Congressman Chris Smith, Chairman of the Commission for Security and Cooperation in Europe (also known as the U.S. Helsinki Commission), is leading the U.S.  delegation to the annual Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Assembly taking place in Rotterdam this week.

    As the leader of the delegation, which includes eight Members of Congress, Smith will continue his successful efforts in calling upon all 55 OSCE member states (including the U.S. and Canada) to increase efforts to aggressively prosecute human trafficking and to work harder to stop the rising tide of anti-Semitism throughout the region.

    “As I have done at past parliamentary assemblies, I will continue to aggressively prod all nations to do more to advance the cause of human rights.  This year, I will focus especially on stopping the barbaric practice of human trafficking – modern-day slavery that ensnares hundreds of thousands of people, mostly women and children, each year – and on halting the escalation of anti-Semitic incidents,” Smith said.

    Smith, who along with former New York City Mayor Rudolph Giuliani participated in a first-ever OSCE forum on anti-Semitism in Vienna last month, will introduce a resolution against anti-Semitism that will build on the initiative he shepherded through last year’s assembly.  Under Smith’s leadership, the Helsinki Commission has convened several forums on anti-Semitism and various governments are taking more concrete actions to prosecute incidents of anti-Semitic violence and improve education to wipe-out anti-Semitic views among young people.

    This morning, before leaving for Rotterdam, Smith and Giuliani briefed Secretary of State Colin Powell on their recent conference.  Smith will convene a hearing on the issue, and a follow-up conference is planned for next year in Berlin, the city that was once home to Adolf Hitler’s Nazi Regime.

    Smith, the author of the United States’ first law that addresses human trafficking, will also work to pass a resolution on modern-day human slavery.  Smith’s law enabled U.S. law enforcement and prosecutors to more aggressively pursue trafficking cases.  It also established a new visa victims could apply for in exchange for testifying against their captors and authorized funding for programs to help victims rebuild their lives.

    The law – through the threat of economic sanctions – has moved governments around the globe to significantly increase prosecution of traffickers and to author new, tough, anti-trafficking laws if needed.  Smith’s resolution, which will be debated in Rotterdam, will urge member states to pass trafficking laws, ensure law enforcement are not complicit in trafficking crimes, and encourage states to take action against online child pornography.

    “I am pleased that several nations are getting the message and have thus taken action to crack down on traffickers and aid the victims.  I particularly commend the Russian Duma, which only a few years ago failed to recognize the country had a trafficking problem but is now poised to adopt a trafficking law similar to our own.  It is time for all nations to follow and substantially address this horrible crime,” Smith said.