The global assessment by the US government continues to place Hungary in Tier 2.
On 19 July 2022, Secretary of State Antony Blinken hosted a ceremony to launch the new TIP Report, which provides an update of the state of play of the fight against human trafficking every year and evaluates the performance of governments in this field. Depending on the level of progress, countries can be classified into four categories: Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3. Hungary was upgraded to Tier 2 in 2020 as a result of significant measures against trafficking and has successfully maintained its position this year. Concerning the neighbouring countries, Austria, the Czech Republic and Slovenia achieved the highest ranking, Poland, Slovakia and Romania were also placed in Tier 2, while Serbia and Bulgaria, for example, were placed on the watch list.
The latest report acknowledged the increasing number of investigations, prosecutions and convictions in Hungary, the child-friendly provisions of the Act on Criminal Proceedings and the safe return programme for Hungarian victims who have been trafficked abroad.
The US TIP Office has also made a number of recommendations to enhance the fight against trafficking, in particular on the prevention of victimization among minors and the stricter control of recruitment agencies.
The full text of the report is available on the US State Department website.