Tonga has recorded its first human trafficking conviction in 15 years, but gaps in victim protection, funding and anti-trafficking laws remain, according to the US State Department’s 2026 Trafficking in Persons Report.
The report keeps Tonga at Tier 2, meaning the Government does not fully meet the minimum standards for eliminating human trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
The Government investigated two potential trafficking cases during the reporting period and convicted one person of forced labour, sentencing the offender to seven and a half years in prison. It was the first trafficking conviction since 2011, the report says.
The findings highlight progress in law enforcement while raising concerns about whether vulnerable people are being identified and supported.
Victim protection remains a concern
Despite the conviction, the report says the Government did not identify or refer any trafficking victims to care during the reporting period, compared with one victim identified in the previous period.
It also did not fund civil society organisations providing victim protection services for the second consecutive year.
The report says Tonga still lacks a formal standard operating procedure for identifying trafficking victims, with the procedure remaining in draft form for a second year.
Laws and recruitment practices need attention
The report identifies gaps in Tonga’s Counter Terrorism and Transnational Organized Crime Act 2013, saying it does not criminalise all forms of trafficking because it requires a cross-border element and does not include force, fraud or coercion as essential elements of the offence.
The Government has made progress in prevention, including launching Tonga’s first national employment policy, which includes measures to increase oversight of recruitment agencies, individual recruiters and sub-brokers.
However, the report says Tonga does not prohibit workers from paying recruitment fees and has not demonstrated effective monitoring of recruiters who use fraudulent practices.
Who is vulnerable to trafficking?
The report identifies risks for both Tongan and foreign nationals.
Tongans working overseas, including in Australia and New Zealand, may face labour exploitation involving withheld wages and excessive working hours. People displaced by natural disasters may also face greater vulnerability when livelihoods, shelter or family stability are lost.
Within Tonga, the report identifies potential risks involving women recruited from overseas, children vulnerable to sexual exploitation, domestic workers and foreign workers employed in construction.
The Government continues to implement its 2023–2027 National Action Plan to Counter Trafficking in Persons and Protect Vulnerable Migrants, supported by a previously allocated US$353,500 over five years. The report says US$1,500 was dedicated to prevention efforts.
The central challenge remains turning these commitments into effective law enforcement, systematic victim identification and adequately funded support services.
