U.S. Report on Human Trafficking: Rep. Chris Smith

America's leading role in combating modern day slavery is making a difference here and around the world.

WASHINGTON, D.C. (LifeSiteNews.com) - Congressman Chris Smith said a report released today by the U.S. State Department on the human trafficking of women, children and laborers around the world shows some improvements over the 2008 report, but also demonstrates that there is much more work to do.

"This is the ninth Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP), and it contains grim reminders of the deep-rooted nature of human trafficking around the world," said Smith, the author of the Trafficking Victims and Protection Act of 2000, the law which mandated the annual reports. The report critiques 175 countries this year and comprehensively details the progress or lack of progress that countries have made in combating trafficking.

"Nonetheless, America's leading role in combating modern day slavery is making a difference here and around the world and gives hope to those whose lives have been shattered by crimes of unspeakable abuse.

"Women and children are the primary victims of sex trafficking, and also comprise 56 percent of trafficking for forced labor," said Smith, who fears that deteriorated economic conditions will make human trafficking worse. This year's report highlights how the current world economic situation has made even more people vulnerable and led to increased trafficking around the world.

"The exploitation exists in nearly every nation on earth, including here in the United States," Smith said. "These victims, who are fraudulently lured from their homes and families in search of a job and a better life, are often battered, tortured, abused and become trapped in prostitution or forced labor.

"Many cases involve young girls and boys. Held against their wills in a foreign land with no one to turn to, and often unable to speak the language, these victims have no way out. It is a scourge on the world community.

"The TIP report shines light on this shadowy web of global abuse that ensnares the innocent and robs them of their human dignity," said Smith.

In addition to the original 2000 law which provided for the annual reports, Smith wrote two subsequent anti-trafficking laws that increased resources for crime prevention and expanded treatment assistance for victims.

Smith pointed to the number of convictions to underscore the impact of the law. The report shows that after Smith pushed through his second law, The Trafficking Victims Reauthorization Act of 2003, the department was required to collect data on convictions as part of the analysis. It shows that there have been over 19,700 convictions worldwide and over 100 countries now have anti-trafficking laws patterned after Smith's law -- where they previously had little or no protections.

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Prosecutions and convictions varied from region to region, but the report noted two dozen additional anti-trafficking laws around the world.

"Convictions are a critical key to stemming the tide of these worldwide crimes against innocents," Smith said. "The perpetrators must be punished for their heinous acts."

The U.S. Justice Department is releasing its own report on U.S. domestic efforts this week.

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