Serbia made significant steps during 2010 to improve its efforts against human trafficking and it is the leader in victim identification in the Balkans, which is a requirement for their protection, a U.S. State Department report states.

The report, published Monday, covers 180 countries. Serbia is recommended to increase its resources and the number of people in government agencies who are tasked with protecting trafficking victims. There is also a suggestion to improve the training of social workers and all those directly involved in the fight against trafficking.

The government is not sticking to the minimum standards in anti-trafficking 100 percent, but it is making significant efforts towards that, says the report, which puts Serbia in the second category in its classification of countries.

The first category contains countries that have established all of the minimum standards, while the second comprises countries that have not done so, but are trying to achieve that. The third category are the countries which are making no efforts whatsoever. The U.S. reserves the right to impose sanctions on the countries classified as category 3.

The State Department notes that Serbia is a source, destination and transit country when it comes to human trafficking aimed at forced prostitution and labour. Serbian citizens make up most of the victims, while foreign victims come from neighboring countries and Eastern Europe.

The government's refusal to coordinate directly with the authorities in Pristina still poses an obstacle to Serbia's efforts to investigate and try some of the cases, the report states. According to the document, Serbia has made significant progress in its capability to protect the victims. In March, the government corrected some earlier flaws by providing flexible funding for the victims.

The State Department notes that Serbia assists non-governmental organizations that provide support to the victims, but that most of those organizations depend on foreign donations. The government is not able to provide adequate accommodation and protection for children, so they are placed in orphanages and juvenile halls, where they run the risk of becoming victims again, the report reads.

Serbia has made important new steps to raise awareness concerning trafficking and continued to foster a partnership with the civil society in order to prevent this problem, the State Department adds.

The interior minister has continued displaying strong leadership and personal commitment and uses his public appearances to point out to areas that need improvement when it comes to government's anti-trafficking activities, says the document.