ABSTRACT

This report provides information on the scope and causes of the trafficking in humans world-wide, the response of the United States and the international community, and recent congressional actions aimed at stemming trafficking. The report summarizes key issues involved in the debate over how to best address the problem. It will be updated as developments warrant.

Summary

The trafficking of people for prostitution and forced labor is one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity and one that is of increasing concern to the U.S. Administration, Congress, and the international community. The overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. An estimated 1 to 2 million people are trafficked each year worldwide; 50,000 to the United States. Trafficking is now considered the third largest source of profits for organized crime, behind only drugs and guns, generating billions of dollars annually.

Trafficking affects virtually even, country in the world. The largest number of victims come from Asia, with over 225,000 victims each year from Southeast Asia and over 150,000 from South Asia. The former Soviet Union is now believed to be the largest new source of trafficking for prostitution and the sex industry, with over 100,000 trafficked each year from that region. An additional 75,000 or more are trafficked from Eastern Europe. Over 100,000 come from Latin America and the Caribbean, and over 50,000 victims are from Africa. Most of the victims are sent to Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe and North America.

In 1998, the U.S. Administration launched a government-wide anti-trafficking strategy of (1) prevention, (2) protection and support for victims, and (3) prosecution of traffickers. Internationally, the Clinton Administration has launched a number of bilateral and multilateral programs. The international community has been meeting since 1999 to draft a Protocol against trafficking in conjunction with the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime.

The 106th Congress has taken up legislation on trafficking. H.R. 3244, the "Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999", introduced by Representative Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) Was passed in the House by voice vote on May 9, 2000. Among its key provisions, the current version of the bill would: require the Secretary of State to include information on trafficking in persons in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights, provide protection for victims of severe forms of trafficking found in the United States, amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow the Attorney General to grant non-immigrant visas to certain victims of severe forms of trafficking, establish minimum standards applicable to countries that have a significant trafficking problem, provide assistance to countries for programs and activities designed to meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of trafficking: and apply sanctions against countries that do not meet minimum standards.

Issues in the current debate include who should be eligible for protection as a victim of trafficking, whether and to whom special immigration status should be granted; and whether legislation should include sanctions against countries which do not cooperate adequately in the fight against trafficking. Related CRS products include CRS Report RL30384: Economic Sanctions Legislation in the 106th Congress; and CRS Issue Brief IB97022: Women's Issues: Selected Current Legislation.

Contents

• Definition
  
• Scope of the Problem Worldwide
  
• Causes of Rise in Trafficking
  
• Traffickers and Their Victims
  
• Regional Trends
  
• Trafficking in the United States
  
• The U.S. and International Response
  
• Congressional Action
  
• Issues in the Debate
  

Definition

The U.S. Government definition of trafficking in persons encompasses: "All acts involved in the transport, harboring, or sale of persons within national or across international borders through coercion, force, kidnaping, deception or fraud, for purposes of placing persons in situations of forced labor or services, such as forced prostitution, domestic servitude, debt bondage or other slavery-like practices."(1) Others have put forward slightly different definitions.(2) In the case of minors, there is general agreement in the United States and much of the international community that the trafficking term applies whether a child was taken forcibly or voluntarily. Trafficking is distinguished from alien smuggling which involves the provision of a service, albeit illegal, to people who knowingly buy the service in order to get into a foreign country.

Related CRS products include CRS Report RL30384: Economic Sanctions Legislation in the 106th Congress: and CRS Issue Brief IB97022: Women's Issues: Selected Current Legislation.

Scope of the Problem Worldwide

The trafficking of people, especially women and children, for prostitution and forced labor is one of the fastest growing areas of international criminal activity and one that is of increasing concern to the U.S. Administration, Congress, and the international community. Although men are also victimized, the overwhelming majority of those trafficked are women and children. According to official estimates, between 1 and 2 million women and children are trafficked each year worldwide for forced labor, domestic servitude, or sexual exploitation.(3) An estimated 50,000 persons are trafficked each year to the United States. Trafficking is now considered the third largest source of profits for organized crime, behind only drugs and guns, generating billions of dollars annually.

Trafficking, is a problem that affects virtually every country in the world. Generally, the flow of trafficking is from less developed countries to industrialized nations, including the United States, or toward neighboring countries with marginally higher standards of living. Since trafficking is an underground criminal enterprise, there are no precise statistics on the extent of the problem and estimates are unreliable. But even using conservative estimates., the scope of the problem is enormous. The largest number of victims trafficked internationally still come from Asia, with over 225,000 victims each year believed to be coming from Southeast Asia and over 150,000 from South Asia. The former Soviet Union is now believed to be the largest new source of trafficking for prostitution and the sex industry, with over 100,000 trafficked each year from that region. An additional 75,000 or more are trafficked from Eastern Europe. Over 100,000 come from Latin America and the Caribbean, and over 50,000 victims are from Africa. Most of the victims are sent to Asia, the Middle East, Western Europe and North America. They usually end up in large cities, vacation and tourist areas, or near military bases, where the demand is highest.(4)

Causes of Rise in Trafficking

The reasons for the increase in trafficking are many. In general, the criminal business feeds on poverty, despair, war, crisis, and ignorance. The globalization of the world economy has increased the movement of people across borders, legally and illegally, especially from poorer to wealthier countries. International organized crime has taken advantage of the freer flow of people, money, goods and services to extend its own international reach.

Other contributing factors include:

• the continuing subordination of women in many societies, as reflected in economic, educational, and work opportunity disparities between men and women. Many societies still favor sons and view girls as an economic burden. Desperate families in some of the most impoverished countries sell their daughters to brothels or traffickers for the immediate payoff and to avoid having to pay the dowery to marry off daughters;

• the hardship and economic dislocations caused by the transition following the collapse of Communism in the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe, as well as the wars in the former Yugoslavia. The lack of opportunity and the eagerness for a better life abroad have made many women and girls especially vulnerable to entrapment by traffickers. With the weakening of law enforcement in post-Communist societies, criminal organizations have grown and established themselves in the lucrative business of international trafficking;

• the high demand, worldwide, for trafficked women and children for sex tourism, sex workers, cheap sweatshop labor, and domestic workers. Traffickers are encouraged by large tax-free profits and continuing income from the same victims at very low risk;

• The inadequacy of laws and law enforcement in most origin, transit, and destination countries, hampers efforts to fight trafficking. Even in the United States, more effective legal remedies are only now being considered. Prostitution is legal or tolerated in many countries, and widespread in most. When authorities do crack down, it is usually against prostitutes, themselves. Penalties for trafficking humans for sexual exploitation are often relatively minor compared with those for other criminal activities like drug and gun trafficking.

• The priority placed on stemming illegal immigration in many countries, including the United States, has resulted in treatment of trafficking cases as a problem of illegal immigration, thus treating victims as criminals. When police raid brothels, women are often detained and punished, subjected to human rights abuses in jail, and swiftly deported. Few steps have been taken to provide support, health care, and access to justice. Few victims dare testify against the traffickers or those who hold them, fearing retribution for themselves and their families since most governments do not offer stays of deportation or adequate protection for witnesses.

• The disinterest and in some cases even complicity of governments is another big problem. Many law-enforcement agencies and governments ignore the plight of trafficking victims and downplay the scope of the trafficking problem. In some cases, police and other governmental authorities accept bribes and collude with traffickers by selling fake documentation, etc.(5) In addition, local police often fear reprisals from criminal gangs so they find it easier to deny knowledge of trafficking.(6) Many countries have no specific laws aimed at trafficking in humans.

Traffickers and Their Victims

Chinese, Asian, Mexican, Central American, Russian and other former Soviet Union gangs are among the major traffickers of people. Chinese and Vietnamese Triads, the Japanese Yakuza, South American drug cartels, the Italian mafia, and Russian gangs increasingly interact with local networks to provide transportation, safe houses, local contacts, and documentation.

Traffickers acquire their victims in a number of ways. Sometimes women are kidnapped outright in one country and taken forcibly to another. In other cases, victims are lured with job offers. Traffickers entice victims to migrate voluntarily with false promises of good paying jobs in foreign countries as au pairs, models, dancers, domestic workers, etc. Traffickers advertise these phony jobs, as well as marriage opportunities abroad in local newspapers. Russian crime gangs reportedly use marriage agency databases and match-making parties to find victims. In some cases, traffickers approach women or their families directly with offers of well-paying jobs elsewhere. After providing transportation and false documents to get victims to their destination, they subsequently charge exorbitant fees for those services, creating lifetime debt bondage.

While there is no single victim stereotype, a majority of trafficked women are under the age of 25, With many in their mid to late teens. The fear among customers of infection with HIV and AIDS has driven traffickers to recruit younger women and girls, some as young as seven, erroneously perceived by customers to be too young to have been infected.

Trafficking victims are often subjected to cruel mental and physical abuse in order to keep them in servitude, including beating, rape, starvation, forced drug use, confinement, and seclusion. Once victims are brought into destination countries, their passports are often confiscated. Victims are forced to have sex, often unprotected, with large numbers of partners, and to work unsustainably long hours. Many victims suffer mental break-downs and are exposed to sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV and AIDS. They are often denied medical care and those who become sick are sometimes even killed.

Regional Trends

Asia and the Pacific. An estimated 225,000 victims are trafficked from Southeast Asia annually according to the U.S. Department of State. The growth of sex tourism in this region is one of the main contributing factors. Large-scale child prostitution occurs in many countries. Thailand, Cambodia, and the Philippines are popular travel destinations for "sex tourists", including pedophiles, from Europe, North America, Japan, and Australia.

Japan is the largest market for Asian women trafficked for sex, where some 150,000 non-Japanese women are involved. Half are from the Philippines and 40% are from Thailand.(7) Victims are also trafficked in increasing numbers to newly industrializing countries and regions, including Taiwan, Malaysia, Hong-Kong, and Thailand. Cross-border trafficking is prevalent in the Mekong region of Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia, Vietnam, and the Southern Yunan province of China. Vietnamese women are trafficked to China and Cambodia. According to various NGO sources, hundreds of thousands of foreign women and children have been sold into the Thali sex industry since 1990, with most coming from Burma, Southern China, Laos, and Vietnam, East Asia, especially Japan, is also a destination for trafficked women from Russia and Eastern Europe.

Victims from Southeast Asia, especially China, Burma, the Philippines, Thailand, Cambodia, and Vietnam, are also sent to Western Europe, the United States, Australia, and the Middle East.

In South Asia, the U.S. Department of State estimates that some 150,000 victims are trafficked annually. The low status of women in some societies as well as the growth of sex tourism contribute significantly to trafficking in this region. Sri Lanka and India are the favored destinations of sex tourists from other parts of the world. Bangladesh and Nepal, the poorest countries in the region, are the main source countries. India and Pakistan are the key destination countries. Estimates of the number of Nepalese girls and young women lured or abducted to India for sexual exploitation each year ranges from 5,000 to 10,000. The total number of Nepalese working as prostitutes in India range from 40,000 to 200,000, according to women's rights organization and NGOs. The total Indian prostitute population is estimated to be over 2 million. More than 15,000 women and children are believed to be trafficked out of Bangladesh every year.(8) Over 4,000 women and children from Bangladesh are trafficked to Pakistan each year. In total, more than 200,000 women are believed to have been trafficked to Pakistan. Also, according to Amnesty International, Afghan women have been sold into prostitution in Pakistan.

Some 7,000 Nepalese women and children are trafficked for prostitution to the Asia Pacific area, especially Hong Kong.(9) A non-government source reports that about 200,000 Bangladeshi women and children have been trafficked to the Middle East in the last 20 years. Some 20,000 Pakistani children are said to have been trafficked to the United Arab Emirates (UAE). India is a source, transit, and destination country, receiving women and children from Bangladesh, Nepal, Bhutan, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan and sending them to Europe and the Middle East.

Australia has been a prime source of sex tourists in Asia. The Philippines, Thailand, South Korea, Sri Lanka and Hong Kong are some of the primary Asian destinations for organized sex tours from Australia, Indonesia and Taiwan are secondary destinations(10). Australians also travel to Europe and Latin America. To counterattack this problem, Australia has been active in review and introduction of extraterritorial legislation and public awareness campaigns aimed at travelers(11).

International criminal organizations traffic hundreds of Thai women yearly to Australia.(12) Australia plans to introduce tougher laws including long jail terms to curb the increased trafficking of Asian women to Australia for prostitution.(13)

Europe. The former Soviet Union and Central and Eastern Europe have replaced Asia as the main source of trafficked women to Western Europe. Victims come from Russia, Ukraine, and other East European countries. With the economic and political turmoil after the collapse of the Soviet Union, trafficking from the region has escalated from a minor problem before 1991 into a major crisis. As criminal organizations have grown, especially in Russia, they have gravitated to this lucrative business. Russian organizations now play a dominant role not just in the trafficking of Russian women but also women from throughout Eastern Europe. Russian organized crime groups and others including Albanian, Estonian, Chechen, Serb, and Italian groups are involved in human trafficking in Europe. Furthermore, Russian organized crime is starting to take over the sex industry in a number of West European countries. Russian criminal groups reportedly are also gaining control of prostitution in Israel, and parts of the United States.(14)

The largest number of the more than 175,000 victims trafficked annually from the former Soviet Union and Eastern Europe come from Russia and Ukraine. In addition, several Central and East European countries are reported to be source, receiving, and transit countries. The conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo provided new opportunities for traffickers in the former Yugoslavia and the Balkans. Recently, traffickers have targeted refugee women who fled Kosovo. According to the Women's Commission for Refugee Women and Children. Albanian traffickers have smuggled thousands of Kosovo women into Italy by boat for the sex trade.

An estimated 70 percent of Russian and East European victims are believed to be sent to West European countries (especially Germany, Italy, France, Switzerland, the Netherlands, Greece, Austria, England). Another 15 percent are sent to the Middle East (especially Israel and Saudi Arabia) and the Far East (especially Japan and Thailand). About 5,000 or 3 percent are thought to be sent to the United States or Canada. The remainder are sent to Central European countries, especially Poland, Hungary, the Czech Republic.(15)

Western European countries are also destination points for victims from other parts of the world, including Africa (Ghana, Nigeria, Morocco), Latin America (Brazil, Colombia, the Dominican Republic), Southeast Asia (the Philippines, Thailand).(16)

Middle East. The sexual exploitation of women and children in the Middle East tends to involve the import of women from other regions. The exploitation of Middle Eastern women tends to have less of a commercial dimension.(17)

Women and children, mostly from Asia (Thailand, the Philippines, Indonesia), are trafficked as prostitutes or brides to the Middle East (Saudi Arabia, The United Arab Emirates). Women from the former Soviet Republics are sent to Israel. According to the Israel Women's Network, every year several hundred to 2000 women from Russia and the former Soviet Union are brought to Israel by well-organized criminal groups. Israel has no specific law against trafficking and prostitution is not illegal.(18)

Latin America and the Caribbean. Estimate of the number of Latin American and Caribbean women and children trafficked for sexual exploitation each year is over 100,000, according to the U.S. Department of State. Impoverished children are particularly vulnerable to trafficking for prostitution. The Organization of American States estimates that more than 2 million children are being sexually exploited in Latin America.

The presence of sex tourism from Europe, North America, and Australia has significantly contributed to the trafficking of women and children. A growing number of sex tourists are going to Latin America, partly as a result of recent restrictions placed on sex tourism in Thailand, Sri Lanka, and other Asian countries.(19) Favored sex tourism destinations are Brazil, the Dominican Republic, Mexico, Honduras, Costa Rica, Trinidad and Tobago, and Argentina.

Brazil has one of the worst child prostitution problems in the world.(20) More than 50,000 women from the Dominican Republic reportedly have been trafficked abroad.

Victims from Latin America and the Caribbean are trafficked to Western Europe and the United States. The Central American countries and Mexico are also transit countries for trafficking to the United States.

Africa. In Africa, over 50,000 victims are believed to be trafficked annually according to the U.S. Department of State, although the extent of trafficking is not well documented. Like elsewhere, poverty and the low status of women are major contributing factors. In addition, wars and civil strife engulfing countries like Sudan and Rwanda, as well as the indifference of some governments make women and children vulnerable to trafficking.

Trafficking in children for labor is a serious problem in Togo and Benin as well as Botswana, Zaire, Somalia, Ethiopia, Zambia, Nigeria, Algeria. Victims are trafficked to Nigeria, Gabon, Ghana, and South Africa. Africans, especially women from Nigeria are trafficked to Western Europe and the Middle East.

Trafficking in the United States

Between 45,000 and 50,000 women and children are trafficked to the United States each year, according to the most recent Department of State estimates.(22) Most come from Southeast Asia and the former Soviet Union. About half of those are forced into sweatshop labor and domestic servitude. The rest are forced into prostitution and the sex industry, or in the case of young children, kidnaped and sold for adoption. While many victims come willingly, they are not aware of the terms and conditions they will face. Women trafficked to the United States most often wind up in the larger cities in New York, Florida, North Carolina, California, and Hawaii.(23) But the problem is also migrating to smaller cities and suburbs. Russian crime groups are said to be actively involved in trafficking and the sex industry in the United States.

The United States is the major destination country for young children kidnapped and trafficked for adoption by childless couples unwilling to wait for a child through legitimate adoption procedures and agencies. The largest source country is Mexico. Mexican children over twelve years of age are kidnapped and trafficked to the United States for child prostitution.

American men, along with Europeans and Australians, are reportedly the most numerous sex tourists in Central America (Costa Rica, Honduras), South East Asia (The Philippines, Thailand), and South Asia (India, Sri Lanka). Many companies operating in a number of large cities reportedly specialize in sex tours.

As in many countries, existing U.S. laws are widely believed to be inadequate to deal with trafficking in women and children. Nor are there thought to be adequate laws and services to protect and assist victims.

The U.S. and International Response

The trafficking issue is gaining greater attention in the United States and worldwide. The problem is now being addressed as a priority by the U.S. Administration and Congress. Other countries and international organizations are also placing new emphasis on the problem.

As part of President Clinton's announced International Crime Control Strategy, an interagency working group was set up to address international crime implications of trafficking. On March 11, 1998, President Clinton issued a directive establishing a U.S. government-wide anti-trafficking strategy of (1) prevention, (2) protection and support for victims, and (3) prosecution of traffickers.

The strategy, as announced has strong domestic and international policy components. On the domestic side, a Workers' Exploitation Task Force, chaired by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Solicitor's Office in the Department of Labor, has been charged with investigating and prosecuting cases of exploitation and trafficking. In addition, the Department of Justice is reviewing existing U.S. criminal laws and their use to see if they adequately deal with the crime of trafficking. The Department of State is funding the creation of a database on U.S. and international legislation on trafficking.

President Clinton's Interagency Council on Women established a senior governmental working group on trafficking. The Council has sponsored a meeting of governmental and non-government representatives from source countries, transit countries, and international organizations to call attention to the trafficking issue and to develop strategies for combating this problem.

The Clinton Administration has pressed Congress to take up what it considers urgently needed legislation to strengthen the tools available to fight trafficking at home and abroad. In particular, the Administration argues for legislation building on its framework of "prevention, protection, and prosecution" to strengthen tools available for the fight and to help advance the U.S. agenda on trafficking in other countries. The Administration has urged the enactment of legislation to encourage and support strong action by foreign governments and help the work of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in this area:

• In the area of prevention, the Administration has outlined the need for programs to increase economic opportunities for potential victims and dissemination of information in other countries to increase public awareness of trafficking dangers and funding for more research on trafficking.

• In terms of victim protection and assistance, the Administration has argued for legislation to provide shelter and the support services to victims who are in the country unlawfully and therefore presently ineligible for assistance. It is pressing for creation of a humanitarian, non-immigrant visa classification to allow victims to receive temporary resident status so that they can receive assistance and help to prosecute traffickers. Also, support is sought for developing countries to protect and reintegrate trafficking victims once they are returned.

• As far as prosecution and enforcement, the Administration is pressing for laws to more effectively prosecute traffickers and increase the penalties they can face. In addition, restitution for trafficked victims is being sought in part by creating the possibility of bringing private civil lawsuits against traffickers. The Department of Justice has called for laws that would expand the definition of involuntary servitude, criminalize a broader range of actions constituting involuntary servitude, and increase the penalties for placing people in involuntary servitude. Justice Department spokesmen have also urged that prosecutors be give the capability to go after those who profit from trafficking, not just those directly involved in trafficking.(24) They have also called for amending immigration statutes to punish traffickers who entrap victims by taking their passports and identification from them.

Internationally, the Clinton Administration is pursuing a number of bilateral and multilateral programs and initiatives.

The Departments of State and Justice are training foreign law enforcement and immigration officers to better identify and crack-down on traffickers and their victims at the border.

U.S. embassies and consulates worldwide are working with other countries to stop international trafficking in women and children. The United States Information Agency has expanded its program to heighten public awareness about trafficking in source countries, targeting the messages to potential victims.

The United States is also working with the European Union, the Group of Eight, the United Nations, the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) and the governments of Israel, Italy, Finland, and Ukraine to combat trafficking in women and children. The United States and the European Union agreed on a joint initiative to combat trafficking in November 1997.(25) U.S. and EU officials met in Luxembourg to launch a jointly funded initiative against trafficking in women from Russia and Eastern Europe. It is primarily an information campaign, warning potential victims and an education program for law enforcement, customs and consular officials to heighten their awareness of the problem. Pilot projects were launched in Poland by the EU and in Ukraine by the United States. If successful, the program may be expanded to other countries. The United States has initiated bilateral cooperation programs in Russia, other former Soviet Republics, Bosnia, Albania, Poland, Bulgaria, Hungary, Thailand and the Philippines to fight trafficking.

The international community has been meeting since 1999 to draft a Protocol to Prevent, Suppress, and Punish Trafficking in Persons, especially Women and Children in conjunction with the UN Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime. The United States, along with Argentina, introduced the draft protocol in January 1999. Negotiations resumed in February 2000 on a revised draft. The protocol is targeted for completion before the end of the year 2000.

Congressional Action

The 106th Congress has also taken a strong interest in the issue of trafficking in persons for sexual and other exploitation. Congressional interest has been reflected in several legislative initiatives. The focus of bills introduced since 1999 has paralleled the Administration's framework of "prevention, protection, and prosecution". However, some of the congressional initiatives go beyond Administration recommendations in several areas, especially in calling for actions against governments that tolerate trafficking.

Several earlier legislative initiatives preceded the bill that was passed by the House on May 9, 2000, H.R. 3244, titled the "Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 1999". On March 11, 1999, S.600 was introduced by Senator Paul Wellstone (D-Minn), and referred to the Committee on Foreign Relations. An identical bill, H.R. 1238, was introduced in the House by Representative Louise Slaughter (D-N.Y.) The bills were entitled the International Trafficking of Women and Children Victim Protection Act of 1999. Subsequently, H.R. 1356 was introduced in the House by Representative Christopher Smith (R-N.J.) on March 25, 1999 and referred to several Committees. It was titled the Freedom From Sexual Trafficking Act of 1999.

On October 27, 1999 Rep. Sam Gejdenson (D-CT) introduced H.R. 3154, the "Comprehensive Anti-Trafficking in Persons Act of 1999." Senator Paul D. Wellstone introduced an identical bill in the Senate, S. 1842. These bills have the support of the Clinton Administration as being in line with its own approach.

The current bill, H.R. 3244, was introduced by Rep. Christopher Smith (R-NJ) on November 8, 1999. It was co-sponsored by Representative Sam Gejdenson (D-CT) and others who had taken a strong interest in previous initiatives, in an effort to combine the most important elements and move legislation forward. The bill was referred to several House Committees.

H.R. 3244, as amended was marked up by the House International Relations Committee, on November 9, 1999 and was reported out as amended on November 22, 1999 (H. Rept. 106-487, Part I). The bill was also referred to the Judiciary and Banking and Financial Services, and Ways and Means Committees. The House Judiciary Committee reported the bill as amended on April 14, 2000 (H. Rept. 106-487, Part II). The House Ways and Means Committee was granted an extension for further consideration of the bill until May 3, 2000. On May 9, 2000, the bill was brought to the floor under a suspension of the rules and passed by voice vote.

The Administration, while welcoming the legislative action, objected to some portions of the bill, especially provisions creating new reporting requirements, establishing a new government task force, and mandating sanctions.

Among its key provisions, H.R. 3244 would:

• Direct the Secretary of State to include information on trafficking in persons in the annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices, including: (1) a list of foreign countries that are countries of origin, transit, or destination for a significant number of victims; (2) a description of the nature and extent of severe forms of trafficking in persons in each country; (3) an assessment of the efforts by governments to combat trafficking; and (4) information on a country-by-country basis;

• Establish an Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, chaired by the Secretary of State, and authorize the Secretary to establish within the Department of State an Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking to assist the Task Force;

• Call for measures to enhance economic opportunity for potential victims of trafficking as a method to deter trafficking, to increase public awareness, particularly among potential victims, of the dangers of trafficking and the protections that are available for victims, and for the government to work with NGOs to combat trafficking;

• Establish programs and initiatives in foreign countries to assist in the safe integration, reintegration, or resettlement of victims of trafficking and their children, as well as programs to provide assistance to victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons within the United States, without regard to such victims' immigration status and make such victims eligible, without regard to their immigration status, for any benefits that are otherwise available under the Crime Victims Fund;

• Provide protection for victims of severe forms of trafficking while in federal custody and ensure an alien's continued presence in the United States if, after an assessment, it is determined that such alien is a victim of trafficking or a material witness;

• Amend the code to make funds derived from the sale of assets seized from and forfeited by trafficking available for victims assistance programs under this Act;

• Amend the Immigration and Nationality Act to allow the Attorney General to grant non-immigrant visas to certain victims of severe forms of trafficking who are in the United States and who would face a significant possibility of retribution or other harm if they were removed from the United States. In addition, amend the Act to adjust to lawful permanent resident the status of victims who have been in the United States continuously for three years since admission, who have remained of good moral character, who have not unreasonably refused to assist in trafficking investigations or prosecutions, and who would face a significant possibility of retribution or other harm if removed from the United States;

• Establish minimum standards applicable to countries that have a significant trafficking problem. Urge such countries to prohibit severe forms of trafficking in persons, to punish such acts, and to make serious and sustained efforts to eliminate such trafficking;

• Provide assistance to foreign countries for programs and activities designed to meet the minimum international standards for the elimination of trafficking;

• Withhold U.S. non-humanitarian assistance and instruct the U.S. executive director of each multilateral development bank and the International Monetary Fund to vote against non-humanitarian assistance to such country, unless continued assistance is deemed to be in the U.S. national interest;

• Encourage the Secretary of State to compile and publish a list of foreign persons who play a significant role in a severe form of trafficking in persons. It would also encourage the President to impose sanctions under the International Emergency Economic Powers Act, including the freezing of assets located in the United States, and exclude significant traffickers, and those who knowingly assist them, from entry into the United States; and

• Amend the U.S. Code to double the current maximum penalties for peonage, enticement into slavery, and sale into involuntary servitude to 20 years imprisonment and add the possibility of life imprisonment for such violations resulting in death or involving kidnaping, aggravated sexual abuse, or an attempt to kill.

The Senate Foreign Relations Committee's Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs held hearings on the International Trafficking of Women and Children in February and April, 2000. Department of State and NGO witnesses testified.

Issues in the Debate

There appears to be a broad consensus in Congress and the policy community on the need for decisive action to curb trafficking. And the general framework of "prevention, protection, and prosecution" also has widespread support. Difference have emerged mainly over the details.

Who is eligible for protection as a victim of trafficking? H.R. 3244 sets a higher bar than Administration proposals and some of the other bills by limiting protection to victims of "severe forms of trafficking"(26) and making it a requirement that victims prove that they are in the United States as a direct result of trafficking and that they have a well-founded fear of retribution if they are returned to their country of origin. Critics argue that the line between pure victims and those who have a degree of complicity in being brought to the United States may be difficult to draw. Such distinctions, they argue, will leave some victims unprotected.

Should victims of trafficking receive special visa status and eventual eligibility for permanent residency? This appears to be one of the most contentious issues. Both H.R. 3244 and Administration proposals would grant special visa status to victims. Proponents believe that this is one of the most important steps to free victims from their bondage. Some critics fear that such an exception from general immigration rules would set a dangerous precedent for other categories of people who are in the country illegally but believe they have been the victims of mistreatment. On the other side are those critics who believe that the provisions in H.R. 3244 are too restrictive since they would limit the number of such visas granted to no more than 5000 people per year (not counting family members) and only to victims of "severe forms of trafficking". Controversy also exists over what U.S. social benefits should be made available to victims of trafficking, again with an eve to the precedents set.

How can foreign governments best be encouraged to cooperate? Most agree that strong international cooperation will be needed to stop international trafficking. H.R. 3244 contains both carrots and sticks to encourage other governments. It offers assistance to governments in their efforts to curb trafficking. It also calls for sanctions against governments that do not meet minimum standards as far as combating trafficking. The Administration has argued that sanctions would be unnecessary and counterproductive. It argues that no government favors or supports trafficking, therefore sanctions are an inappropriate tool. Instead, it believes that the focus should be entirely on cooperation.

Is the Government adequately organized to fight trafficking? H.R. 3244 calls for the establishment of an interagency task force to monitor and combat trafficking. The Administration argues that no new entity is required, pointing to the fact that it has already established a Workers' Exploitation Task Force, chaired by the Department of Justice's Civil Rights Division and the Solicitor's Office in the Department of Labor for investigating and prosecuting cases of exploitation and trafficking. In addition, the President's Interagency Council on Women established a senior governmental working group on trafficking. Proponents of the bill believe that interagency coordination needs to take place at the highest levels of government.

Is there a need for new executive reporting requirements? H.R. 3244 would require the Department of State annual country reports on Human Rights Practices, to include information on trafficking, including a list of foreign countries that are countries of origin, transit, or destination for a significant number of victims of "severe forms of trafficking" and for each country including a description of conditions and an assessment of what the government is doing about it. The Administration has volunteered to expand and make systematic the reporting on trafficking in the Annual Department of State Human Rights reports, and this has been done in the year 2000 report. Beyond these steps, the Administration strongly opposes as unnecessary any additional reporting requirements.

Are proposed steps sufficient to curb international trafficking in people? On a broader level, some skeptics question whether the steps contained in the Administration's proposed strategy or pending bills will be sufficient to fight trafficking effectively, given the spread of international organized crime, and the demand for and the profits to be made in trafficking. Proponents would counter that the new Administration policy and legislation will for the first time provide the government with effective tools with which to fight trafficking.

Footnotes

(1)(http://secretary.state.gov/www/picw/trafficking).

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