Combating Human Trafficking: Achieving Zero Tolerance

The Subcommittee will today hear testimony concerning the continuing problem of human trafficking. The U.S. Government, as we all know, now estimates that some 600,000 to 800,000 women, children and men are bought and sold across international borders each year and exploited through forced labor or commercial sex exploitation. Potentially millions more are trafficked internally within the borders of their countries. Eighty percent of the victims are women and girls. An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign citizens are trafficked into the U.S. each and every year. As Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights in the late 1990s, I led an effort to end the scourge of trafficking, and it is probably better called slavery, by sponsoring the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), P.L. 106–386, which was signed into law in December 2000. In 2003, I sponsored a reauthorization of that act which also became law. These two pieces of legislation created a comprehensive framework for combatting trafficking in persons abroad, as well as the trafficking of foreign nationals into the United States. As a result, our Government has been a leader in addressing this human rights violation and encouraging other governments to do the same. When I held the first hearing on trafficking, back in 1999, only a handful of countries had laws explicitly prohibiting the practice of human trafficking. Individuals who engaged in this exploitation did so without fear of legal repercussions. Victims of trafficking were treated as criminals and illegal immigrants—governments did not offer them assistance to escape the slavery-like conditions in which they were trapped, and few NGOs were equipped to offer survivors of trafficking the restorative care to heal physically, mentally and spiritually from the trauma they experienced. Little was being done to prevent others from being exploited in this same way

Calling on the Government of Germany to Take Immediate Action to Combat Sex Trafficking in Connection with the 2006 FIFA World Cup; Assistance for Small and Medium Enterprises in Sub-Saharan African Countries Act of 2005; Global Online Freedom Act of 2006; Central Asia Democracy and Human Rights Promotion Act of 2006

Calling on the Government of Germany to take immediate action to combat sex trafficking in connection with the 2006 FIFA World Cup, and for other purposes. One of the tragedies of modern day slavery is that so much of the demand for trafficking comes from countries that espouse commitment to human rights. As the world watches the 2006 FIFA World Cup, a showcase of world-class athleticism and teamwork, Germany, despite its professed commitment to fight the abuse and exploitation of women and girls through trafficking, by certain policies it is facilitating and even encouraging, it aids the very crime it professes to abhor. In December 2001, the German Government legalized prostitution, which is not only inherently harmful and dehumanizing, but also fuels trafficking because it provides a facade behind which traffickers for sexual exploitation operate. The essential legalization of prostitution also places a greater burden on law enforcement as officials try to distinguish ‘‘legal pimps’’ from human traffickers. In Germany, there are about 400,000 women in prostitution, 75 percent of whom are foreigners. A 2001 report by the Germany Federal Criminal Investigation Office reported that of the 414 women and girls in prostitution that were surveyed, 45 percent were forced into prostitution through violence, torture, rape or intimidation. Further research conducted by Melissa Farley at Prostitution Research and Education found that 71 percent of women surveyed were physically assaulted while engaged in prostitution and a staggering 89 percent wanted to escape prostitution. Rather than preventing the abuse of women, any kind of legalization of prostitution appears to condone an act that almost half of the time will result in the physical abuse of women. Regrettably, according to the 2003 U.N. report, Germany is the top destination country for trafficking in women and children for prostitution, with most victims trafficked from the former Soviet republics and Central and Eastern Europe. The German Government should be outraged by this and immediately take a look at their policies which makes Germany such an inviting country for traffickers. Let me just say, finally, a couple of points. This legislation has 30 cosponsors. It calls on fans, players, and all citizens to boycott the brothels and calls on the Government of Germany to take immediate action to halt state sponsorship of commercial sexual exploitation that leads to sex trafficking of women in connection with the World Cup games

Protecting the Human Rights of Comfort Women

Today our subcommittee will consider House Resolution 121, introduced by my good friend and colleague, Congressman Honda, which urges, basically, the Government of Japan to formally acknowledge, apologize, and accept historical responsibility for its Imperial Armed Force’s coercion of young women into sexual slavery— or forced prostitution if you want to put it in other terms— during its occupation of Asia and the Pacific Islands before and during World War II. I want to note for the record that former Congressman Lane Evans from the State of Illinois originally spearheaded this effort to defend the human rights of those who came to be known as Japanese military, and I quote, ‘‘comfort women.’’ Congressman Honda has continued Mr. Evans’ work in part to bring clarity and closure to this issue given that there has been some suggestion the Government of Japan is now trying to downplay its culpability. I want to note that in terms of some of the information that has been brought to the Chair’s attention, I wanted to say that before giving the opportunity to the members of the committee and especially also to our first witness, Congressman Honda, I would like to make this as an opening statement part of the chairman. Clearly, it is a matter of historical record that the Japanese military forced at least some 50,000 to 200,000 women from Korea, China, Taiwan, the Philippines, Holland and Indonesia to provide sex to Japanese soldiers during World War II and even before that. House Resolution 121, introduced by Congressman Honda, calls upon the U.S. House of Representatives to urge Japan to accept full responsibility for the actions of its military. Japan contends that it has accepted responsibility. But it wasn’t until the 1980s and 1990s that major publications in Japan began to describe the details of what is now known as the ‘‘comfort women’’ system, and that countries occupied by Japan also began to speak out about it. In response to these developments, Japan’s Chief Cabinet Secretary Kono Yohei issued a statement of admission and apology in 1992. Prime Minister Koizumi also issued an apology in the year 2001. However, in 2006, Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Shimomura Hakubun, as well as Japan’s largest circulating newspaper, Yomiuri Shimbun, specifically challenged the validity of the Kono Statement and this has led to the belief that Japan is attempting to revise history

Enhancing the Global Fight to End Human Trafficking

When I held the first hearing on human trafficking as Chairman of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human Rights back in 1999, only a handful of countries had laws explicitly prohibiting the practice of human trafficking. Individuals who engaged in this exploitation did so without fear of legal repercussions. Victims of trafficking were treated as criminals and illegal immigrants and had no access to assistance to escape the slavery-like conditions in which they were trapped. Few seemed to be even aware that this modern form of slavery was taking place and even some of those who did failed to recognize it as a violation of fundamental human rights. However, the situation has changed markedly over the past 6 years. Significant credit for improvements must be attributed to the enactment of the Bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, together with the two reauthorizations of that act in 2003 and 2005, all of which I sponsored. These three laws created a comprehensive framework for combating trafficking in persons abroad as well as the trafficking of American girls and young women within the United States. These three laws are superb examples of what we can accomplish when we work in a bipartisan way. So I again, I want to thank Tom Lantos for his extraordinary partnership in crafting these pieces of legislation as well as that of Chairman Hyde. This is the result of a great deal of collaboration and bipartisanship. As a result of these three laws, our Government has been a leader in addressing this serious human rights violation and encouraging other governments to do the sam

Foreign Government Complicity in Human Trafficking: A Review of the State Department\u27s 2002 Trafficking in Persons Report

The Smith-Gejdenson Act provides a comprehensive plan for putting an end to modern-day slavery. A key component of this plan is the State Department’s annual Trafficking in Persons Report. This report is intended to inform the President and the Congress about which foreign governments are making serious efforts to combat the most egregious forms of trafficking in persons—the buying and selling of women and children into the international sex industry, and the trafficking of men, women, and children alike into slavery and involuntary servitude—and which governments are failing to make such efforts. At today’s hearing, the Committee will hear testimony on the State Department’s second annual Trafficking in Persons Report. This year’s report is particularly important because it is intended to serve as a final ‘‘wakeup call’’ to governments which are doing little or nothing to combat human trafficking. This is because the Trafficking Victims Protection Act contemplates that the United States will withdraw non-humanitarian aid from governments which remain on the ‘‘Tier Three’’ list after the next year’s report. The ‘‘Tier Three’’ governments are those that not only fail to meet minimum international standards for combating human trafficking, but who are not even making serious efforts to bring themselves into compliance with these standards

International Trafficking in Persons: Taking Action to Eliminate Modern-Day Slavery

According to the United Nations Office of Drugs and Crime, human trafficking, the subject of our hearing today, is the world’s fastest growing international organized crime. It is also one of the most profitable, generating between $12 billion and$17 billion per year. There are only two other illicit businesses, the trade in drugs and the trade in weapons, which are more lucrative. The European Union has designated this day, October 18, as Anti-Trafficking Day, and I commend our friends in the European Union for their exemplary efforts to advance the cause of human rights. This step reflects the international consensus on the need to end this tragic abuse. Every year, according to the International Labor Organization, traffickers move between 700,000 and 2 million women and children across international boundaries, mainly for purposes of serving the sex trade. But it doesn’t stop there. An almost equal number of men, women and children are trafficked each year for the purpose of forced labor in slave-like working conditions. In our own country, forced laborers have turned up most often in agriculture, domestic service, sweatshops and in restaurants and hotels

Modern Day Slavery: Spotlight on the 2006 Trafficking in Persons Report, Forced Labor and Sex Trafficking at the World Cup

The Subcommittee will hear expert testimony today concerning the scourge of human trafficking—modern-day slavery. As I know many people know by now, the United States Government estimates that between 600,000 to 800,000 women, children, and men are brought and sold across international borders each year and exploited through forced labor or commercial sex exploitation. Potentially millions more are trafficked internally within the borders of countries

Germany\u27s World Cup Brothels: 40,000 Women and Children at Risk of Exploitation Through Trafficking

Good afternoon, everyone. In 1 month, as we know, athletes and fans will be gathering for one of the premier worldwide sporting events of our day, the 2006 FIFA World Cup. Today the Subcommittee will hear testimony on reports that the World Cup will sadly be an impetus for exploitation of women. For most soccer fans like myself, this quadrennial spectacle is a showcase of world-class athleticism and teamwork, but looming in its shadow is the very real potential that the World Cup matches will be a catalyst and magnet for sex trafficking into Germany

Trafficking in Persons

And it is a pleasure for us to join with the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Human Rights and International Operations to hear testimony on the Department of Defense efforts to implement a zero tolerance policy for human trafficking. Let me just very briefly, I hope, say that as a way of background, in December 2002, President Bush issued a national security Presidential directive which established a zero tolerance policy for United States government employees and contractor personnel representing the United States overseas who engage in trafficking of human persons. Subsequently, the Department of Defense (DOD) issued policy directives that make it clear that human trafficking will not be facilitated in any way by members of the military, by DOD civilian employees or by DOD contract personnel. Further, the directives clearly state DOD’s opposition to prostitution and outline specific objectives of DOD efforts to combat trafficking. And I strongly commend the Department of Defense for seizing the momentum set by the President, and I am encouraged by the aggressive approach the department has taken to combat trafficking. At the same time, I believe there is more work, and frankly probably much more work, to be done and this has been communicated to the department by report language included in the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007. And during this hearing today, I hope we can focus on, first, the implementation by the Department of Defense and the individual military services of the guidance that was given by then-Deputy Secretary Wolfowitz and Secretary Rumsfeld regarding trafficking in persons; second, the investigation and prosecution of crimes of human trafficking by the military services; third, the DOD response to human trafficking violations by contractors and subcontractors in Iraq; and, last, the coordination between the DOD and the State Department to ensure that we are doing everything we can to combat human trafficking

Inadequate Revenue Threatens Afghanistan’s Stability

If Afghanistan is to maintain some semblance of stability in 2014 and beyond it must prepare for a substantial donor funding reduction and seek to grow its domestic revenue. Funding for the Afghan government’s operating expenses as well as further development projects is heavily dependent on donor support. Unfortunately for Afghanistan, its fiscal position is eroding as domestic revenues decline, expenses rise, and donor aid falls. Security gains as well as public services and economic development are at risk due to this mismatch. Afghanistan’s challenge in the coming years will be how to deal with this mismatch without fueling instability. It cannot simply assume that donor funding will continue to cover its funding gap. This paper assesses Afghanistan’s deteriorating fiscal situation and concludes with some observations on what the Afghan government and the donor community must do, preferably in concert, to address it. It assumes that Afghanistan and the United States will ultimately sign a bilateral security agreement allowing a continued coalition military presence, without which the country’s fiscal situation could rapidly deteriorate