niger is on the Tier 2 Watch List
for its failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to
eliminate trafficking in 2007; in particular, measures to combat and
eliminate traditional slavery practices were weak; the government's
overall law enforcement efforts have stalled from 2006; while
efforts to protect child trafficking victims were steady, the
government failed to provide services to or rescue adult victims
subjected to traditional slavery practices, and made poor efforts to
educate the public about traditional slavery practices in general
(2008)

Oman
current situation: Oman is a destination country for men and
women primarily from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan who
migrate willingly, but some of whom become victims of trafficking
when subjected to conditions of involuntary servitude as domestic
workers and laborers; mistreatment includes non-payment of wages,
restrictions on movement and withholding of passports, threats, and
physical or sexual abuse; Oman may also be a destination country for
women from Asia, Eastern Europe, and North Africa for commercial
sexual exploitation
tier rating: Tier 3 - Oman was rated as Tier 3 for the second
consecutive year because it did not report any law enforcement
efforts to prosecute and punish trafficking offen