Disputes - international:
none
Trafficking in persons:
current situation: Malta is a source and destination country for European women and children subjected to sex trafficking; Malta is likely a destination country for men and women subjected to forced labor, including in restaurants, private households, and in unskilled or semi-skilled labor; Malta may be a transit country for African women subjected to sex trafficking in continental Europe
tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - the government demonstrated greater commitment to combat trafficking through national coordination by appointing the country's first anti-trafficking coordinator and anti-trafficking monitoring board; these measures, however, have not yet resulted in concrete improvements to victim identification procedures, victim care systems, effective investigations and prosecutions of trafficking offenders, or targeted prevention activities; victims of trafficking were punished for acts committed during the course of trafficking or deported without proper victim identification (2011)
Illicit drugs:
minor transshipment point for hashish from North Africa to Western Europe