The U.S. State Department has blacklisted Burma, Cambodia, and North Korea in their list of countries eligible for U.S. sanctions for failing to adequately fight human trafficking.
In the annual report released today-Friday, Cambodia's government was criticized for its "unsatisfactory" response to a December, 2004, attack at a shelter for trafficking victims, where nearly 100 women and girls were abducted.
The report lambasted North Korea for punishing human trafficking victims with prison sentences -- and for forcing thousands of people to work -- and often perish -- under forced labor.
The report also detailed Burma's failure to address forced labor and sexual exploitation -- particularly in trafficking Burma's ethnic minority to various countries throughout Asia.
Last year as well, the state department blacklisted Burma and North Korea for failure to combat human trafficking .