This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English DevelopmentReport.

Two separate reports offer new evidence for the problems facingchildren.

Last week the American State Department released itstwo-thousand-four Trafficking in Persons Report. This rates effortsby one-hundred-forty countries to fight slavery. Information comesfrom American embassies, human rights groups and non-governmentalorganizations.

The report divides the countries into three groups. The first twoare countries believed to be working hard against trafficking ortrying to improve. But the third group is nations believed to bemaking little or no effort. They could lose some American assistanceor face other restrictions.

Ten nations are in this group. Burma, North Korea, Cuba and Sudanwere also listed last year. This year the State Department addedBangladesh, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone. It also addedVenezuela, Guyana and Ecuador.

Forty-two nations are on a special "watch list" of countries atrisk of being given the lowest rating. One of them is Japan. Thereport says Japan could do much more to protect thousands of victimsof sexual slavery linked to organized crime groups. Japan says itwill do more.

Worldwide, the report estimatesthat each year as many as eight-hundred-thousand people are takenacross national borders for trafficking. It also notes that somegroups place the number far higher. Most victims are women and girlsforced into sexual slavery. Men are often forced into labor. Boysgenerally become child soldiers.

Secretary of State Colin Powell says some countries have improvedover the past year, including Turkey. It moved up from the lowestgroup to the watch list. Mister Powell said President Bush haspromised fifty-million dollars more to fight internationaltrafficking. This is above the seventy-million dollars budgeted forthe past year.

On June twelfth the International Labor Organization released areport for World Day Against Child Labor. The United Nations agencysays at least ten-million children are being forced to work as housecleaners. In most cases, they earn little or no money. They aretrapped. The report says that often the children are beaten orforced to have sex. Most of the victims are girls, some as young asten.

This VOA Special English Development Report was written by JillMoss. This is Robert Cohen.