2007 Speeches

December 10, 2007

Dr. Roy L. Austin
United States Ambassador
IOM Training Course on Countering
Trafficking in Persons
United Nations House

Mr. Sinkovits, Chief of Mission for the International Organization for Migration in Trinidad and Tobago, distinguished guests, participants in the course on Countering Trafficking in Persons, welcome.

I am very pleased IOM is hosting this session and happy the United States is able to provide its full sponsorship and support.  I am also very pleased so many persons are here, eager to learn about trafficking in persons and the ways to identify and help victims.  Though Trinidad and Tobago has not suffered as much as some countries from this tragic practice, it nonetheless occurs here; and it is incumbent upon all of us to work to stop trafficking in persons wherever it takes place and no matter how many people are affected.

Increasingly, the crime of trafficking in persons is in the forefront of U.S. concerns.  This is evident from the annual report we produce on over 150 countries and their anti-trafficking practices.  This report is meant to encourage efforts to reduce the practice and highlight areas that need improvement.  The report itself is an outgrowth of our Trafficking Victims Protection Act, passed by the U.S. Congress in 2000 and strengthened in 2003.  In other words, our attention to this problem stems not only out of justified moral concerns, but is legislatively mandated as well.  

Why we, and you, take trafficking so seriously is evident from its definition and the size of the problem.  Trafficking in persons is, simply put, modern-day slavery, an abhorrent practice in the past and equally so in the present.  Today's trafficking involves victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into labor or sexual exploitation. Annually, about 600,000 to 800,000 people – mostly women and children – are trafficked across national borders. Millions more are trafficked within their own countries.

So large and serious a problem cannot be approached from one angle.  It is a multi-dimensional threat and, as such, it needs to be attacked from many sides and with a broad appreciation of what trafficking is and does to individuals and societies.  In this regard, we must not lose track of the fact that trafficking not only deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, but it is also a global health risk and it fuels the growth of organized crime.

Hopefully, this course will give you just such a multi-dimensional understanding.  In attacking trafficking from varying angles, though, we must always keep in mind that we are dealing with real people, often those in a society who are most vulnerable, with real stories, whose real lives and aspirations are being ruined.  Human trafficking has a devastating impact on individual victims who often suffer physical and emotional abuse.  The types of victimization include rape, threats against self and family, passport theft, and even death.

Trafficking in persons is a problem that touches all nations, including the United States.  We seek partners in this moral battle, another reason I am so pleased this course is taking place.  Recognizing that we also suffer from trafficking, the U.S. has taken a number of serious and significant actions to combat this scourge.  A few examples of our efforts include:

• The U.S. Congress passing legislation so Americans who sexually prey on children abroad can be prosecuted and sentenced to as many as 30 years in prison.
  
• Our Department of Justice focusing on increasing the number of trafficking victims rescued and the number of prosecutions and convictions of traffickers.
  
• The Department of Health and Human Services certifying trafficking victims so they may qualify for the same assistance available to refugees.
  
• The Department of Defense implementing a zero tolerance stand against any actions by Defense personnel that contribute to human trafficking and instituting a service-wide mandatory training program.
  

As we work at home, we also seek to help people of good will – like you – to combat trafficking in their own countries.  This course is an important part of that broader effort.  Among other internationally-targeted activities, the State Department is working extensively with governments on action plans for prevention, protection of victims, and prosecution.  To this end, our Congress contributed more than $82 million in funding last year for efforts abroad to end slavery, including assisting with rehabilitation and work training centers for victims; law enforcement training and legal reform assistance; training for officials, and rescuing victims from slavery.

As President Bush stated when discussing this problem, "No one is fit to be a master and no one deserves to be a slave."  By taking this course, and then putting into effect what you learn, you will help curb this devastating problem.  Secretary of State Rice, in her introduction to our latest "Trafficking in Persons" report, observed that today we are "called by conscience to end the debasement of our fellow men and women. As in the 19th century, committed abolitionists around the world have come together in a global movement to confront this repulsive crime."  I salute you for facing up to this challenge by taking this course.

Thank you.