[From the introductory text accompanying this report on the U.S. Department of State website: "In most cases, the Interim Assessment is intended to serve as a tool by which to gauge the anti-trafficking progress of countries that may be in danger of slipping a tier in the upcoming June 2010 TIP Report and to give them guidance on how to avoid a Tier 3 ranking. It is a tightly focused progress report, assessing the concrete actions a government has taken to address the key deficiencies highlighted in the June 2009 TIP Report. The Interim Assessment covers actions undertaken between the beginning of May – the cutoff for data covered in the June TIP Report – and November. Readers are requested to refer to the annual TIP Report for an analysis of large-scale efforts and a description of the trafficking problem in each particular country or territory."]

The Government of Djibouti has made some progress in addressing human trafficking since the release of the 2009 TIP Report, particularly through its efforts to raise public awareness, an increased willingness to collaborate with international partners, and a growing awareness among senior officials of the distinction between human trafficking and human smuggling. Addressing concerns for an estimated 100-200 migrants, mostly Ethiopians, who depart Djiboutian shores illegally by boat from Obock for Yemen each week, the government and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) partnered to erect billboards at strategic points throughout the country warning migrants of the dangers of irregular migration, including the risk of becoming a trafficking victim or dying in a shipwreck; the billboards are in three languages and feature easy-to-understand picture messages. Shipwrecks are common; the Djiboutian military regularly buries victims washed ashore and transfers apprehended smugglers to the judicial system for prosecution. The government continued providing protection and accommodation to asylum-seeking defectors from the Eritrean military, some of whom may be trafficking victims.

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