they may be subjected to, and to increase the number of shelters designated for these victims. 2 Trafficking and exploitation4 2.1 The NIHR believes that although Law No. (1) of 2008 on Combating Trafficking in Persons contained provisions that criminalize forms of trafficking in persons, yet, there are aspects that the Law has not addressed, such as its failure to provide definitions for certain terms in a way that removes the ambiguity of the term. In addition, the Law has not defined the spatial scope of applying its provisions, even though the crime of human trafficking is a crime that transcends national boundaries, and it has not referred to the case of attempt to commit a trafficking crime and the punishment imposed on the accomplice. 2.2 Although the Penal Code promulgated by Decree-Law No. (15) of 1976 and its amendments has addressed some of these shortcomings, the nature of the crime of trafficking in persons requires independent provisions in a specific and clear law in order to assist law enforcement and investigation entities to deal with this crime in full compliance with law and commensurate with its serious implications. 2.3 In 2014, the NIHR prepared a proposal for the National Strategy to Combat Trafficking in Persons, including women and girls, and sent it to the National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons (NCCTIPs), for its consideration and action. 2.4 The NIHR commends the achievement of the Kingdom of Bahrain to secure (Tier 1) classification in combating trafficking in persons as per the report issued by the US Department of State for the fifth year in a row during the years (2018-2022), which classifies the most successful countries in combating trafficking in persons. 2.5 Recommendations: a. Amend Law No. (1) of 2008 on Combating Trafficking in Persons to ensure its comprehensiveness and consistency with relevant international and regional instruments, starting from prevention, handling, up to imposing punishment on perpetrators. 4 The second annual report of the National Institution for Human Rights for the year 2014, and the fifth annual report of the National Institution for Human Rights for the year 2017, are published on the NIHR’s website: Annual Reports Section: www.nihr.org.bh 8