*EPF207 08/26/2003
Eradicating Human Trafficking a U.S. Priority, Justice Department Says
(New report details rise in enforcement, victim assistance activity) (1160)

By Jim Fuller
Washington File Science Writer

Washington -- The U.S. government is committed to eradicating the "heinous crime" of trafficking in persons by vigorously prosecuting traffickers, training enforcement officers and assisting victims, according to a new Justice Department report.

The report, released August 21 and entitled "Assessment of U.S. Activities to Combat Trafficking in Persons," reviews actions taken by the United States to protect and assist victims trafficked into the country and to increase successful investigations and prosecutions of traffickers. The entire report can be found at the following Web site: HYPERLINK "http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/img/assets/5096/dojtipreport.pdf"

Numerous departments and agencies are involved in the effort, including the departments of Health and Human Services, Justice, Labor, and State, the U.S. Agency for International Development, and the newly created Department of Homeland Security.

A U.S. official said the various programs discussed in the report, mandated by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), demonstrate that President Bush has made trafficking in persons one of the top priorities of his administration.

"The multi-agency cooperation on these matters is a true testament to the credible work that law enforcement, and other agencies that provide services, are doing to seriously combat trafficking," he said. "The report is a snapshot of the good that government can do with the necessary resources to combat this very serious problem."

The official, speaking on background, said that the TVPA, passed by Congress and signed into law on October 28, 2000, gave the federal government not only more resources to investigate and prosecute those who traffic in persons, but also provided a whole range of new protections and assistance for victims, and expanded U.S. activities internationally to prevent victims from being trafficked in the first place.

The latest Justice Department report emphasizes that the United States is primarily a destination country, with people from other countries being trafficked into the United States. It is estimated that between 18,000 and 20,000 people are trafficked annually into the United States, a level that the report calls "a significant problem." It is estimated that between 800,000 and 900,000 people are trafficked across borders worldwide each year.

"The scope of this hideous exploitation is wide and varied, but typically involves victims entrapped into commercial sexual exploitation such as prostitution and pornography, or labor exploitation in sweatshops, construction sites and agricultural settings," the report said.

According to the Justice report, in 2003 the U.S. government is providing identified victims of trafficking "a fresh start." The Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), for example, is looking at ways to provide financial support, basic medical care, shelter and counseling to the victims.

"The lives of these women and children have been destroyed, and we are there to help them rebuild what is left and to give them hope," said HHS Deputy Secretary Claude Allen.

In March 2003, HHS issued approximately $3.5 million to 15 organizations to provide assistance specific to the needs of victims of trafficking, including temporary housing, independent living skills, cultural orientation and transportation needs, as well as access to appropriate educational programs and legal assistance and referrals. In addition, the agency intends to provide trafficking victims with programs to help them find permanent housing and employment, mental health counseling, and specialized foster care programs for children.

Passage of TVPA gave the Legal Services Corporation -- a private, non-profit corporation established by Congress -- authority to provide legal assistance to trafficking victims, and the corporation has instructed its lawyers to do so. HHS and other agency grants also provide legal services to victims.

In addition to working closely with nongovernmental organizations (NGOs), which have played a vital role in U.S. efforts to identify and help trafficking victims, HHS is also planning a $2 million outreach program in fiscal year 2003 to identify and serve more victims and to educate the public about human trafficking and about the benefits and services available to victims.

In February 2000, the Justice Department established a toll-free Trafficking in Persons and Worker Exploitation Complaint Line. Over one-half of investigations instituted since then have been the result of calls to the complaint line.

In a recent case, for example, the complaint line received a call that an Eritrean domestic worker had been held captive in the home of suspected traffickers for about 12 years. Within three weeks, prosecutors, with help from the Federal Bureau of Investigation and NGO partners, secured the victim's liberation.

The Justice Department's trafficking caseload has grown steadily, with 128 open investigations as of March 2003, nearly twice as many as were open in January 2001. The department has also initiated 20 trafficking prosecutions in fiscal years 2001-2002 -- which are more than double the number of prosecutions that occurred in fiscal years 1999-2000.

One of the largest-ever trafficking cases involved 200 Vietnamese and Chinese nationals, mostly young women, brought from Vietnam to American Samoa to work as sewing machine operators in a garment factory. The victims, some of whom were held for up to two years, were forced to work through extreme food deprivation, beatings and physical restraint. Following prosecution by the Justice Department, the owner of the factory was convicted of trafficking last February and now faces a substantial prison term.

Government agencies are also involved in extensive training programs for both federal and local law enforcement officials to ensure that trafficking victims are quickly identified and protected, and that human trafficking activity masquerading as other crimes, such as alien smuggling, is appropriately investigated and prosecuted.

The U.S. government's international anti-trafficking efforts run the gamut from equipment purchases for small projects to large scale, multi-year, multi-million-dollar programs to develop comprehensive regional and national strategies to combat the worst forms of child labor.

In fiscal year 2002, the U.S. government supported approximately 200 anti-trafficking programs totaling more than $55.8 million, benefiting over 75 countries, up from 118 programs in 55 countries in fiscal year 2001. The United States invested over $100 million on international anti-trafficking efforts over the last two years.

The Justice Department report also includes several recommendations for improving the government's anti-trafficking activities, including determining whether comprehensive services are being provided to victims in the appropriate geographical locations; continuing outreach efforts to inform the public about trafficking; continuing training for federal agents and prosecutors to identify victims; and collecting better information internationally on trafficking trends, numbers of victims, prosecutions and convictions.

According to the report, the U.S. goal is to eradicate trafficking in persons by helping one victim at a time, investigating and prosecuting one trafficker at a time, training one law enforcement officer at a time, and encouraging the world community to adhere to the precepts of the U.N. Protocol on trafficking in persons.

(The Washington File is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)

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