DJIBOUTI · HUMAN TRAFFICKING
Key Facts
- —What happened US State Department upgraded Djibouti to Tier 2 on 8 October.
- —Two-year climb Tier 3 in 2024, Tier 2 Watch List in 2025.
- —The numbers Six traffickers convicted, up from one; nine victims identified.
- —The gaps No victims referred to care; national committee still has no chair.
- —US link Djibouti hosts Camp Lemonnier, home of US forces in the Horn.
- —Still open Djibouti’s government had not commented by Saturday, 10 October.
Two years after sitting on the bottom tier, Djibouti now shares Washington’s middle trafficking ranking with Ethiopia and Kenya.
The US State Department moved Djibouti up to Tier 2 in its 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report on Thursday, 8 October. The US trafficking report credits the Horn of Africa state with convicting more traffickers and identifying more victims.
It is Djibouti’s second upgrade in two years, after it sat on the lowest rung, Tier 3, in 2024. The ranking matters to Washington because Djibouti hosts Camp Lemonnier and overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb shipping lane.
The report still finds serious gaps, above all in care for victims. By Saturday, 10 October, no government statement had appeared on the state news agency ADI or in La Nation.
What the US Trafficking Report Says About Djibouti
The report says Djibouti “does not fully meet the minimum standards” against trafficking but “is making significant efforts to do so”. It found “overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, Djibouti was upgraded to Tier 2.”
The tiers come from the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a US law passed in 2000. For governments on Tier 3, the US president decides whether to impose or waive limits on non-humanitarian, non-trade US aid.
The 2026 edition covers government action from 1 April 2025 to 31 March 2026. In the 2024 report, Djibouti “remained on Tier 3”; in 2025 it was “upgraded to Tier 2 Watch List”.
In the new rankings, Ethiopia and Kenya are also on Tier 2, while Eritrea sits on Tier 3. Somalia and Yemen, Djibouti’s neighbours by land and sea, are listed as special cases.
Six Convictions, but Victims Still Without State Care
Djibouti convicted six traffickers under its 2016 anti-trafficking law, up from one conviction a year earlier. Each received a two-year term, below the five to 10 years the law prescribes.
Officials credited expedited trial procedures introduced in 2024 for the rise. Investigations fell to three cases from six, while prosecutions rose to six defendants from five.
The government identified nine victims, up from five: five women, two men and two girls. Two were victims of forced labour; the form of trafficking was not specified for the other seven.
The report says the government again did not refer any victim to care. Shelter, health care and legal aid came from civil society groups “without any government funding or in-kind support”.
Djibouti also did not screen vulnerable groups, including Ethiopian migrants, for signs of trafficking. For the fourth year running, its anti-trafficking committee, created by presidential decree in 2023, had no chair.
There is still no national action plan and no money set aside for prevention, the report adds.
Labour Inspectors, New Courts and a Qatar Deal
On forced labour, the report notes progress. All 15 of Djibouti’s labour inspectors received anti-trafficking training, and three posts were designated to focus on trafficking.
The government also signed a new labour agreement with Qatar to protect migrant workers. A labour inspection procedure with anti-trafficking guidance was drafted but still awaited distribution.
The judiciary has begun efforts to set up courthouses in all five regions to cut case backlogs. A new courthouse in Dikhil, in the south-west, was finished but not yet operating.
On Thursday, 8 October, ADI reported on Labour Minister Yonis Ali Guedi’s talks in Dar es Salaam. At a labour mobility forum there, he met Qatar’s Labour Minister, Ali bin Samikh Al Marri.
The two ministers discussed new job openings for Djiboutian workers and “regular, transparent and protective” mobility.
On Friday, 9 October, ADI said Guedi had met Canada’s ambassador, Nicolas Simard, in Addis Ababa. A scheme sending Djiboutian heavy-truck drivers to Canada was called “an important first step”.
A Transit Hub on a Deadly Migrant Route
The report describes children from Ethiopia and Somalia forced to beg in Djibouti City. Women and children are exploited in domestic servitude and sex trafficking in Djibouti City, Ali Sabieh, Dikhil, Tadjourah and Obock.
Citing an international organisation, it says more than 290,000 Ethiopian migrants crossed Djibouti towards Saudi Arabia in the first half of 2025. Migrants leaving from Obock risk detention and ransom demands by criminal networks.
The UN migration agency, IOM, counted 922 deaths or disappearances on this “Eastern Route” in 2025, ADI reported on 7 October. Of 94 dead or missing in the first quarter of 2026, 61 were recorded in Djibouti.
IOM’s Djibouti chief, Alexandre Coissac, said more than 20,000 migrant movements from Ethiopia into Djibouti had been recorded since 10 September. In roughly the same weeks, more than 3,700 refugees fleeing fighting in Yemen landed on Djibouti’s coast.
Djibouti, a country of just over one million people, already hosts about 32,000 refugees and asylum seekers, the State Department says. Most come from Ethiopia, Somalia and Yemen.
What It Means for US Readers
Djibouti hosts Camp Lemonnier, home of the US military’s Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa. Because only Tier 3 can trigger aid limits, the upgrade keeps that question off the table for now.
The report also flags at least 30 Cuban medical professionals working in Djibouti under a deal with Havana. It says the Cuban government may have forced them to work and that the deal leaves them exposed to wage confiscation.
For US firms using Djibouti’s ports and free zones, the report is a due-diligence signal. It names construction, domestic service and food service as sectors where foreign workers face forced labour.
The ranking changes no travel rules for Americans. It comes weeks after Djibouti signed the Artemis Accords, the US-led framework for civil space cooperation, according to the US Embassy.
What Is Not Known
Djibouti’s government had not commented on the upgrade by Saturday, 10 October. It is unclear whether it will now appoint a chair to its anti-trafficking committee or adopt an action plan.
The report does not name the six convicted traffickers or the courts that sentenced them. It also gives no date or terms for the new labour agreement with Qatar.
Whether the Dikhil courthouse has opened since 31 March, when the reporting period ended, is not stated.
What Comes Next
The next annual report will test whether Djibouti starts referring victims to care and funding prevention. Countries that fail to sustain progress can be moved down again.
The upgrade does not mean Djibouti meets US minimum standards; only Tier 1 countries do. In Africa, only Ghana reached Tier 1 this year.
Frequently Asked Questions
What Does Tier 2 Mean in the US Trafficking Report?
Tier 2 covers countries that do not fully meet US minimum standards against trafficking but are making significant efforts. Tier 1 countries fully meet those standards.
Why Was Djibouti Upgraded?
The State Department cited more prosecutions and convictions, more victims identified and new steps against forced labour. Those steps include training all labour inspectors and creating trafficking-focused posts.
What Problems Remain in Djibouti?
The government referred no victims to care and did not screen migrants for trafficking. Its anti-trafficking committee has had no chair for four years, and there is no action plan.
Why Does Djibouti Matter to the United States?
Djibouti hosts Camp Lemonnier, home of the US military’s task force for the Horn of Africa. It also overlooks the Bab el-Mandeb strait at the southern entrance to the Red Sea.
How Did Djibouti’s Neighbours Fare?
Ethiopia and Kenya are on Tier 2, and Eritrea is on Tier 3. Somalia and Yemen are listed as special cases.
Sources: US State Department, 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report: Djibouti; US State Department, 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report (tier placements); 2025 report: Djibouti; 2024 report: Djibouti; ADI, 8 October 2026; ADI, 9 October 2026; ADI, 7 October 2026; US Embassy Djibouti; Combined Joint Task Force–Horn of Africa (all accessed 10 October 2026).
This article was produced by The Rio Times’ automated newsroom system. How we use AI · Report an error · Editorial responsibility: Matthias Camenzind, Editor-in-Chief
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