The continued use of political factors in the Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report shows that the mistakes of 2015 were repeated by Obama Administration again this year. At a hearing today, featuring testimony from the State Department Ambassador who focuses on Human Trafficking, a congressional panel looked at the credibility of the report overall as well as the specifics of several countries, including China, Cuba, and Malaysia.

“Plain and simple, the 2016 TIP report again failed many victims,” said Smith, author of the landmark Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, which among other provisions mandates the annual world-wide trafficking assessment and ranking report.

“Tier rankings are about real prosecutions, real prevention, and real protection—for real people who are suffering as slaves.  The TIP Report was meant to speak for the trafficking victims waiting, hoping, and praying for relief,” said Smith. “While the 2016 TIP Report speaks for many of them, too many are still unheard.”

“The Obama Administration made the mistake of raising Cuba to Tier 2 last year. This year, just like last, thousands of Cuban medical professionals labor in dangerous countries not of their choosing, their passports taken and their movements restricted by the Cuban government.  It is not a coincidence that Cuban law does not recognize labor trafficking,” said Smith. “The easiest cases for a Tier 3 ranking should be those where the government itself is profiting from trafficking. This Administration refuses to accept the reality of the situation.”

China is another example of a country that fits the requirements for Tier 3, yet gets an ‘Obama-pass.’ “China sat on the Tier 2 Watch List for 8 years, each year promising the State Department they would implement their anti-trafficking plan,” said Smith. “Each year, the State Department took the bait until Congress put a limit on the Tier 2 Watch List—two years only, unless the President gives the country of waiver.  Well, China has once again promised to implement a plan—and the President just gave them a waiver to stay on the Watch List a third year.” This is in contradiction to the law.

Susan Coppedge, Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, conceded this morning that the TIP office and bureaus could not come to consensus on every country and that the Secretary of State “made the call himself” whether to follow the TIP recommendations. 

David Abramowitz, Managing Director at Humanity United Action, expressed concern about the use of the tip report: “This tool is only effective if the State Department ranks countries honestly, according to the facts on the ground, not merely promises to take action and unrelated political concerns.”

Under the TIP report, Tier 1 countries fully meet minimum standards for the elimination of human trafficking. Tier 2 countries do not meet the minimum standards but are making significant effort to do so.  Tier 2 Watch List countries do not fully comply with the minimum standards and the absolute number of victims is severe or increasing, or there is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts as compared to the previous year, or the determination that a country is making significant efforts was based on commitments by the country to take additional future steps over the next year.  Tier 3 countries do not meet the standards and are not making significant effort to do so.

Tier 3 countries are subject to potential sanctions that include the United States using its voice and vote to deny such countries loans from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and other multi-lateral banks, and barring non-humanitarian, non-trade related foreign assistance, as well as certain education and cultural exchange programs.

In addition to the original 2000 law (Public Law 106-386) which provided for the annual reports, Smith wrote subsequent anti-trafficking laws, including (PL 108-193 and PL 109-164) increasing resources for crime prevention and expanding treatment assistance for victims. Smith’s newest law, The International Megan’s Law to Prevent Child Exploitation and Other Sexual Crimes Through Advance Notification of Traveling Sex Offender, passed both houses of Congress in 2016 and was signed into law as (PL 114-119).

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