U.S. Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) today presided over a standing room only hearing of the House International Relations Committee where Grammy Award-winning recording artist Ricky Martin and officials from the Bush Administration said raising awareness of human trafficking at home and abroad is vital to bringing an end to these appalling crimes.

    "The horrific stories of trafficking victims make us all too aware that this modern form of slavery has silently infiltrated and poisoned the fabric of not only the United States, but of virtually every society in the world," said Smith, who is the author of America’s landmark anti-trafficking laws that have created new penalties for traffickers and new protections for the victims, mostly women and children. "It is extremely important that this awareness be amplified, so that public outrage will further motivate those of us in government, shame those who are creating the demand for trafficking victims, and ultimately stop those responsible for perpetrating these human rights violations.”

    Grammy Award-winning recording artist Ricky Martin provided added impetus for Congress and world governments to do more to help the victims of trafficking by briefing the Committee on his efforts to promote awareness of trafficking in persons through the Ricky Martin Foundation.

    “Our enemy is rich – human trafficking generates anywhere from $12 to $32 billion annually, surpassed only be the trafficking of arms and drugs. Yet we are without a global commitment to fight and end this scourge,” said Martin, who also serves as a Goodwill Ambassador for UNICEF.

    In response to questions about his work and the passion he brings to anti-trafficking efforts, Ambassador Martin said, “Music is my tool, but this work is my mission. I am grateful to have a platform from which to help these children.”

    Administration officials said that outreach efforts are not only crucial to ending human trafficking, but also to providing assistance to the victims of this horrific crime.

    “We are hopeful that our efforts to increase public awareness will encourage many more victims to step forward and seek help, and will make those who encounter victims more aware of what they are seeing,” said Honorable Wade F. Horn, Assistant Secretary for Children and Families within the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).

    The public awareness campaign cited by Horn, as well as other federal initiatives to end trafficking and assist trafficking victims, are direct results of laws Smith authored – the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA) and the subsequent reauthorizations of TVPA in 20030 and 2005.

    Smith noted that as a result of TVPA and its reauthorizations “the U.S. government has become a leader in addressing this serious human rights violation and that we need to encourage other governments to follow our lead.”