Brenda LaGrange Johnson, Contributor
Johnson
On June 5, United States Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, released the Department of State's fifth annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The report puts it bluntly: trafficking in persons is modern day slavery, and is a crime that affects virtually every country, including the United States. The U.S. Government estimates that between 600 and 800 thousand persons including children and especially women and girls have been forced into sexual servitude, child soldiering, forced labour, and debt bondage.
Along with the more than $400 million in international anti-trafficking assistance to date, the annual TIP Report is an important part of the U.S. commitment to work with international partners to fight trafficking. The report, mandated by law, is intended to raise global awareness of the problem, underscore the growing efforts of the international community to combat human trafficking, and encourage nations around the world to take effective actions against this abuse.
The United States Government continues to seek new ways to address America's own trafficking problem. Earlier this year, President George W. Bush signed a law reauthorising the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA), which strengthens provisions designed to combat human trafficking by prosecuting and punishing traffickers, protecting their victims, and preventing future attempts by criminals to perpetrate this scourge against human dignity and freedom.
Critical partners in the fight against trafficking are non-government organisations (NGOs). These civil society leaders press governments to combat trafficking, keep law enforcement officials informed, and assist victims with shelters, counselling and education. For millions of enslaved people around the world, this new abolitionist movement has come none too soon. As President Bush recently noted, "Our nation is determined to fight and end this modern form of slavery."
Brenda LaGrange Johnson is the United States ambassador to Jamaica.
