Statement Of Senator Patrick Leahy (D-Vt.),
Combating Trafficking Of Women And Children
July 29, 2005

Mr. President, I rise today to draw attention to the widespread problem of human trafficking.  It is the world’s fastest growing criminal enterprise.  It is a modern-day form of slavery, involving victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into sexual or labor exploitation.  Annually, nearly one million people, mostly women and children, are trafficked worldwide, including nearly 18,000 persons into the United States. 

The fact is that the violent subjugation and exploitation of women and girls is on-going and not enough is being done by governments to address it.  Take for example reports that in a marketplace in Skopje, Macedonia, women are forced to walk around a stage naked while brothel owners point their fingers to make a selection.  Women are bought and sold like cattle and treated like slaves. 

In Krong Koh Kong, Cambodia, 14 year old girls stand outside a row of shacks where they charge the equivalent of $2 or $3 dollars for sex, half of which goes to their pimps.  These girls, many of whom have AIDS, are discarded when they become too sick to continue working. 

Even in the United States, we are not immune to the scourge of human trafficking.  Earlier this month, federal agents raided brothels and businesses in San Francisco and arrested two dozen people allegedly operating an international sex trafficking ring.  Nearly 100 South Korean women were lured to illegally enter the United States whereupon they were held captive and forced to work as prostitutes. 

Around the world, women and girls are sold as slaves and forced to engage in unprotected sex because clients offer more money for such acts. These women have no control over their lives, their health, or their futures. Trafficking victims in the sex industry are exposed to HIV/AIDS at much higher rates than the general population with no access to medical care.  The fear of infection of AIDS among customers has driven traffickers to recruit younger girls, erroneously perceived to be too young to have been infected.

Just last month, the State Department issued its fifth annual Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks the efforts of 150 countries to combat human trafficking.  Some have observed that the United States has been soft on certain Asian countries thought to be lax on trafficking, such as Indonesia, Philippines, India, and Thailand.  Because these countries are vital allies in fighting terrorism, they may have been treated with greater leniency. 

On the other hand, this year, the State Department identified four Middle East allies – Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates – as being among the worst offenders of human trafficking and whose governments are doing little to control it.  Despite the fact that these countries have been important partners of the United States, their inadequate efforts on human trafficking demand a call to action by the United States. 

Mr. President, this report is merely one first step in combating a growing international problem.  We must call upon governments around the world to renew their efforts against this form of modern-day slavery. 

We must rededicate our efforts to the prevention of human trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of traffickers.  No where on earth should it be acceptable to deceive, abuse, and force a person into a life of enslavement.  To deny a person their right to freedom is an affront to the ideals established nearly 57 years ago in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.  We can and must do better.

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