Bangladesh has not fully met the minimum standards for eradicating trafficking although demonstrating significant efforts towards the issue, according to an annual US State Department report.

The report launched on Monday also mentioned that Bangladesh has intensified efforts against human trafficking but inefficiency and complicity of officials are hindering the country's success on the issue.

This is the fifth consecutive year since 2020 that Bangladesh has maintained its position in Tier 2, according to Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report launched by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken.

The countries that fully comply with the Trafficking in Persons Act's minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking fall under Tier 1, while the countries under Tier 3 neither satisfy the minimum standards nor demonstrate a significant effort to come into compliance.

Bangladesh government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared to the previous edition, mentioned in the report.

"These efforts included increasing investigations, prosecutions, and convictions against traffickers. The government formally adopted victim identification guidelines for front-line officials and identified more victims of trafficking," it said.

The report said although the government increased law enforcement efforts, it did not take adequate steps to address internal trafficking crimes – including sex trafficking and forced child labour – and official complicity.

"Some officials downplayed or denied the existence of human trafficking, particularly internal trafficking crimes in Bangladesh, including child sex trafficking and bonded labour," read the report.

In cross-border cases, Bangladeshi officials struggled to coordinate with foreign investigative agencies, request and collect international evidence, and extradite suspected traffickers, likely resulting in underreporting of transnational cases.

The report said the government did not acknowledge official complicity in human trafficking and did not report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of government employees complicit in human trafficking crimes. However, he said, corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement and judicial action.