WASHINGTON (CNN) — Four American allies in the Persian Gulf are among the countries criticized for not doing enough to combat human trafficking in a U.S. State Department report released Friday.

“Human trafficking is nothing less than a modern form of slavery,” said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice in a news conference on the report.

In the annual “Trafficking in Persons” report, the State Department listed Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates as “Tier 3″ countries, which are defined as nations “whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards” set by American law and “are not making significant efforts to do so.”

The report identified the countries as destinations for trafficking victims exposed to sexual exploitation and forced labor.

The State Department also listed Bolivia, Cambodia, Cuba, Ecuador, Jamaica, Myanmar (formerly Burma), North Korea, Sudan, Togo and Venezuela as Tier 3 countries.

Source - CNN