India rejects US watch list as judgemental

New Delhi, June 6: India today rejected as judgemental the US State Department Report on Trafficking in Persons, which placed the country on a 'Tier 2 Watch List', and said it would not help in furthering the bilateral dialogue on the subject.

''On the subject of trafficking in persons, as with other areas, we reject judgemental and prescriptive approach by a foreign government,'' a spokesman of the External Affairs Ministry said.

India has been placed on the Watch List for a second consecutive year for its inability to show evidence of increased efforts to address trafficking in persons, particularly its lack of progress in forming a national law enforcement response to inter-state and trans-national crimes.

A subsequent Tier 3 assessment could trigger withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance from the United States.

Rejecting the Report, the spokesman said the US had a practice of issuing global reports on a wide variety of subjects, from human rights and religious freedom, to narcotics and trafficking.

Such reports, he said, were by their very nature based on US viewpoints and preconceptions.

He said India and the US were having a dialogue on trafficking in persons and other trans-national challenges. These subjects were also discussed in the Global Issues Forum.

''The approach of the 2006 Report does not reflect the active cooperation on the subject between the two countries. It certainly is not helpful to furthering our dialogue in that regard,'' he added.

UNI