Nations Fighting Human|Trafficking Get Funds

WASHINGTON (CN) - Burma, Zimbabwe, and Cuba are among nations that President Barack Obama has determined not to be in compliance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, according to a memorandum to the Secretary of State.

Under the act, if the president determines that a nation does not sufficiently investigate and prosecute incidents of human trafficking, or fails to protect the victims of trafficking, all non-humanitarian and non-trade financial assistance to that country will be suspended until the president determines that the nation has done so.

When the president determines that progress has been made toward compliance, partial assistance may be restored if the president also determines that it is in the U.S. national interest for funding to proceed.

North Korea, Iran and Eritrea are other nations for which foreign aide has been suspended due to non-compliance, while the president determined that Burma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Dominican Republic, Kuwait, Mauritania, Papua New Guinea, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan have made progress toward compliance or that continuation of some forms of assistance to these countries is in the best interest of the United States.

Compliance reviews and determinations are issued by the president just prior to each fiscal year.

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