U.S. Rep. Chris Smith, Robbinsville, N.J., today marked Human Trafficking Awareness Day at the New Jersey Statehouse in Trenton, N.J. Author of three landmark anti-trafficking bills, including the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), Smith spoke to a crowd of New Jersey students and advocates who are fighting the battle to help victims of human trafficking.

    "Special thanks to the New Jersey Coalition Against Human Trafficking for your extraordinary work in combating modern day slavery," Smith said. "Significant progress has been made since I authored landmark legislation—the Trafficking Victim’s Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)—to combat human trafficking in New Jersey, the nation and the world.

    "Because traffickers are constantly developing new methods and means to exploit the vulnerable—especially women and children—we have to continually update and aggressively recalibrate our efforts to prevent this evil, protect the victims and prosecute the perpetrators.

    "We need to craft new tools spearheaded by the government and the private sector to combat human trafficking.  No state or country and few industries are untouched by this pervasive human rights abuse. Traffickers use airlines to move their victims, hotels to exploit them, and unsuspecting buyers to pay for goods that have been made with raw materials tainted by forced and bonded labor.  It is estimated that there are anywhere from 12 to 27 million sex and labor trafficking victims in the world at any given time.

    "We know that organized crime, street gangs, and pimps have expanded into sex trafficking at an alarming rate.  It is an extremely lucrative undertaking - a trafficker can make $200,000 a year off of one victim.  Unlike drugs or weapons, a human being can be held captive and sold into sexual slavery over and over again.  And we are just beginning to understand the full scope of labor trafficking. The International Labor Organization estimates that countries import and export billions of dollars worth of goods made by labor trafficking victims.  Unsuspecting buyers purchase these goods, perpetuating the profits of traffickers and the misery of the victims.

    "Of particular interest are the evolving roles of public-private partnerships. In the past few  years, several effective initiatives that aim to prevent trafficking and assist victims have been undertaken by the private sector.  The Radisson and affiliated chains, as well as Hyatt and Hilton, have taken the lead in developing best practices for the hotel industry, which includes training employees to recognize and report suspicious activities to law enforcement.

    "The Body Shop is using its brand to raise awareness of human trafficking and to campaign for country-specific solutions. Airline Ambassadors, a non-governmental organization, has identified numerous ways to mitigate trafficking on airlines, and some, including Delta and British Airways, have actually put them into practice.

    "The TVPA prescribes numerous reports, including the annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. Written by the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Human Trafficking, currently headed by Ambassador Lou CdeBaca, the TIP Report not only summarizes the rankings and performance of each nation every year, but also provides detailed recommendations as to how each country can improve its efforts.

    "The TVPA launched a bold strategy that included sheltering, political asylum, and other protections for the victims; long jail sentences and asset confiscation for the traffickers; and tough sanctions for governments that failed to meet minimum standards prescribed in the TVPA.

    "However, more needs to be done, and I commend the Coalition, the Christie Administration and the lawmakers here for working hard to eradicate this egregious practice."