On June 21, the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Military Personnel and the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations held a joint hearing on efforts by the Department of Defense (DoD) to implement its zero-tolerance policy for human trafficking.
Noting that “prostitution has historically coexisted alongside large populations of military forces,” Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ), chair of the House International Relations Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights, and International Operations, stated, “It is reprehensible that any person with a responsibility to protect civilians in a destabilized region or to promote the rule of law would participate in prostitution or otherwise encourage human trafficking.” He expressed his concern that anti-trafficking efforts are not yet part of the DoD’s “organizational culture and infrastructure,” but acknowledged that progress has been made.
Referring to contractors who traffic workers on American military bases, Ranking Member Donald Payne (D-NJ) said that “human trafficking can be right under our very own nose and we must be vigilant.” He indicated that “the hard work of officials has begun to show results,” and shared his optimism that we can “meet the complex challenges and end the horrors of human trafficking.”
Ambassador John Miller, director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of State, declared, “When compared with militaries around the world, the U.S. military stands at the forefront of armed forces that are instituting serious change to ensure their personnel standards and contracting policies are aligned to combat modern-day slavery.” He gave the example of the DoD’s quick response to allegations in 2005 that companies in Iraq contracted by the DoD were tolerating practices “indicative of human trafficking.” A DoD investigation was launched and abuses were confirmed, including the illegal confiscation of worker passports. General George Casey, commander of the Multi-National Force in Iraq, created specific guidelines for DoD contractors in April 2006 to ensure that contractors uphold anti-trafficking standards, particularly an employee’s right to keep his passport. Regarding prostitution, Ambassador Miller stressed that the “vast majority” of women engaged in prostitution are trafficked, and all children working as prostitutes are trafficking victims. The DoD, he noted, has “addressed this issue by establishing the policy that our troops just don’t go into these places,” adding that patronizing a prostitute is a crime under the Uniform Code of Military Justice.
Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness Gail McGinn detailed the DoD’s efforts to combat trafficking in persons, highlighting the awareness training module, which is mandatory for all military and DoD civilian personnel being deployed overseas. “This module educates DoD members on the nature of trafficking, trafficking indicators, DoD’s policy on trafficking, and the legal provisions available to DoD in dealing with members of the Department connected to trafficking. The emphasis of the training is to educate individuals to not support trafficking, even indirectly, by frequenting businesses or enterprises that could involve trafficking in persons,” she stated, adding that the training is conducted both online and in classroom presentations for those without access to the Internet. A training module for commanders is scheduled to be completed by August. Ms. McGinn cited evaluation as a key element of the DoD trafficking policy implementation and said that the first department-wide evaluation is currently in progress. Concerning methods for servicemembers to report trafficking, she stated that an email address and a DoD hotline are available.
Testifying for the DoD Office of Inspector General (OIG), Principal Deputy Inspector General Thomas Gimble outlined OIG initiatives to support the DoD’s zero tolerance trafficking policy. Mr. Gimble said that inspection team visits to Korea and the Balkans in 2002-2003 led to concrete results, such as a toolkit for servicemembers with a copy of the December 2002 Presidential Directive on Human Trafficking and the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, developed by United States Forces-Korea; and quarterly inspections of certain “rest and relaxation locations,” established by USAEUR (United States Army Europe). In addition to inspections, the OIG currently is preparing the draft report for the evaluation of DoD efforts to combat trafficking. The evaluation examines DoD directives, resources, and training, as well as the legal authority of overseas commanders to act “outside the gate.”
During the question and answer period, Rep. Linda Sanchez (D-CA) noted that U.S. allies such as India and China were not ranked as Tier 3 countries on the Department of State’s 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, whereas Iran and North Korea were. Stating her concern that the report may not be impartial, Rep. Sanchez also said she was particularly interested in reports of Vietnamese women being trafficked in Thailand since her district in California has the largest Vietnamese community outside of Vietnam. Ambassador Miller assured her that countries are categorized according to their merits. He pointed out that India and China are on the Tier 2 Watch List, which was established by Congress to warn countries that their ranking would fall to Tier 3 without concerted efforts to improve. Regarding Iran’s Tier 3 placement, Ambassador Miller explained that the Department of State received credible reports of trafficking victims being executed by the Iranian government. North Korea, he said, has “done zero” to combat trafficking, while Vietnam, a Tier 2 country, has taken some actions. Ambassador Miller said it would be very helpful if Members raised the issue of trafficking when they visit government officials. “We can all do more,” he stated.
