[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 Swaziland has made substantial progress in combating trafficking in persons since the release of the TIP Report in 2009. The government passed its first-ever comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation in October, which entered into force in November 2009. Other accomplishments include establishing a government-NGO anti-trafficking task force, creating a trafficking hotline, and developing a public awareness campaign to publicize the new legislation and raise awareness of the dangers of human trafficking. Officials acknowledged that they had not taken trafficking in persons seriously until this year. The government's several anti-trafficking initiatives are in their infancy and consequently have not yet yielded results such as arrests and prosecutions of trafficking offenders.

The National Anti-Trafficking Task Force, which is made up of representatives from multiple government and law enforcement agencies, UNICEF and UNDP, and NGOs focused on assisting women, children, victims of crime, and other populations, provided significant input on the anti-trafficking legislation. The group has also met weekly to draft a road map for a national strategy on human trafficking. A reputable local NGO has been commissioned to report on human trafficking occurring within, through, or to Swaziland and report to the government within the next few months.

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