On October 29, the House Government Reform Subcommittee on Wellness and Human Rights heard testimony on international slavery and human trafficking.
Trafficking in persons, particularly women and children, has become one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity. The U.S. government estimates that as many as 800,000 people are trafficked each year for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation. Victims of trafficking are typically from less developed countries in Asia, the former Soviet Union, and Eastern Europe.
As part of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 (P.L. 106-386), Congress mandated an annual State Department report on the global trends in trafficking. The annual report rates countries according to whether they meet minimum standards for addressing the global problem. The 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report was released on June 11.
In his opening statement, Chair Dan Burton (R-IN) lamented, “Sadly, human slavery and trafficking are booming businesses in the 21st century. According to figures released by the United States Department of State, it is estimated that human slaves contribute over $13 billion every year to the global economy, $7 billion of which is a direct result of the illicit sex trade alone.”
John Miller, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the State Department, testified on the importance of the 2003 report. “This third annual report carries special significance because for the first time, governments that are not making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with the Act’s minimum standards could face consequences that include the loss of non-humanitarian, non-trade related assistance.” He explained that, since June, the State Department has worked closely with the 15 countries listed on Tier 3. Mr. Miller stated, “Our goal was not the imposition of sanctions, but a recognition by governments that they must address the problem of trafficking in persons seriously, that they must develop strategies and programs to fight it effectively, that they must rescue the victims, and, most importantly, that they must take action.”
On September 10, President Bush announced that ten countries had taken “significant steps to fight trafficking in persons” and would be moved to Tier 2, avoiding possible sanctions. Although they are still listed on Tier 3, Liberia and Sudan will not lose multilateral assistance because “the President has determined that certain multilateral assistance for these two countries would promote the purposes of the [TVPA] or is otherwise in the national interest of the United States.” Three countries Burma, Cuba, and North Korea will be sanctioned by the United States.
Testifying on behalf of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), Kent Hill explained that international conflict often results in conditions leading to trafficking. “As populations are displaced and community and legal structures break down in the turmoil, women and children become more vulnerable. The presence of displaced male civilian populations among this chaos and violence, as well as combatants and sadly even international peacekeepers, increases and concentrates demand for women in prostitution. Women and children both girls and boys are swept up by fighting forces as they are abducted or coerced to serve either as direct combatants, child soldiers, ‘war wives’ or porters, and cooks,” he stated.
Mr. Hill also noted that trafficking is an international industry driven by supply and demand. He said, “People from impoverished countries most often are trafficked to areas that are relatively more wealthy or developed, and the supply of trafficked victims is fueled by political, economic, social, ethnic and/or religious upheaval. Violence against women and children, and women’s weaker economic position relative to men further contributes to their vulnerability to the deceptions and power of traffickers.”
USAID released its anti-trafficking program statement in February 2003. Principles underlying the strategy include:
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Andrew Johnson of Save the Children noted that female trafficking victims “are subject to violence, rape, injury, sexually transmitted diseases, and unwanted pregnancies with little or no access to health care and contraception.” He explained that many children who are victims of trafficking will never get the assistance they need because “if detected by the legal authorities, [they] are frequently treated as offenders rather than victims and run the risk of arrest and deportation.”
Testifying on behalf of the Coalition Against Trafficking in Women, Janice Raymond focused on sex trafficking and the legalization of prostitution. “There is a fundamental connection between legal recognition of prostitution industries and the increase in victims of sex trafficking. Nowhere do we see this relationship more clearly than in countries advocating prostitution as an employment choice, or who foster the legalization of prostitution, or who support the decriminalization of the sex industry,” Dr. Raymond stated. Her recommendation is that no country legalizing prostitution should be on Tier 1. “Rather, it should be noted that these countries have legalized brothels and pimping that contribute to ‘significant numbers’ of women being trafficked into these countries for sexual exploitation,” she concluded.
The House International Relations Committee (see The Source, 7/25/03) and the House Judiciary Committee (see The Source 9/26/03) both have approved a bill (H.R. 2620) to reauthorize the TVPA.
