After the controversy of the U.S. State Department’s 2015 trafficking report—its main instrument to combat human trafficking—the soon-to-be-released 2016 report will be the topic of a hearing planned by U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (NJ-04), Chairman of the House congressional panel that oversees global human rights issues. Smith is the author of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, a law which mandates the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. 

“Get It Right This Time: A Victims-Centered Trafficking in Persons Report,” is the title of the hearing to be held before the House Foreign Affairs Committee subcommittee on global human rights set for March 22. The 2016 TIP report is being compiled and expected to be released soon. “The 2015 TIP Report was marked by well-founded criticism that political concerns trumped honest evaluation of the actual records of some countries on fighting trafficking, and significantly—and unjustifiably—padded their tier rankings,” Smith said.

Who:            Members of the House global human rights subcommittee, and witnesses:

• Mark Lagon, President of Freedom House (Former Ambassador-at-Large for Trafficking in Persons Office at the U.S. Department of State). Founded in 1941 as the first American organization to advocate the advancement of freedom around the world, Freedom House is an independent watchdog organization dedicated to the expansion of freedom around the world and promoting democracy and fundamental human rights.

• Matt Smith, Executive Director of Fortify Rights. Fortify Rights  investigates and documents human rights abuses, proving information to the public and government policy makers to identify, prevent and remedy human rights abuses.

• Jinhye Jo, President of North Korean Refugees in the USA (NKinUSA). NKinUSA  is a human rights group founded in 2011 by a group of North Korean refugees who have re-settled in the U.S., and is the first human rights organization established by North Korean defectors in the U.S.

• Maria Werlau, President of the Free Society Project. Free Society Project, Inc. is a non-profit organization and think tank founded in 2001 in Washington, D.C. to promote the understanding, recognition, and observance of human rights particularly through research and scholarship. The organization´s flagship initiative is the Cuba Archive Truth and Memory Project.

When:             Tuesday, March 22 at 2 p.m.

Where:            Rayburn House Office Building, Room 2167 (first floor)