Overview:
Palau has kept its Tier 2 ranking in the 2025 U.S. Trafficking in Persons Report, reflecting progress in victim support and investigations but continued challenges in prosecuting traffickers and addressing official complicity. The report warns that foreign workers remain most vulnerable, with organized crime and government involvement cited as ongoing concerns.
By: Bernadette Carreon
Palau has kept its Tier 2 ranking in a new report by the United States 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report, with the report highlighting that while Palau has taken steps to stop trafficking and is making progress, but still faces big problems in taking traffickers to court and protecting victims.
“The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, Palau remained on Tier 2,” the report stated.
The report lauded Palau’s efforts to increase trafficking investigations, developing a questionnaire for labor compliance officers to identify potential victims, increasing funding for victim assistance, and implementing a system to strengthen the ability of officials to identify fraudulent transactions linked to crime, including trafficking.
However, the report noted that Palau didn’t take anyone to court or convict any traffickers for the second year in a row. They also only found two victims this year, down from 11 victims last year.
It also highlighted Palau’s small team fighting human trafficking. The report also stated that foreign workers are still the vulnerable population at risk. “Palau’s foreign population, about one-third of the country’s population of 18,000, is especially at risk for trafficking,” it stated.
“Undocumented immigrants and migrant workers with low levels of education and English-language proficiency have an increased vulnerability to trafficking. Filipino, Bangladeshi, Nepali, Thai, Vietnamese, South Korean, and Chinese national adults pay thousands of dollars in recruitment fees, sometimes up to $8,000, and willingly migrate to Palau for jobs in domestic service, agriculture, the hospitality industry, or construction.”
The report also highlighted that some government officials are allegedly helping traffickers instead of stopping them.
“Official complicity continues to facilitate trafficking in Palau. Authorities investigated government officials – including labor, immigration, law enforcement, and elected officials – for complicity in trafficking crimes in previous years,” it said.
The report also stated that alleged Chinese organized crime groups are deeply connected to trafficking in Palau.
“Chinese organized criminal groups are connected to suspected human trafficking and official complicity and may be involved in forced criminality inside facilities where scam operations take place.”