Request for Information for the 2011 Trafficking in Persons Report

From the Federal Register

The Department of State (“the Department”) requests written information to assist in reporting on the degree to which the United States and foreign governments comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons (“minimum standards”) that are prescribed by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, (Div. A, Pub. L. 106-386) as amended (“TVPA”). This information will assist in the preparation of the Trafficking in Persons Report (“TIP Report”) that the Department submits annually to appropriate committees in the U.S. Congress on countries' level of compliance with the minimum standards. Foreign governments that do not comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so may be subject to restrictions on nonhumanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance from the United States. Submissions must be made in writing to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at the Department of State by February 15, 2011. Please refer to the Addresses, Scope of Interest and Information Sought sections of this Notice for additional instructions on submission requirements.

Read the full request here.

2010 Year in Review

2010 was an exciting year for anti-trafficking work, from the inclusion of the U.S. for the first time in the Trafficking in Persons Report, to the celebration of the 10th Anniversary of the TVPA, to the European Union passing a new directive aimed at addressing trafficking. The year also saw a number of high profile cases and challenges. As we look forward to increased action in 2011, here are some of 2010's milestones:

Jennifer: In September, a federal grand jury in Hawaii brought an indictment against the president, three executives, and two labor contractors with Global Horizons "on charges that they imposed forced labor on some 400 Thai farm workers, in what justice officials called the biggest human-trafficking case ever brought by federal authorities," according to the New York Times. The workers were recruited from Thailand, and in 2007 they told reporters for the Seattle Weekly about their situation, which involved exorbitant debts, poor working conditions, little to no pay, threats, and document confiscation as a means to compel them to work. According to the indictment, Global Horizons attempted "to compel the workers’ labor and service through threats to have them arrested, deported or sent back to Thailand, knowing the workers could not pay off their debts if sent home." This case is noteworthy both for the size of the case and number of potential victims, as well as for exposing the ways that workers under the H-2A visa program may be exploited and for the ways that force, fraud, and coercion can operate in labor trafficking situations.

Bia: In late December 2010, The United Nations Office on Drug and Crime (UNODC) called for member states to ratify the Trafficking In Persons Protocol, which supplements the UN Convention against Organized Crime. One of the hugely important elements of this protocol is its focus on the rights of the victims and survivors of human trafficking. As much focus and energy goes into preventing the crime from even taking place, we have to deal with the current realities as well.The reality is that people are trafficked. The reality is also that those who escape exploitation are more often than not treated as if they were the criminals rather than the victims. That is unacceptable and it is up to us - as advocates or diplomats or simply empathetic individuals - to ensure that the correct infrastructure and systems are in place to aid the physical, psychological and emotional recoveries of those who survive being trafficked.

Elise: The United States was included in the tier rankings for the first time since the State Department began releasing the annual Trafficking In Persons Report. Previously, the TIP Report relied exclusively on data provided by the DOJ's report to Congress when adding information about the US's anti-trafficking effort. This year, however, Secretary Clinton stated that, "“We have to ensure that our policies live up to our ideals, and that is why we have for the first time included the United States.” The US gave itself a Tier 1 ranking, the highest out of the four rankings a country may receive. The country report mentions that the standardization of data collection in the US has yet to develop, which is why, still to this day, we do not have an accurate representation of what trafficking looks like in the US. What will also be more helpful to understanding trafficking is data collection that reflects the nuances of cases that involve both sex and labor trafficking. Forty-two states have enacted specific anti-trafficking statutes using varying definitions and a range of penalties. Such statutes are only gradually coming into use; during the reporting period, two states obtained their first convictions under anti-trafficking statutes passed in 2003 and 2007. The report also mentions the disparities between states on public benefits that are available to survivors. While there has been a 210 percent increase in certifications of foreign victims over the past five years, there has been no corresponding increase in funding for services. The report goes into further detail about the complications and burden the funding delivery structure also places on service providers; a problem that most directly affects survivors.The report also made a lengthy list of general recommendations that the US should engage in order to improve its response: improve data collection, increase law enforcement training, increase funding to service providers, improve cooperation among stakeholders, make immigrant and migrant workers more aware of their rights.

Jennifer: In October, the U.S. celebrated the Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA). The TVPA and its subsequent re-authorizations are the main federal legislation addressing human trafficking in the US. The law aims to be comprehensive and address "prevention, protection, and prosecution," and is responsible for everything from authorizing the T visa for trafficking victims to making human trafficking a federal crime. A DOJ report on states "The Tenth Anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) gives us occasion to reflect upon the remarkable strides our nation has made in combating human trafficking in the decade since the TVPA’s landmark provisions took effect on October 28, 2000. The enactment of the TVPA sparked a decade of progress toward eradicating modern-day slavery, a national endeavor that traces back to the Thirteenth Amendment’s command. . . Over the last ten years, we have recognized more than ever before that the fight to deliver on the promise of freedom can only be won through broad-based, collaborative efforts to address all dimensions of human trafficking. Among all the advances since passage of the TVPA, perhaps the most notable is the evolution of the strong partnerships between federal, state, local, and international law enforcement, government agencies, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who assist victims of human trafficking and advocate to bring an end to modern-day slavery." The act was most recently re-authorized in 2008, and will be up for re-authorization in 2011, making this an important time for anti-trafficking advocates in the US to not only reflect but to also look forward.

Laura: The human trafficking landscape in the European Union took a step towards abolition on December 14, 2010 with the European Union’s passing of a new anti-human trafficking directive. Member states, excluding Denmark and the UK, will have two years to adopt and implement the new directive, which replaces the current 2002 Framework Decision on combating human trafficking. Tougher penalties for traffickers include a minimum five year sentence, rising to ten years if child exploitation, threat to life, and/or organized crime are involved. The harsher penalties and improved victim assistance measures were outlined as key measures of the directive however a proactive stance is also being developed. Civil Liberties Committee rapporteur Anna Hedh (S&D, Sweden) said, "We also have to work on the roots of human trafficking, such as the demand for services. The human body is not a commodity that can be used and sold for money.” The EU is adopting a multi-pronged strategy to address human trafficking, with a proactive focus on identifying the root cause of the problem. The shift from a reactive to proactive stance is crucial if we are to change the systemic inequalities helping perpetuate the cycle of abuse. The global community’s recognition of the severity of the problem through legislative mandates is a key aspect in the fight to move beyond a culture of ignorance to a culture of action. The new legislation is complemented by the recent launch of the EU’s Anti-Trafficking Website. With each passage of anti-human trafficking legislation we spring forth from the silence and stop the complicity inherent in avoidance of the issue.

Elise: Although the California law SB 657 is directed toward U.S. companies, the bill will undoubtedly have international effects through the thousands of businesses with global supply chains, which will now be required to disclose measures they are taking to eradicate slavery and human trafficking from those supply chains. As Governor Schwarzenegger stated during the signing event, "This legislation will increase transparency, allow consumers to make better, more informed choices and motivate businesses to ensure humane practices throughout the supply chain." Representative Carolyn Maloney is considering introducing a similar bill on the federal level. While consumers do have the power to demand accountability through purchasing power, these laws can help ensure we have the information we need to make those decisions. I am certain 2011 will see more of these types of bills progress and hopefully have the desired effect of preventing some forms of trafficking.

Dear Corporation, Trafficking is Your Problem Too

From the Nation:

By Greg Kaufmann

On the ornate Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room at the US State Department—before a standing-room-only crowd that Secretary of State Hillary Clinton described as "one of the biggest we’ve had here”—Clinton recognized Laura Germino, the antislavery campaign coordinator for the Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), as an "anti-Trafficking Hero.” In the ten years that the award has been given to individuals who have shown an extraordinary commitment and leadership in the fight against slavery, Germino is the first US-based recipient.

The occasion was the release of the State Department’s 10th Annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Clinton said the report provides "in-depth assessments and recommendations for 177 countries” on how to reach the goal of "abolishing the illicit trade in human beings.” In another first, the report includes an assessment of trafficking in the United States.

It reads in part that "the United States is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor, debt bondage and forced prostitution. Trafficking occurs primarily for labor and most commonly in domestic servitude, agriculture, manufacturing, janitorial services, hotel services, construction, health and elder care, hair and nail salons, and strip club dancing…. More investigations and prosecutions have taken place for sex trafficking offenses than for labor trafficking offenses, but law enforcement identified a comparatively higher number of labor trafficking victims as such cases often involve more victims.”

Clinton described the significance of including the United States in the TIP report.

"This report sends a clear message to all of our countrymen and women: human trafficking is not someone else’s problem,” she said. "Involuntary servitude is not something we can ignore or hope doesn’t exist in our own community.”

Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca, a longtime federal prosecutor and now director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, agreed. "In our first Trafficking in Persons Report, we cited the US only as a destination or transit country, oblivious to the reality that we, too, are a source country for people held in servitude,” he said. “We have an involuntary servitude problem now just as we always have throughout history.”

Which is exactly why Germino was honored along with eight other activists from Brazil, Burundi, Hungary, India, Jordan, Mauritania, Mongolia and Uzbekistan. Germino and her colleagues at CIW have helped the US Department of Justice prosecute seven slavery operations in Florida over the last fifteen years, resulting in the liberation of over 1,000 farmworkers, as the plaque presented to Germino attests.

CdeBaca introduced Germino who spoke on behalf of all of the TIP Heroes.

"In the early 1990s, Laura began to not just give a voice to escaped slaves, but traveled to Washington on her own dime to hold the federal government accountable to investigate and prosecute these cases. And when I say ‘federal government,’ I mean me,” he laughed. "There have been many cases exposing servitude for both sex and labor in Florida. And the Coalition of the Immokalee Workers and Laura Germino have always been there. They’ve been important partners and, more importantly, an independent and pressing voice as they uncover slavery rings, tap the power of the workers, and hold companies and governments accountable.”

Holding companies accountable was a theme not only voiced by CdeBaca but also Clinton—and not just the primary perpetrators of slavery but the corporations that use those companies in their supply chains. That concept has been the driving force behind CIW’s Campaign for Fair Food, demanding that companies take responsibility for the conditions of their supply chain in order to alleviate the poverty and powerlessness at the root of the agriculture industry. It is the central argument CIW has waged in successfully obtaining pay raises and enforceable code of conduct agreements from the four largest fast food companies in the world, the two largest food service companies, and the largest organic grocer. (Watch out Publix and other grocers, you’re next.)

So when the Secretary spoke these words—"It is everyone’s responsibility. Businesses that knowingly profit or exhibit reckless disregard about their supply chains…all of us have to speak out and act forcefully”—you could almost feel the chills traveling up the spines of the hundreds of activists from all over the world who packed the room. Some broke into grins, cameras flashed.

“Now you have Secretary of State Clinton saying we need to have corporate responsibility in the supply chain,” Germino later told me. “That’s huge. We have to get to the point of prevention where slavery doesn’t happen anymore, and right now the most effective way to get that done is through market consequences. Any corporate buyer of fruits and vegetables who still is not willing to take ownership of this issue has no excuses left.”

When Germino took the stage she thanked the other award recipients for their “unflagging courage and grace and progress made under extremely difficult and dangerous circumstances in which you work overseas.” She pledged that together they would continue “our collective fight to wipe slavery off the face of this earth.”

She delivered a hopeful message in citing the progress that has already been made.

“Twenty years ago, there was no State Department TIP Report. There was no Justice Department Anti-Trafficking Unit. There was no Trafficking Victims Protection Act, no freedom network of NGOs,” she said. “There was no admission yet by this great nation that the unbroken threat of slavery that has so tragically woven through our history, taking on different patterns, but always weaving the horrendous depravation of liberty—that it was a constant…. So when we struggle with our frustration at the pace of change, we remember those days and realize how far things have come in such a short time.”

With a nod to the Secretary, Germino offered that “it takes a village to raise a child; it takes a whole community to fight slavery.”

Germino recognized her colleagues at CIW—and that wasn’t just lip service. In many years of working for and covering NGOs, I’ve never seen one that operates so efficiently as a collective—in the decisions they make, the actions they take, the wages they earn, and the shared credit for victories. CIW simply doesn’t distinguish its parts from the whole.

I think that’s a key reason this community-based organization in tiny Immokalee, Florida is able to have such a powerful national impact. It’s why parked outside of the State Department during the ceremony—and on the National Mall today and tomorrow—was CIW’s Modern Day Slavery Museum. And it’s why one of CIW’s many heroes found herself standing in the Benjamin Franklin State Dining Room, hearing the central tenets of CIW’s fight against slavery echoed by the US Secretary of State.

This year an underlying theme of the TIP release ceremony was corporate responsibility. Both Secretary of State Clinton and Ambassador-at-Large Luis CdeBaca noted the connection between lack of corporate accountability and slavery. Secretary Clinton went further, and suggested it is everyone’s responsibility to speak up and act against such an injustice. Laura Germino, who was honored at the ceremony for her work with the Coalition of Immokalee Workers, sees corporate responsibility concerning their supply chain as key in preventing slavery in the fields. Germino says “We have to get to the point of prevention where slavery doesn’t happen anymore, and right now the most effective way to get that done is through market consequences.” In other words, the best way to prevent slavery is making companies aware that if they do not take action to prevent it, people will take their business to companies that do.

It is only appropriate that we too honor the Coalition and Ms. Germino by becoming involved in their work. One particular way to do this is through their post card campaign, which asks grocery stores and fast-food chains to ensure that the people picking their produce are treated and paid fairly. To do this, you can request postcards through CIW (http://www.ciw-online.org/tools.html) and send them to the companies they are targeting. The campaign has been very successful this far and several fast-food companies and grocery stores have agreed to better practices including Subway and Whole Foods. This is a very simple but effective way to demand these companies take action against exploitation and slavery in the fields. The more companies understand that their customers want and demand them to take responsibility the more willing they will be to do it. Request your postcards today and get a few extra for some friends so they can get involved too!

Photo by Kay Chernush for the State Department.

Countries React to 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report

The U.S. Department of State's 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report came out this week, to much international interest. The report ranks countries on their efforts to combat human trafficking, from Tier 1 (highest) to Tier 3 (lowest), and is used by the U.S. as a diplomatic tool. Here are some of the responses, both positive and negative, from some of the countries ranked in the report:

Cuba: Cuba's foreign ministry spokesperson issued a strongly worded statement against the report, referring to it as "shameful slander," "false and disrespectful," and "can only be explained by the desperate need the U.S. government has to justify...the persistence of its cruel policy of (economic) embargo." Stating that "sexual trafficking of minors does not exist in Cuba," the spokesperson added that Cuba has some of the most advanced standards and mechanisms in the region for preventing and combating human trafficking. Cuba was placed in Tier 3.

Vietnam: According to the Thanh Nien News, the foreign ministry spokesperson for Vietnam stated that the report "contains political characteristics and unjust comments that fail to reflect the real situation in Vietnam." Vietnam was placed in Tier 2.

Guyana: The Guyanese Cabinet Secretary Dr. Roger Luncheon reportedly called the report "most superficial, unproven, the dirtiest kind of information collected...." Guyana was placed in Tier 2.

Nigeria: Nigeria was placed in Tier 1 this year. Executive Secretary Barrister Simon Chuzi Egede acknowledged the accomplishment, but reportedly "stressed the need for all involved in this fight to be mindful of the fact that the battle is far from being won, because the enemies of the Nigerian children are ever ready to deploy their arsenals of assault through any loophole either real or imagined."

Jamaica: Says one writer from Jamaica, "I find it counterproductive for the U.S. to stand in judgement of the world when the very evil it purports to eradicate is happening in abundance in its backyard. I find the report to be contradictory for how is the U.S. any different from Jamaica in that it is not fully compliant but is making 'significant' efforts to eliminate human trafficking." Jamaica was placed in Tier 2.

Thailand: Thailand has expressed its disappointment in the TIP report; Thailand's foreign affairs deputy spokesperson Thani Thongphakdi reportedly stated that "Thailand doubts the credibility of the U.S. report because this came out despite our efforts to provide further updates [on the country's measures to handle the problem] to the US that were seen throughout the year." Thailand was placed on the Tier 2 Watch List.

Fiji: Fiji moved to the Tier 2 Watch List, up from Tier 3 last year, which has given it hope that the government's application for a $1 billion loan will be approved by the International Monetary Fund. While Fiji was on the Tier 3 list, U.S. members on the IMF board would apparently have been required to vote against the loan.

United Arab Emirates: In response to the report, the Minister of State for Foreign Affairs stated that the UAE "welcomes recognition of the country's anti-trafficking efforts, constructive criticism as well as collaborative efforts. The UAE is aware that several challenges still lie ahead, and we are committed to continuing our efforts alongside our international partners." The UAE was upgraded from the Tier 2 Watch List last year, to Tier 2 this year.

US Evaluation in the 2010 TIP Report

Marking the tenth anniversary since the US passed the TVPA and the UN adopted the Palermo Protocol may seem like cause enough for marking this year's TIP Report as a particularly special document. However, in addition to these milestones, the United States has been included in the tier rankings for the first time since the State Department began releasing the annual Trafficking In Persons Report. When the news was announced last year that the US would be given a tier ranking along with a summary of government efforts to combat trafficking, it was met with a healthy dose of skepticism: how could the US possibly rank itself honestly and fairly?

Previously, the TIP Report relied exclusively on data provided by the DOJ's report to Congress when adding information about the US's anti-trafficking effort. This year, however, Secretary Clinton stated that, "“We have to ensure that our policies live up to our ideals, and that is why we have for the first time included the United States.”

The US was given a Tier 1 ranking (the highest out of the four rankings a country may receive), which came as a surprise to no one. What is surprising is the diversity of information provided by the summary of the DOS findings. While you will find more information by accessing the report itself, there are a few highlights that stood out to me:

Eighty-two percent of these foreign adult victims and 56 percent of foreign child trafficking victims were labor trafficking victims.

The statistic in and of itself does not surprise me; the majority of the cases at the organization which I currently work are those trafficked for labor purposes. The percentage of child labor trafficking victims did surprise me, however, and later in the report, it mentions that the gender split in child labor trafficking victims was nearly 50-50.

What the report also mentions, of course, is that the standardization of data collection in the US has yet to develop, which is why, still to this day, we do not have an accurate representation of what trafficking looks like in the US. What will also be more helpful to understanding trafficking is data collection that reflects the nuances of cases that involve both sex and labor trafficking.

Forty-two states have enacted specific anti-trafficking statutes using varying definitions and a range of penalties. Such statutes are only gradually coming into use; during the reporting period, two states obtained their first convictions under anti-trafficking statutes passed in 2003 and 2007.

Again, not surprising, but still a pretty sad statistic. The report also mentions the disparities between states on public benefits that are available to survivors.

In a separate effort, some state and local law enforcement agencies operate under cooperative agreements following section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act, which authorizes the federally supervised enforcement of certain immigration authorities related to the investigation, apprehension, and detention of unauthorized immigrants in the United States. Participants in the 287(g) agreement must undergo training on victim and witness protections, including victim-based immigration relief. However, victim advocates reported that this training has not enhanced the response to or identification of trafficking victims or other immigrant victims of crime.

Now this surprised me in the sense that I would not have connected the 287(g) agreements with anti-trafficking efforts and I was surprised to see them mentioned at all in the TIP Report. 287(g) agreements have come under severe criticism by immigration and victim service advocates because of the role it gives law enforcement officers who would otherwise not be enforcing federal immigration law. Local and state law enforcement officials can enter into agreements with Immigration and Customs Enforcement to enforce immigration law. The fear this type of cooperation places on immigrants and migrant workers was noted in the recent HRW report on child labor in agriculture, a previous Justice Strategies report, among others. It would interesting to see if there were any concrete examples of successful identification of trafficking victims as a direct result of these agreements.

While there has been a 210 percent increase in certifications of foreign victims over the past five years, there has been no corresponding increase in funding for services. In each of the last three years, the U.S. government exhausted the funding allotted for the reimbursement system before the end of the year.

The report goes into further detail about the complications and burden the funding delivery structure also places on service providers; a problem that most directly affects survivors.

Allegations of U.S. government contractors and subcontractors engaging in forced labor and procuring commercial sex acts were well-publicized, most recently involving private security firms hired by U.S. embassies as well as DOD contractors...During the reporting period, although allegations have been investigated, no contractors were prosecuted and no contracts were terminated. An additional Department of State report to Congress is forthcoming in the summer of 2010.

I had heard information about the involvement of slave labor in the building of US embassies abroad, most notably through The Slave Next Door, but less about the security firms. Hopefully the report to Congress will contain productive information.

Of course, the report made a lengthy list of general recommendations that the US should engage in order to improve its response: improve data collection, increase law enforcement training, increase funding to service providers, improve cooperation among stakeholders, make immigrant and migrant workers more aware of their rights. As Ambassador Lu CdeBaca put it, "As we celebrate the timeless words of our Constitution’s 13th Amendment – that '[n]either slavery nor involuntary servitude … shall exist' – we recognize that such absolute guarantees need to be constantly enforced lest they only be words on a page."

Hopefully, with a more continuous process to collect the information on effort in the US for the TIP Report, these recommendations, however vague, will become more than just words on a page.

First US Recipient of State Department's Anti-Trafficking Hero Award to Be Given This Year

From the Coalition of Immokalee Workers:

Great news out of Washington, DC: U.S. State Department to recognize CIW Anti-Slavery Coordinator Laura Germino as 2010 "Anti-Trafficking Hero"!

CIW Modern-Day Slavery Museum headed to DC to serve as backdrop for the ceremony. Germino (above, leading Sec. of Labor Solis on recent tour of museum) to be first US recipient of State Department "Hero" recognition...

As part of the annual TIP report release, the State Department recognizes the efforts of a handful of individuals from around the world who have shown extraordinary commitment and leadership in the fight against slavery, TIP "Heroes" as the State Department calls them.

This year, Laura Germino, the CIW's Anti-Slavery Campaign Coordinator, has been chosen to receive this terrific distinction, and when she does, she will be the first U.S.-based recipient to receive the recognition.

We are extremely proud of Laura, whose untiring work fighting forced labor in Florida -- beginning in the early 1990's -- helped launch today's anti-slavery movement in the U.S. Nearly twenty years later, Laura continues to investigate slavery operations, work in partnership with the Department of Justice to prosecute slavers, and train state and local law enforcement, community service organizations, and FBI personnel in how to identify and combat forced labor across the Southeast.

We are also very proud that the State Department has requested that the CIW's Modern-Day Slavery Museum serve as the backdrop for the 2010 TIP report ceremony. The museum will begin its way up 95 tomorrow with the goal of making it there in one piece for Monday's ceremony in Washington, DC!

The museum, housed in an actual cargo truck outfitted as a replica of the trucks involved in a recent slavery operation (U.S. v. Navarrete, 2008), may or may not make it there for the ceremony, so, just in case it doesn't, we're including here a great video on the museum and its tour earlier this year across the state of Florida. The video is set to, "Captain, Don't You Kill Old Bob," a work song performed by Fred Lee Fox, a 20-year-old turpentine worker, in 1939. The song was recorded by Stetson Kennedy, Florida's foremost folklorist and a renown human rights activist, at a labor camp outside Cross City, Dixie County, Florida.

Enjoy, and check back soon for more details on Monday's ceremony in Washington!

My personal exposure to the work of this organization leaves me with great happiness that this award is being given to Laura Germino. From the direct service they provide to farmworkers and their Anti-Slavery Campaign to their work on the demand side of labor exploitation and trafficking with the Campaign for Fair Food, this is definitely an organization worth following and supporting. You can gain information from their website on the statistics concerning farmworkers. You can read about their efforts in The Slave Next Door. You can explore their Take Action page to find out how you can help. Hopefully this recognition will also lead to greater attention to the slavery, abuse and exploitation that happens in our fields every day.

Please follow the release of this year's report this Monday, June 14th.

Congratulations to Laura Germino and the CIW!

Luis CdeBaca, America's Anti-Trafficking Czar

What is one of the most welcomed developments in the fight to end human bondage in 2009? Activists across the anti-trafficking spectrum welcomed the news in May of 2009 that Luis CdeBaca was appointed by President Obama as the Ambassador-at-Large of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. Frequently referred to as Lou by friends and admirers alike, deBaca faces enormous challenges in his work to spearhead the US effort to pressure and monitor foreign governments in their efforts to free slaves. There are an estimated 12-17,000 people trafficked into the United States each year and as many as 27 million people living in slavery worldwide.

A Mexican-American who grew up in Iowa, deBaca has long experience both prosecuting traffickers and rescuing and rehabilitating trafficking survivors. Mr. deBaca was a trial attorney for over 14 years, then became a special litigator in the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division and, subsequently, served as Majority Counsel at the House Judiciary Committee. A highly decorated prosecutor, he has convicted over a hundred human traffickers, updated US anti-slavery laws to help police prosecute traffickers, and received the Attorney General’s Distinguished Service Award for his service as lead trial counsel in a case involving the enslavement of over 300 workers in American Samoa, the biggest slavery case ever prosecuted in the US.

Mr. deBaca’s tireless fight to prosecute traffickers is matched by his determination to rescue and rehabilitate trafficking survivors. According to Benjamin Skinner in a great piece in the Huffington Post in May of this year, Most meaningful to de Baca, however, are his successful rescues and rehabilitations of over six-hundred slaves. That is a record unmatched by any law enforcement official at any level since Reconstruction. And central to his approach has been his deeply felt compassion for the victims. "I always felt safe when Lou was working on our case and I knew we would be okay," said "Katya," a survivor of brutal sex traffickers who Lou helped put behind bars for a total of 21 years. "He is a good man." Too often in the past, law enforcement has dealt with slaves as if they were the perpetrators of a crime against the state, rather than victims of a crime against humanity. But for de Baca, fighting slavery is personal. Those of us who have met slaves, survivors and traffickers know de Baca's passion well, because we feel it ourselves.

Mr. deBaca is keenly aware that the other ally governments have in the anti-trafficking fight is the advocacy community, be they church groups, human rights groups, mission groups, unions or engaged individuals. During the release of the 2009 TIP Report, deBaca stated that he wanted to add a fourth “P” to the anti-trafficking categories: prevention, prosecution, protection, and (now) partnership. This was a move widely heralded by activists as a step forward and showed the US government was making a real effort to work in partnership with others around the world engaged in anti-trafficking efforts. In conjunction with the first ever release of a review of US efforts to fight trafficking that was promised for next year, it helped to lessen the impression that the US was less interested in pointing fingers at others and more interested in joint efforts and engagement.

I believe it’s also important that Mr. deBaca is committed to fighting slavery in all of its forms, from slave labor to sexual exploitation. The previous administration focused its evangelically influenced campaign a bit too much on sexual exploitation to the exclusion of other forms of trafficking. While human trafficking for sexual exploitation is deplorable and an abomination, the ILO estimates it represents about ten percent of those in slavery globally and our approach should be as multifaceted and proportionate as the phenomenon, addressing all types of human bondage.

Mr. deBaca has also shown his ability to contextualize human trafficking within the wider geo-political context. The US-Mexico border has a long history of transnational crime, including drug and human trafficking. The rampant criminality, along with the difficulty the long, porous border represents for law enforcement, has been highlighted by recent events, such as the Mexican sex trafficking ring that was broken up in November of last year by Brooklyn police and the murders of Juarez women. In May of 2009, Mr. deBaca has stated that human trafficking is a area where the US and Mexican governments can cooperate and is hopeful that sharing information on human trafficking cases will strengthen relationships between US and Mexican officials that would in turn strengthen transnational relations that help fight narcotrafficking.

What is also refreshing is that Mr. deBaca’s drive to fight trafficking is holistic. In November of last year, Mr. deBaca stated that "A phenomenal job of fighting trafficking still means that there’s trafficking. Having the best homicide detectives in your city doesn’t mean there’s not going to be murders. The fight against trafficking means that you try to keep it from happening, but also you’ve got cutting-edge tools to address it when it does. And to treat the victims the way they should be, but also to investigate and prosecute cases."

Mr. deBaca is welcome addition as the Ambassador-at-Large of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. While his approach is noteworthy and signs so far have been promising, he has to contend with a wafer-thin budget, which could shrink further under the weight of the current economic recession. Additionally, Mr. deBaca will need to build a constituency with the American and international public, as well as with key senators on the Foreign Relations Committee. I look forward to more positive developments in the fight against human trafficking this coming year and I believe Mr. deBaca is up for the challenges inherent in his position.

Urge Secretary Clinton to End Child Trafficking

Plan International USA, Inc. has created a petition urging Secretary of State Hillary Clinton to work to end child trafficking in 2010. The petition thanks Secretary Clinton for her support of anti-trafficking work to date, and aims to encourage her to continue to make ending slavery a priority. The petition, which has already gathered over 20,000 signatures, will close on January 31st.

Plan International is a child-centered NGO that operates in 48 countries around the world. According to Plan International, "This year 1.2 million girls and boys were victims of child trafficking. That means they were taken from their families. Sold into slavery. Forced to work 7 days a week with dangerous equipment. They endured beatings, malnutrition, and other abuse. Girls are especially exploited: sold as “mail order brides,” forced into prostitution, and brutalized and raped by their “employers.”

As Plan International notes, Secretary Clinton has expressed support for anti-trafficking work. The petition urges Secretary Clinton to "continue [her] important work to protect children from human trafficking by; spreading awareness of human trafficking by including it as a key part of upcoming speeches and responding to tragedies in the news, encouraging the work of organizations and countries that are making progress in ending human trafficking, discussing this issue with key leaders of countries who are known for human trafficking violations and insisting that these leaders follow the recommendations in the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report."

Upon the release of the 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report, Secretary Clinton wrote in a piece published by the Washington Post, "Human trafficking flourishes in the shadows and demands attention, commitment and passion from all of us. We are determined to build on our past success and advance progress in the weeks, months and years ahead. Together, we must hold a light to every corner of the globe and help build a world in which no one is enslaved." Plan International's petition aims to encourage Secretary Clinton to continue her commitment and strengthen her leadership in shining this light.

Rally to STOP Forced Child Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields

On Wednesday, October 14th, 2009 the AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Child Labor Coalition, International Labor Rights Forum, Not for Sale Campaign, SEIU, Workers United are hosting a rally at the Embassy of Uzbekistan to protest forced child labor in Uzbekistan.

According to The Department of Labor's List of Goods Produced by Child or Forced Labor, released in September of 2009, the cotton industry in Uzbekistan continues to use child labor and forced labor. The International Labor Rights Forum states that Uzbekistan is the second largest exporter of cotton around the world. While this industry is profitable for some, "Thousands of children as young as seven work in the cotton fields instead of attending school in order to meet government-imposed cotton production quota. . . Some children are conscripted to work in remote areas where they are forced to stay in dormitories while they pick cotton."

In 2007 the BBC released a story about reporter Simon Ostrovsky who investigated the path cotton takes from "the clothes rack to the factory and back to the fields where the cotton has been harvested." While retailers were disturbed to learn that products that they sell were made with forced labor, the practice continues. The articles recounts the story of a "nine-year-old girl who has to work from eight in the morning until sunset, [who] said: 'They have closed the school - that's why I'm picking cotton.'" According to the article, each year the schools are closed during the cotton harvest.

The US State Department placed Uzbekistan on the Tier Two Watch List of the latest Trafficking in Persons Report for the second year in a row, up from Tier Three in 2006 and 2007. The report states that Uzbekistan is a source country for women and girls trafficked for sexual exploitation in "UAE, India, Kazakhstan, Russia, Turkey, Thailand, Malaysia, South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, and Israel." Men are trafficked to Russia and Kazakhstan for forced labor. People are also trafficked internally in Uzbekistan for forced labor and sexual exploitation, including "Many school-age children, college students, and faculty [who] are forced to pick cotton during the annual harvest."

The TIP report states that Uzbekistan has issued a formal ban on forced child labor and created an action plan to address trafficking. However, the report also states that "Uzbekistan did not make significant efforts to eliminate the use of forced labor of adults and children in the cotton harvest and did not make efforts to investigate, prosecute, or convict government officials complicit in the use of forced labor during the harvest." Moreover, the state-enforced quota system for the cotton harvest has remained in place.

Cotton products that people buy may be tainted with forced labor, including forced child labor, particularly given that Uzbekistan is the second largest exporter of cotton.

What: Rally to STOP Forced Child Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields

When: Wednesday, October 14th, Noon – 1 PM
Where:
Embassy of Uzbekistan
1746 Massachusetts Ave. NW
Washington, DC
(Near Dupont Circle)

Sponsored by AFL-CIO, American Federation of Teachers, Child Labor Coalition, International Labor Rights Forum, Not for Sale Campaign, SEIU, Workers United.

For more information and to RSVP, visit http://www.unionvoice.org/laborrights/events/stopuzbekchildlabor/details.tcl

You can also sign a petition urging the Uzbek Government to stop forced child labor.

Image taken from the Rally to STOP Forced Child Labor in Uzbekistan’s Cotton Fields' flyer.

Human Trafficking and the Financial Crisis

The State Department released the ninth Trafficking in Persons Report on 16th. In addition to the country reports, the TIP report also highlighted the impact of the economic crisis on the global trade in persons for forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. As Secretary Clinton said in her opening letter to the report, “This year, there is new urgency in this call. As the ongoing financial crisis takes an increasing toll on many of the world’s migrants – who often risk everything for the slim hope of a better future for their families – too often they are ensnared by traffickers who exploit their desperation” (1).

According to the report, the economic crisis has lead to a decrease in legitimate economic opportunities for the world’s most vulnerable people, an increased demand for extremely cheap labor, and a decrease in the resource available to anti-trafficking NGOs (7,9). Combined, they form a lethal combination for trafficked victims and potential victims.

As the report states, “workers are made more vulnerable to forced labor practices because of high rates of unemployment, poverty, crime, discrimination, corruption, political conflict, and cultural acceptance of the practice” (17). The TIP report cites the International Labor Organization’s January 2009 report that found that the global financial situation is “causing dramatic increases in the numbers of unemployed, working poor, and those in vulnerable employment “(32-3).

The situation is likely to only grow worse, particularly in areas that already have extreme trafficking problems. The TIP report notes that Southeast Asia – Already home to 77% of the world’s forced labor – could face unemployment as high as 113 million people in 2009 (33). In Eastern Europe “international organizations and local authorities have already reported a rise in victims of labor exploitation” (34). The situation is not likely to improve in the near future, according to a recent World Bank report that suggests that economic recovery will be slow, particularly in impoverished nations.

In addition to the cost to trafficked victims directly, the “cost of coercion” or the loss of wages people would earn were they not enslaved, also harms the families of trafficked victims, further exacerbating global poverty and making people more vulnerable to being trafficked themselves (34).

Even as increased vulnerability is leading to growth in the supply of trafficked victims, the financial crisis is also leading to growth in the demand for trafficked victims. The TIP report cites UN officials as stating that “(t)hey expect the impact of the crisis to push more business underground to avoid taxes and unionized labor” (37). The demand for cheap products and services, coupled with the pressure of the economic crisis is thus fueling the demand for modern-day slavery.

The TIP report also points out that this crisis affects different populations differently. The report notes that “Research links the disproportionate demand for female trafficking victims to the growth of certain “feminized” economic sectors (commercial sex, the “bride trade,” domestic service) and other sectors characterized by low wages, hazardous conditions, and an absence of collective bargaining mechanisms” (36). According to FAIR Fund, 80% of trafficked victims are women and girls, and the current economic situation is likely to only increase this disparity. Plans to address the economic crisis need to consider the gendered manifestations of the crisis, and ensure that stimulus efforts do not simply create economic opportunities for men only.

Finally, along with increased supply and demand, anti-trafficking efforts are also facing a decline in resources to work to prevent trafficking, assist survivors, and punish perpetrators. The TIP report points out that “The tough times are also affecting the work of anti-trafficking NGOs, which often provide crucial services in the absence of adequate government or private-sector programs. Donors are tightening their belts, and organizations are finding it difficult to continue their operations” (40).

While this news might seem dire, the TIP report also pointed to and encouraged efforts to continue to fight trafficking, suggesting that anti-trafficking work is more important now than ever before in light of these recent developments. For example, the report pointed out that, “the enactment of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA of 2008) strengthened the U.S. Government’s criminal statute on forced labor” (25), a fortuitous develop in light of recent indications that labor trafficking is increasing.

The TIP report suggested that everyone has a role to play in decreasing demand for labor trafficking, from individuals to governments (31), suggesting that “One key to addressing such demand is raising awareness about the existence of forced labor in the production of goods. Many consumers and businesses would be troubled to know that their purchases— clothes, jewelry, and even food—are produced by individuals, including children, who are forced into slave-like conditions” (32).

The ninth Trafficking in Persons Report paints a grim picture: the global financial crisis is leading to increased supply of vulnerable people, increased demand for cheap labor and economic exploitation, and a decrease in services for trafficked survivors and efforts to fight trafficking. Rather than being paralyzing, this picture should be motivating. The call to fight modern-day slavery is more pressing now than ever before, and as Secretary Clinton concluded her opening remarks on the report “I am confident that together we can make a difference, all over the world, in the lives of people deprived of their freedom” (1).

Fighting the Good Fight

*Photo from America.gov

I have to admit that I did not really buy into the idea of the anti-trafficking “heroes” that are listed in the State Department’s Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. I bet if you talked to many of the heroes on the list, they will tell you that they were only doing what they felt they had to do. Please do not get me wrong, I knew these heroes were doing amazing work but I have always found the term a bit cheesy.

However, this year, I was forced to change my mind when Vera Lesko was named a 2009 TIP Report Hero. I met Vera in 2007 while conducting research on human trafficking for sexual exploitation in Albania and the surrounding region. I traveled to Vlora in southwestern Albania to meet and chat with Vera and tour the Vatra (“Hearth”) Center. The Hearth opened its doors in 1997 as an NGO dedicated to helping young people in need.

Vera saw the need to focus on trafficking because this was the biggest problem at the time in that part of Albania for young people, particularly women. As a result, Vatra opened a shelter in 2001, the first shelter for trafficking survivors in Albania. One of the first things that I noticed about this shelter that set it apart from others was the atmosphere. While people were sad, this was not a place of sadness. There was hope in this place and a tremendous force for good, personified by the amazing Vera Lesko.

While the 2009 TIP Report Heros blurb glosses over it, Vera was facing a number of serious obstacles to her work at the time that I met her. Funding for the shelter had all but dried up, she had received some small awards from the US & UK Embassies in Albania but the rent for the shelter and linked apartments was expensive. Further, Vera looked wan and wore a headscarf because she was battling breast cancer. She was having trouble paying her medical bills and had to travel regularly to Italy to get cancer treatments. Vera had also suffered public beatings as a result of her work helping the most vulnerable in society.

What you do not read in the TIP Report is that the state police protection for Vatra was taken away. Vera was forced to hire a private security firm, yet another drain on her expenses. The local and national government have gone numerous times to Vatra to check that it is “up to standards” but, as Vera wryly pointed out to me, she helped to write the standards. Even though the government tried to block her work, Vera persevered. She managed not only to keep the shelter open but to expand the scope of her work. I am honored to have had the opportunity to meet Vera and I still marvel at her pioneering spirit.

According to the Merriam Webster Dictionary, a hero is “a mythological or legendary figure often of divine descent endowed with great strength or ability; an illustrious warrior; a [wo]man admired for her achievements and noble qualities; one that shows great courage.” While I normally eschew this type of terminology, Vera is the very definition of a hero. The amount of courage she has displayed in fighting trafficking is truly awe inspiring. Vera gives me hope that we can make a difference in the fight against trafficking, that we can ultimately win, even when the odds are so severely against us. Not only has Vera shown great courage in fighting trafficking, she has done so in a frequently hostile environment and, what is more, she has inspired others to do the same.

DOJ to Rate US Anti-Trafficking Performance

June 16th, 2009 marked the release of the ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) from the State Department, which adheres to the same format and Tier-ranking system as previous reports. There are more countries on the watchlist and more nations are potentially subject to sanctions for failing to comply with the minimum anti-trafficking standards in US law. However, there is definitely something new this year.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton told us, in her introductory remarks, that, for the first time ever, the United States will rank its own performance on anti-trafficking. Secretary Clinton noted, that:

“To coincide with this year’s Global Trafficking in Persons Report, the Department of Justice is releasing its own report, which describes the problem of human trafficking in the United States and offers recommendations for how we can do a better job of fighting it.

We’re grateful for the DOJ's work. It will help us advance our struggle against trafficking in our own country. And we are committed to working with all nations collaboratively. In recent years we’ve pursued a comprehensive approach reflected by the three Ps: prosecution, protection, and prevention. Well, it’s time to add a fourth: partnership.”

The State Department has been praised for the accuracy of the TIP Report. I even heard colleagues of mine in Albania claiming it was more accurate about trafficking conditions in Albania than the information produced by their government. However, a major point of criticism has been that the US has refused to rank its own progress in fighting trafficking in the TIP Report. The release of the Department of Justice report that describes trafficking in the US, along with recommendations for improvement, will go some way towards ameliorating this criticism. Advocates are quite happy that we will finally apply the US ranking system, including ranking the US on the tier system, to the country where it was created.

While this is a step in the right direction, it still is not equivalent to ranking the United States in the TIP Report tier system along with all the other countries. Part of the problem is that this promotes the feeling that the US feels it is an outlier, an exception to the global phenomenon of trafficking. Perhaps the State Department felt that a separate report on the United States would be more comprehensive, which is a valid point. However, this does not preclude the inclusion of the US in the TIP Report. Additionally, what we really need is a report that ranks each individual state in the US because, while there is universally applicable federal legislation, laws are different depending on the state you happen to reside in. Or, if you are like me and live in the nebulous territory known as the District of Columbia, there is even another set of rules.

If we are to believe Secretary Clinton’s words, that partnership with other countries to fight trafficking will become the fourth P of our comprehensive strategy, we need to start reflecting this in our reporting strategy and our conceptualization of trafficking within the United States.

Click here to read Secretary Clinton’s full remarks at the release of the 2009 TIP Report.

State Department Video Coverage of 2009 TIP Report Release

Please find a link to HTP's previous post and the full report here.

2009 US TIP Report Released

From AP:

US expands human trafficking watchlist

By Matthew Lee

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration on Tuesday expanded the U.S. watchlist of countries suspected of not doing enough to combat human trafficking, putting more than four dozen nations on notice that they might face sanctions unless their records improve.

The State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report," the first released since President Barack Obama took office, placed 52 countries and territories — mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East — on the watchlist. That number is a 30 percent jump from the 40 countries on the list in 2008.

Several previously cited nations were removed from the list, but new countries cited for human trafficking problems include Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Iraq, Lebanon, Nicaragua, Pakistan, the Philippines, Qatar, Senegal and the United Arab Emirates.
The report also placed the Netherlands' Antilles, a self-governing Dutch territory in the Caribbean, on the watchlist.

"With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said as she released the 320-page document.

Inclusion on the watchlist means those countries' governments are not fully complying with minimum standards set by U.S. law for cooperating in efforts to reduce the rise of human trafficking — a common denominator in the sex trade, coerced labor and recruitment of child soldiers.

If a country appears on the list for two consecutive years, it can be subject to U.S. sanctions.
Seventeen nations, up from 14 in 2008, are now subject to the trafficking sanctions, which can include a ban on non-humanitarian and trade-related aid and U.S. opposition to loans and credits from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. The penalties can be waived if the president determines it is in U.S. national interest to do so.

Those 17 countries include traditional U.S. foes like Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, but also American allies and friends such as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.
Malaysia, another U.S. partner, was added to the list of worst offenders as were Zimbabwe, Chad, Eritrea, Mauritania, Niger, and Swaziland.

From the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons:

"The ninth annual Trafficking in Persons Report sheds light on the faces of modern-day slavery and on new facets of this global problem. The human trafficking phenomenon affects virtually every country, including the United States. In acknowledging America’s own struggle with modern-day slavery and slavery-related practices, we offer partnership. We call on every government to join us in working to build consensus and leverage resources to eliminate all forms of human trafficking."--Secretary Clinton, June 16, 2009

Read the Full Report Here.