On July 11, the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Human Rights, and International Organizations held a hearing, “The State Department 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report.” Chair Chris Smith (R-NJ), Ranking Member Karen Bass (D-CA), and other members of the committee heard testimony regarding the Department of State’s 2013 Trafficking in Persons report.
Rep. Smith said, “I am happy to say that the 2013 report is one of the best ever produced. Special thanks are especially in order for Ambassador Luis CdeBaca [ambassador-at-large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State] and his dedicated staff for faithfully highlighting the good, while exposing the bad and the ugly. The TIP [Trafficking in Persons] report is faithful and reflects the hard, meticulous work and leadership of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. This office not only analyzes whether a country is complying with the minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking, but also sets specific recommendations for how a country can move forward. With this report, countries should have no question about where they rank, or how they can improve. Many countries have publically or privately credited the report as the impetus for real improvement in their trafficking laws and policies. Since the TIP report’s inception, more than 130 countries have enacted anti-trafficking laws, and many countries have taken other steps required to significantly raise their tier rankings.”
Rep. Bass said, “The 2013 TIP report clearly indicates that far too few victims have been identified and my fear is that if we don’t quickly identify more victims, they will be lost to organized crime, pimps, johns, and others who care little about their well-being or physical, mental, or emotional safety. With social scientists estimating that 27 million women, children, and men are trafficked, the fact that only 40,000 have been identified is woefully inadequate and frankly disturbing. We can, and must, do more to assist nations everywhere with helping identify and protect victims and not treating them as criminals. I’m pleased that this year’s TIP report is themed victim identification. Ambassador, once again, I commend your leadership on this issue, working through the interagency, as well as your direct foreign government engagement, to ensure that a comprehensive response to fight trafficking includes thorough enforcement alongside compassionate care for vulnerable communities, including runaways, foster youth, disabled, stateless, ethnic minorities, and migrants.”
Ambassador CdeBaca said, “This is the first year in which a number of countries could no longer receive waivers and faced an automatic downgrade. There were six such countries facing that situation in this year’s report: Azerbaijan, China, Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), Iraq, Russia, and Uzbekistan. In looking at those countries and applying the facts to the TVPA [Trafficking Victims Protection Act] reauthorization of 2008 [P.L. 110-457], three of those countries, Azerbaijan, Republic of the Congo (Brazzaville), and Iraq, had demonstrated a fair amount of progress, and received an upgrade to Tier 2. In China, Russia, and Uzbekistan, we did not see the same sort of progress, and as a result, they had to be placed on Tier 3 of this year’s report. But even though this report takes a hard, thorough look at this issue around the world, it isn’t meant to be punitive. We aren’t claiming to have all the answers, because we know we don’t. Instead, we’re proceeding on the idea that the better [the] information we have about modern slavery, the more effective we will be in confronting it. We aren’t pointing the finger, but rather extending a hand in partnership to anyone who agrees that this is a problem we need to grapple with. This report is a guide – for ourselves, for governments around the world, and for anyone who shares our goal of a world rid of modern slavery.”