*EPF315 10/29/2003
U.S. Making Steady Efforts to End Modern Slavery
(Senior State Department Official discusses human trafficking) (1360)

By Vicki Silverman
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- In early October 2003, John R. Miller, director of the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, traveled abroad to view the challenges and accomplishments related to U.S. efforts to end modern slavery around the world. At each location he sought opportunities to speak with victims, as well as representatives of the non-governmental organizations (NGOs) who provide essential aid to the victims and educate others, and police and government officials essential to eradicating the transnational movement of forced laborers.

Miller spoke with the Washington File October 21 about his working visits in The Netherlands, Greece, Sweden, Russia, India and Thailand, as well as what he characterized as "recent milestones" in U.S. efforts to end human trafficking.

A veteran human rights advocate and experienced public servant, Miller said the opportunities to talk to trafficking victims during his travels had left the deepest impression on him.

"You can read the statistics -- this office estimates the number of persons trafficked annually between 700,000 and 900,000, and there are other organizations with even higher estimates. You can read all the reports of this office but it's through the victims you come to understand the horror," Miller said.

"I spoke with a young Czech woman," he recalled. "Living in the Czech Republic, with a 2-year old daughter and bad marriage, she was told by a ����friend of the family' she could make a better life in The Netherlands working in a restaurant. The ����friend' turned her over to another Czech, who drove her and three or four other girls to The Netherlands. They were handed over to a Dutch trafficker, who took them to a brothel.

"When she refused to prostitute herself, she was told, ����You will do this if you want your daughter back in the Czech Republic to live.' She did it, day after day servicing men. The trafficker told her she had to pay off her debts. The other incentive was that if she ����worked really hard,' she could bring her daughter to live with her. She did manage to bring her daughter. Living in an apartment that cost twice what the trafficker had told her, she worked at night and returned in the morning to get her daughter off to school. Her thoughts began to turn to suicide, thoughts of killing her daughter and herself," Miller said.

"Later in my trip, I met with a Laotian girl delivered at age 10 or 11 to work in an embroidery factory in Bangkok. Forced to work 12 to 15-hour days, she received no compensation. She rebelled, was locked in a room and the factory owner's son shot a BB gun through her cheek. They dumped chemicals on her; she has scars all over her body. She's one of the lucky ones; she got out. There was a raid and she is now in a good shelter in Thailand. She had the courage to participate in a highly publicized prosecution. Now, at age 14, she's studying, but she is also still undergoing plastic surgery. She'll never forget this," Miller said.

In addition to underscoring the personal tragedies hidden behind the trafficking numbers, these conversations revealed the diverse manifestations of slavery. "Whether we are talking about the sex industry or factory labor, rich country or developing economy, this is slavery. Our conversations hammered in the fact that these victims come from somewhere else, never from the hometowns. They are the victims of brutality and greed," Miller said.

Working Toward Change

In September 2003, President Bush underscored the hidden crisis of human trafficking in his annual address to the United Nations General Assembly. "He was the first world leader to raise the issue to this level of international attention," Miller said, adding that the president's remarks at the U.N. are one important indication of the U.S. government's determination to end slavery at home and abroad.

Miller noted several other recent milestones in America's drive to end human trafficking. They include Bush's requirement in early 2003 -- Executive Order 13257 -- that every relevant agency of the U.S. government bring its expertise to the effort to end trafficking in persons and assist its victims.

"That is an effort that the State Department's Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is charged with coordinating," Miller explained. "Our office has a modest amount of funds, $10 million, to support programs abroad on prevention, education, law enforcement and prosecution.

"Overall annual U.S. government assistance for overseas programs is about $55 million, most of which is channeled to non-governmental agencies. NGOs, in my view, have been the leaders in this effort," Miller said. In addition to linking resources, he hopes that coordinating policies among the various agencies within the federal government will result in a unified, streamlined grant process to aid NGO partnerships.

U.S. Annual Report on Trafficking

Another milestone, according to Miller, was passed just months before the Department of State issued its third annual Trafficking in Persons Report. "For the first time, in conjunction with the June 2003 report, countries would bear consequences -- some type of U.S. sanction -- for their inaction in facing the problem. What we saw in the months preceding the report was a marked increase in nations' willingness to take fundamental steps, such as anti-trafficking legislation, police training, public education," he said.

Miller believes the combined effect of known consequences, increased public awareness, shame, and targeted support for reform programs all contributed to the elevation of 10 out of 15 Tier 3 countries to Tier 2 status, meaning these 10 countries made significant progress in addressing human trafficking.

Today, approximately 70 percent of the countries with a documented problem (which the United States defines as 100 or more individuals brought or sent into slave labor) now lie within Tier 2, as defined by U.S. law.

"A majority of the countries in the world today have become aware of the problem and they are starting to undertake efforts. But a majority of the world is nowhere near meeting the seven standards, outlined on page 15 of the report, required for any nation to maintain a Tier 1 status. Congress is thinking of revising the law -- perhaps divide Tier 2 to further recognize the efforts and resources being brought to bear to combat trafficking, but I am not sure what will happen on that this year," Miller said.

Explaining further, Miller said, "Countries in Tier 2 are distinguished by the ����significant efforts' they are making. One of the interpretations we've made is that ����significant efforts' or the progress a country has made does not mean the same every year. The bar gets higher from year to year. For instance, once anti-trafficking legislation is in place, we'll be looking for evidence that investigations and prosecutions are being actively pursued. We will continue to work on a government-to-government basis and with our NGO partners to come up with the strategies and plans needed to effect change."

With a clear picture of the U.S. financial resources, increasing experience and direction, Miller is confident that the United States will maintain momentum in aiding the forces destined to end today's slave trade.

Further information on Executive Order 13257, which defines human trafficking and outlines U.S. policy toward it, is available on the Internet at HYPERLINK "http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/Archive/2003/Jun/10-239581.html"

President Bush's September 2003 UNGA speech can be found at HYPERLINK "http://usinfo.state.gov/topical/pol/usandun/03091201.htm" .

The biography of John R. Miller is available at HYPERLINK "http://state.gov/r/pa/pil/21777.html" .

Other useful Internet sites related to U.S. policy on trafficking in persons include the State Department Bureau of International Information Programs at HYPERLINK "http://usinfo.state.gov/gi/global_issues/human_trafficking.html" ;
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons at HYPERLINK "http://www.state.gov/g/tip/" ; and the June 2003 Trafficking in Persons Report at HYPERLINK "http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2003/" .

(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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