U.S. Dep't of State, 2025 Trafficking in Persons Report: Zambia

ZAMBIA (Tier 2) The Government of the Republic of Zambia does not fully meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so. The government demonstrated overall increasing efforts compared with the previous reporting period; therefore, Zambia remained on Tier 2. These efforts included allocating a budget for the Anti-Human Trafficking Department (AHTD) to implement the government’s anti-trafficking efforts and increasing funding for its network of six government-run shelters. The government launched a new National Action Plan (NAP) and increased cooperation with foreign counterparts to investigate trafficking crimes, reporting more investigations overall.

The government identified more trafficking victims and trained law enforcement and other officials on implementing the National Referral Mechanism (NRM). However, the government did not meet the minimum standards in several key areas. The government did not refer all victims to appropriate care. Due to conflation between human trafficking and migrant smuggling, officials sometimes misidentified trafficking crimes.

Concerns of official complicity in trafficking crimes remained. PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: Increase efforts to investigate and prosecute trafficking crimes, and seek adequate penalties for convicted traffickers, including complicit officials, which should involve significant prison terms. Train front-line officials to proactively identify and refer all trafficking victims to appropriate services according to the NRM by screening for trafficking indicators among vulnerable populations, including individuals involved in commercial sex, migrants, refugees, unaccompanied children, and Chinese workers. Consistently enforce strong regulations and oversight of labor recruitment companies, including holding fraudulent labor recruiters criminally accountable.

Increase allocation of resources to the AHTD and other agencies responsible for anti-trafficking efforts, including implementation of the 2025 – 2027 NAP, and continue to expand support for victim services, including government-run shelters and other services for victims in partnership with NGOs. Institutionalize specialized training for law enforcement officials on investigating and prosecuting trafficking crimes and differentiating human trafficking as distinct from migrant smuggling. Establish a network of interpreters to ensure provision of interpretation services for foreign victims to deliver comprehensive legal and protective services. Ensure victims are not inappropriately penalized solely for unlawful acts committed as a direct result of being trafficked, especially for immigration violations.

Increase protections for Zambian trafficking victims exploited abroad, including by training Zambian embassy staff to identify and assist victims and assigning labor attachés to Zambian embassies to monitor migrant working conditions abroad. Ensure a victim-centered and trauma-informed approach to the provision of assistance for all victims identified regardless of participation in criminal proceedings and continue to increase victim-witness assistance for victims participating in the criminal justice process.

PROSECUTION

The government slightly increased law enforcement efforts. The Anti-Trafficking Act of 2008, as amended, criminalized sex trafficking and labor trafficking and prescribed penalties of 20 years to life imprisonment for offenses involving an adult victim, and 30 years to life imprisonment for those involving a child victim. These penalties were sufficiently stringent and, with respect to sex trafficking, commensurate with penalties prescribed for other grave crimes, such as rape. In 2024, the government initiated 41 trafficking investigations (five for sex trafficking, 30 for labor trafficking, and 6 for unspecified forms of trafficking), compared with 27 investigations initiated in 2023.

It reported that 14 investigations initiated in previous reporting periods remained ongoing. The government initiated 22 prosecutions involving 40 defendants compared with initiating 17 prosecutions involving 41 defendants in 2023. It reported that 15 prosecutions involving 27 defendants initiated in prior year remained ongoing. The government convicted five traffickers (one for sex trafficking and four for labor trafficking) under the anti-trafficking law, compared with convicting two traffickers in 2023.

Courts sentenced one convicted trafficker to 13 years in prison; sentencing for the four other traffickers remained pending by the end of the reporting period. The government reported two additional suspects were acquitted because prosecutors incorrectly filed charges under an outdated statute. Due to conflation between migrant smuggling and human trafficking, the government may have prosecuted human trafficking crimes as migrant smuggling crimes. The government’s focus on migrant smuggling and transnational trafficking diverted resources from investigating and prosecuting endemic forms of internal trafficking, such as exploitation of children in domestic servitude, sex trafficking, forced begging, and street vending.

Observers reported cultural acceptance of child domestic servitude inhibited investigations and prosecutions of such crimes. Some police officers lacked understanding of the definition of human trafficking and expressed difficulty proving the necessary elements for trafficking crimes, hindering efforts to refer potential cases for investigation and prosecution. Corruption and official complicity in trafficking crimes remained significant concerns, inhibiting law enforcement action during the year. The government reported investigating two government drivers and one police officer in a previous reporting period for allegedly transporting potential victims for the purpose of human trafficking.

The government reported these cases remained ongoing at the end of the reporting period. The AHTD, established in 2022 by amendments to the anti-trafficking law, led matters relating to human trafficking. The AHTD sits within the Ministry of Home Affairs and Internal Security (MOHAIS), and MOHAIS delegates authority to law enforcement officers with specialized anti-trafficking training in the Zambia Police Service (ZPS), Anti-Corruption Commission, Drug Enforcement Commission, and Department of Immigration (DOI) to investigate human trafficking in coordination with AHTD. The AHTD, based in the Lusaka district, has national jurisdiction and maintained 157 focal points in every police station across the country to investigate trafficking crimes.

In addition, the AHTD collaborated with 27 focal points from various government departments, UN agencies, and civil society organizations on trafficking efforts. Despite the AHTD’s mandate, it lacked sufficient resources to carry out anti-trafficking operations. The government also appointed immigration officers as focal points across various stations in the country to respond to trafficking cases at border entry points. The government provided anti-trafficking training to more than 2,000 officials, including all newly recruited police and immigration officers.

The government, in collaboration with an international organization, revised its anti-trafficking law enforcement and prosecutor training manuals. The government reported that cooperation with law enforcement and other counterparts from Botswana, Malawi, Mozambique, and Namibia on a series of six investigations led to three prosecutions and one conviction for human trafficking during this reporting period.

PROTECTION

The government increased victim protection efforts. The government identified 186 trafficking victims in 2024, compared with 162 victims in 2023. Of the 186 victims identified, traffickers exploited 29 victims in sex trafficking, 136 victims in labor trafficking, and 21 victims in unspecified forms of trafficking. The government reported referring 79 victims to care (16 for sex trafficking, 56 for labor trafficking, and seven for unspecified forms of trafficking), compared with 10 victims referred in the previous reporting period.

Due to conflation of trafficking with other crimes, victim identification data may have included migrant smuggling cases. The government had an NRM to assist trafficking victims and also had NRMs specific to the protection of vulnerable migrants and unaccompanied children in Zambia. The government also continued to disseminate a standard victim identification form to guide front-line officials on proactive victim identification. The MOHAIS continued to mandate use of the NRM and trained front line officials and service providers on its use.

However, observers reported the NRM was not uniformly implemented outside of urban areas. When victims were identified, the Department of Social Welfare (DSW) received victim referrals, conducted assessments, and facilitated victims’ access to services provided by NGOs, international organizations, and the government. In collaboration with an international organization, the government held best interest determination panels in some districts to assess needs and provide appropriate services to vulnerable migrant children, including potential trafficking victims. The DSW reported improved coordination between government and civil society stakeholders on implementation of the NRM.

Additionally, the Ministry of Community Development and Social Services (MCDSS) developed an integrated case management system to centrally track victim protection data and services provided; as a result, officials decreased the need to re-interview trafficking victims, reducing risks of re-traumatization. MCDSS managed six government-funded shelters in Chipata, Lundazi, Chongwe, Sesheke, Mungwi, and Mansa, which provided support to victims of human trafficking, as well as violence against women and girls; shelter capacities range from 15 to 40 individuals and could assist adults (men and women) and children (boys and girls). The government allocated a total budget of 1,800,000 Zambian Kwacha ($64,800) for their operation; from this allocation, each shelter received 200,000 to 350,000 kwacha ($7,200 to $12,600), a significant increase compared with each shelter receiving 60,000 kwacha ($2,160) the previous year. Despite the increase in funding, observers reported shelters remained under-resourced and noted there was insufficient shelter space to accommodate victims in all provinces.

Shelter staff did not permit victims, including adults, to leave unchaperoned. DSW utilized its shelter SOPs to manage government-run and NGO-run shelters, conducting routine monitoring and inspections of facilities and utilizing case management tools to track progress of individual cases and overall shelter operations. The government partnered with NGOs to offer routine assistance to both foreign and domestic victims, including shelter, basic needs, medical care, counseling, repatriation assistance, legal assistance, reintegration assistance, education and vocational training, and other services. Foreign victims were entitled to the same benefits as Zambian victims; however, the government did not report on how many foreign victims received these benefits.

The anti-trafficking law included a provision establishing that trafficking victims cannot be held criminally liable for unlawful acts they committed as a direct or indirect result of being trafficked. The government reported it screened adult migrants apprehended for potential immigration violations and unaccompanied children for trafficking indicators using AHTD’s standard form. The government reported unaccompanied children were placed in the custody of DSW in either DSW-operated shelters or NGO-operated shelters under DSW supervision. However, observers and government officials reported authorities penalized some trafficking victims for unlawful acts that were a direct result of their trafficking, particularly those related to immigration offenses.

To support victim participation in criminal justice proceedings, the government provided support to victims, including access to shelter, temporary immigration relief, funding for transport and lodging, food, clothing, and legal representation. All 186 identified victims participated in criminal justice proceedings. However, victims were generally required to cooperate with law enforcement authorities to access certain protection services, such as repatriation and reintegration assistance, legal representation, and to receive identification documents. Government officials previously expressed difficulty in obtaining interpreters to conduct trafficking screenings, especially for Ethiopian migrants detained for immigration violations.

The government provided legal assistance to trafficking victims participating in criminal proceedings cost-free through the National Prosecution Authority, and the Legal Aid Board provided cost-free legal assistance to trafficking victims in civil matters. Section 109 of the anti-trafficking law permitted victims to provide testimony by video, though the government reported no victims used this provision during the reporting period. Specially-equipped interview rooms were available for children during legal proceedings and Section 78(4)(e) of the Children’s Code Act prohibited more than two interviews of children to limit re-traumatization.

PREVENTION

The government slightly increased efforts to prevent trafficking. The AHTD led the government’s national anti-trafficking efforts and had 16 permanent interagency staff members. For the first time, the government allocated 1,400,000 Kwacha ($50,400) to anti-trafficking programs administered by the AHTD, including NAP implementation, training, and awareness campaigns. The government launched its 2025-2027 NAP on human trafficking and migrant smuggling, which established goals, timelines, responsible actors, and cost estimates to increase capacity to combat trafficking.

The government, in collaboration with civil society organizations, conducted awareness raising activities through radio and television campaigns, and commemorated international days of recognition related to human trafficking prevention. The government did not operate an anti-trafficking hotline; members of the public could report potential trafficking situations via toll-free police hotlines for all crimes. It reported providing training support to an NGO-operated hotline available to assist vulnerable children, including child trafficking victims. The Employment Act set forth requirements for the regulation of labor brokers and prohibited labor brokers from charging prospective employees for any services rendered; however, the act allowed recruiters to charge workers 5 percent from their first wage.

The act required a security bond be paid to the government by recruiters taking Zambian workers out of the country to assist workers if needed. The government maintained a National Labor Migration Strategy (2024-2028) to enhance protections for Zambian citizens traveling abroad for employment, though it did not report on any initiatives. The Ministry of Labor and Social Security conducted inspections of 261 farms in Eastern Province where migrant workers were particularly vulnerable to trafficking. In collaboration with an international organization, the government trained labor inspectors to recognize trafficking indicators.

It also provided pre-deployment training for its diplomatic corps to prevent human trafficking and provided training to its troops prior to their deployment as peacekeepers. The government did not make efforts to reduce the demand for commercial sex. TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Trafficking affects all communities. This section summarizes government and civil society reporting on the nature and scope of trafficking over the past five years.

Human traffickers exploit domestic and foreign victims in Zambia, and traffickers exploit victims from Zambia abroad. Adolescent girls and young women are particularly vulnerable to sex trafficking while adolescent boys and girls and working-age adults are at risk of forced labor. Traffickers exploit women and children from rural areas in cities in domestic servitude or forced labor in agriculture, textile production, mining, construction, street vending, small businesses such as bakeries, and forced begging. Due to the cultural acceptance of children engaging in domestic work, physical and sexual abuse and exploitation in forced labor is rampant and often not identified.

Extended families and trusted family acquaintances facilitate trafficking, including children in domestic servitude. Traffickers exploit Zambians, including children, from rural areas in Western Province in forced labor on cattle farms and domestic servitude in Namibia. Zambian children from Central Province and Malawian children escaping domestic servitude or other forms of forced labor in Lusaka are recruited by traffickers with the promise of employment but are forced to beg or engage in street vending. Traffickers sell addictive substances to children who homeless, which increases their vulnerability to trafficking and abuse.

In the absence of substantial border enforcement, traffickers could transport victims across borders with impunity. Near the Kasumbalesa border crossing into the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), families exploit some children in sex trafficking through solicitation of truck drivers waiting to cross into the DRC; the children are often rebuffed with violence. Truck drivers also exploit Zambian boys and girls in sex trafficking in towns along the Zimbabwean and Tanzanian borders, and miners exploit them in Solwezi. Orphans and children from rural areas remain vulnerable to trafficking.

Traffickers exploit Zambian boys in sex trafficking in Zimbabwe and exploit women and girls in sex trafficking in South Africa. Migrant children and asylum seekers are at particular risk of sex trafficking and forced labor. Unaccompanied children fleeing violence in the DRC are recruited by traffickers in Zimbabwe and South Africa and often transit alone through Zambia. Zambian farmers recruit Malawians to work on farms in Eastern and Muchinga Provinces, sometimes transiting as far as Western Province, where they are exploited in forced labor and, reportedly, some have been killed to avoid payment at the end of the growing season.

Traffickers exploit women and children from neighboring countries in forced labor and sex trafficking in Zambia, including transiting migrants from Ethiopia and other East African countries whose intended destination is South Africa. Zambian women are recruited for domestic servitude in Lebanon and Oman. Chinese nationals bring Chinese, Thai, and Vietnamese women and girls to Lusaka and Ndola for sex trafficking in brothels, massage businesses, and casinos, and bring Chinese nationals for forced labor in grocery stores and restaurants; traffickers use front companies posing as travel agencies to lure Chinese victims and coordinate with Zambian facilitators and middlemen. Media and NGOs report unscrupulous actors, including Russian officials and illicit recruiters, fraudulently recruited women ages 18-22 from Africa – including Zambia – South Asia, and South America for vocational training programs and subsequently placed them in military drone production sites.

Media report workers at these sites are subjected to hazardous conditions, surveillance, hour and wage violations, contract switching, and worker-paid recruitment fees, all of which are indicators of human trafficking. Observers previously reported that some law enforcement officials allegedly accepted bribes, which potentially facilitated trafficking crimes. On This Page search > < ZAMBIA (Tier 2) PRIORITIZED RECOMMENDATIONS: PROSECUTION PROTECTION PREVENTION TRAFFICKING PROFILE: Tags Bureau of African Affairs Human Trafficking Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Reports Zambia