Seychelles

Military:  SEYCHELLES

Military branches:

Seychelles Defense Force: Army, Coast Guard (includes Naval Wing, Air Wing), National Guard (2005)

Military service age and obligation:

18 years of age for voluntary military service (younger with parental consent); no conscription (2012)

Manpower available for military service:

males age 16-49: 26,257

females age 16-49: 23,996 (2010 est.)

Manpower fit for military service:

males age 16-49: 20,231

females age 16-49: 19,891 (2010 est.)

Manpower reaching militarily significant age annually:

male: 686

female: 650 (2010 est.)

Military expenditures:

country comparison to the world: 148

Transnational Issues:  SEYCHELLES

Disputes - international:

Mauritius and Seychelles claim the Chagos Islands (UK-administered British Indian Ocean Territory)

Trafficking in persons:

current situation: Seychelles is a source and destination country for Seychellois children and foreign women subjected to sex trafficking; Seychellois girls and, to a lesser extent, boys are forced into prostitution in nightclubs, bars, guest houses, hotels, brothels, private homes, and on the streets by peers, family members, and pimps; foreign tourists, sailors, and migrant workers contribute to the demand for commercial sex acts in Seychelles; some of the large population of foreign migrant workers reportedly experience the underpayment of wages and substandard housing

tier rating: Tier 2 Watch List - Seychelles does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so; the government has failed to report any investigations, prosecutions, or convictions of trafficking offenses; the government also has not identified or provided protective services to any trafficking victims and punished victims for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked, although it has acknowledged the need for specialized training of officials in recognizing, investigating, and prosecuting trafficking offenses, it did not provide any such training during the reporting period (2013)

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