[JURIST] In a State Department human trafficking report [text] released Friday the US accused 14 nations [country reports] of failing to adequately stop the flow of slaves traded into prostitution, child sex work, and forced labor. According to the State Department, as many as 800,000 people are purchased and sold annually, many because of false promises of better work opportunities. Among the 14 nations were 4 US allies in the Middle East: Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, United Arab Emirites, and Qatar. Saudi Arabia, a key US partner in the war on terror, was specifically targeted [DOS report] for failing to prosecute slave traders and not meeting "minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking." A member of the Saudi Arabian National Human Rights Association expressed surprise [Aljazeera report] at the findings and insisted that in Saudi Arabia there were specific campaigns to arrest traffickers. AP has more.