CEDAW/C/PHL/7-8 and awarding was conducted in 2003 and in 2008. No Justice Award contest has been conducted since then. Trafficking in Persons 64. The 13th Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report of the US State Department removed the Philippines in its watch-list and placed it in Tier 2 status. The Tier 2 status officially recognizes a country’s significant efforts to adhere to the benchmarks prescribed by the US State Department in meeting the minimum standards. This achievement is a result of the increase in prosecution of suspected offenders and protection of witnesses in trafficking cases through Interagency Council against Trafficking (IACAT). The State Party, through the DOJ, has institutionalized a mechanism of cooperation between investigators and prosecutors which has led to more organized investigations and has increased the number of convictions of perpetrators. The significant steps taken to improve the identification, prosecution and dismissal from service of officials complicit in human trafficking activities, and to the two recorded criminal cases filed against government officials facilitating illegal departures of overseas workers also contributed to the improved status. 65. The State Party, through the Department of Foreign Affairs (DFA) is promoting the ratification of the Palermo Protocol on trafficking in persons an d the full and effective implementation of the Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons. It is one of 20 countries that formed the Group of Friends United against Human Trafficking, an informal, voluntary, and open -ended association of UN Member States aimed at reinvigorating the global fight against trafficking in persons. It mainly promotes the implementation of the Global Plan of Action against Human Trafficking which engages critical stakeholders such as Governments, civil society, mass media, and private business. It is one of the two main co-sponsors of the annual resolution on trafficking in persons at the UN Human Rights Council. 66. The State Party has also been pushing for ASEAN stronger cooperation in combating trafficking in persons among ASEAN member states. There is an existing ASEAN Declaration against Trafficking in Persons Particularly Women and Children signed in 2004, and a Work Programme for the ASEAN Plan of Action to Combat Transnational Crime was implemented in 2010-2012 to further strengthen regional and international cooperation to combat and prevent trafficking in persons. The assessment of the results of this work plan is used as basis in the continuing discussion for the possible Convention on Trafficking in Persons an d a Regional Plan of Action. In a joint statement issued by the ASEAN leaders in 2011, they agreed, among others, to task Ministers in charge of Transnational Crimes to accelerate the consideration of an ASEAN Convention on Trafficking in Persons. On apprehension and prosecution of traffickers 67. The State Party has taken up steps to improve policies and strategies to detect and prosecute traffickers. A major policy step taken during the period was the amendment of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2003 (RA 9208) through Republic Act 10364 or the Expanded Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 2012. Some of the salient provisions of the new law include the following: 15-03079 17/36