House Recognizes South African Efforts to Stop Human Trafficking

On July 1, the House approved, 414-1, a resolution (H. Res. 1412) congratulating the government of South Africa upon its first two successful convictions for human trafficking.

Sponsored by Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ), the resolution contains several findings, including:

• The influx of tourism [due to the 2010 FIFA World Cup] is likely to lead to an increase in demand for sexual services and create demand for the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children;
• The government of South Africa has invested in media campaigns and the training of law enforcement to detect and prevent human trafficking;
• The government of South Africa has ordered schools to be closed during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, raising concerns that children will be unattended during a period of high trafficking potential;
• The United States Department of State has reported that “South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for trafficked men, women, and children…girls [are] trafficked for the purposes of commercial sexual exploitation and domestic servitude, [while] boys [are] trafficked for forced street vending, food service, begging, crime, and agriculture”; and
• Women and girls have reportedly been trafficked into South Africa from as far away as Russia, Thailand, Pakistan, the Philippines, India, China, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Somalia.

The resolution urges the government to prosecute tourists who engage in exploitation of women and girls during the World Cup and “calls on the government of South Africa to move quickly to adopt the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons bill in order to facilitate future prosecutions” and “to increase awareness among all levels of relevant government officials as to their responsibilities under the trafficking provisions of the Sexual Offenses and Children’s Acts.”