The State Department constantly evaluates the global community on the degree to which it helps combat trafficking. A report recently released by State puts Israel near the top of the list:

The report lauded Israel for its “law enforcement against sex and labor trafficking, improved identification of trafficking victims, and government-funded shelters for victims.” “This report places Israel among the upper echelon of countries that are combating modern slavery,” Justice Minister Tzipi Livni told Israel Radio. “Nonetheless we ought to remember that the traffickers are growing more sophisticated, and they continue to sell women who are raped, beaten, and starved. As such, we need to continue pouring in resources in preventing and deterring these crimes and to care for the victims.”

Limiting trafficking has become a key priority for the U.S. and its allies. At the end of the recent G-8 summit the world leaders issued a communique in which they called for fighting forms of trafficking, including human trafficking. President Obama had previously expressed his determination to end the practice:

And so our message today, to them, is—to the millions around the world—we see you. We hear you. We insist on your dignity. And we share your belief that if just given the chance, you will forge a life equal to your talents and worthy of your dreams. Our fight against human trafficking is one of the great human rights causes of our time, and the United States will continue to lead it—in partnership with you. The change we seek will not come easy, but we can draw strength from the movements of the past. For we know that every life saved—in the words of that great Proclamation—is “an act of justice,” worthy of “the considerate judgment of mankind, and the gracious favor of Almighty God.”

No other Middle Eastern country was ranked in the top tier.

[Photo: thomaswanhoff / Flickr]