The United States has downgraded Myanmar in its latest human trafficking report, rating it among the worst offenders including North Korea, Syria and Iran. The US State Department’s 2018 “Trafficking in Persons Report” saw Myanmar downgraded to the lowest classification amid criticism of its handling of the crisis in Rakhine State. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said hundreds of thousands of members of the country’s ethnic groups had been “dislocated” from the country, and as a result many had been exploited throughout the region. “Some in the Burmese military also recruited child soldiers and subjected adults and children from ethnic minority groups to forced labour,” he said. Myanmar is ranked in the Tier 3 category of the report, which can result in sanctions and limited access to foreign assistance. Washington has called on Myanmar to end all unlawful recruitment and use of children in the armed forces, to halt officials’ involvement in sex trafficking and forced labour, and to hold officials accountable for crimes.