Congressman Chris Smith (R-Hamilton), author of the U.S.’s law against human trafficking, today welcomed the continued progress foreign nations are making in the war against human slavery due, in large part, to the threat of economic sanctions Smith’s law (PL 106-386) provides for.
“When my law was being debated in Congress more than three years ago, there were many people who did not want to name names of offending nations because they felt doing so would offend. At the time I argued that the naming of names and application of sanctions are the two most powerful tools for enacting change. Today, we see how the threat of sanctions does work, evidenced by the action 10 nations took to significantly clean up their acts and get serious about the epidemic of modern-day human slavery.
“When the first trafficking report came out in 2001, 23 nations were listed on Tier 3, meaning they were not doing anything to meet the minimum standards called for under my law. This past year, 15 nations remained on Tier 3, and 10 of those countries have now made enough progress over the past three months to avoid being hit with sanctions.
“The challenge as we move forward is to keep the pressure on. The war against human trafficking must be comprehensive and sustained. I look forward to continuing to fight this most significant battle both in Congress and in international assemblies and forums.”
President Bush announced today that 10 of the nations with the worst record on trafficking according to the latest State Department Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report released in June have escaped sanctions because of marked improvements in law enforcement, victim assistance, and education. Three other nations – Burma, Cuba, and North Korea – failed to improve their record and will thus face sanctions.
Two other nations – Liberia and Sudan – also failed to make significant progress to comply with the minimum standards of Smith’s law. But the President has decided that at this time, continued U.S. assistance would help these nations improve their record and thus did not apply the sanctions.
Recently, Smith introduced the Trafficking Victims Protections Reauthorization Act of 2003, which makes several enhancements to the existing law so it will continue to be a very effective tool for law enforcement and a method to help the victims – most of whom are women and children – repair their lives.
