| |  About Us
If you knew something contributed to hundreds of thousands of people being trapped in slavery, you would do everything in your power to stop it.
Government should act no differently, which is why the State Department and many other U.S. agencies are in the fight to end trafficking in persons.
Annually, according to U.S. Government-sponsored research completed in 2006, approximately 800,000 people are trafficked across national borders into slavery; this number does not include millions trafficked within their own countries. Some estimate the global number of trafficking victims to be in the millions--in domestic servitude, sex slavery, forced labor, child soldiers, child camel jockeys, and other brutal schemes.
Because trafficking deprives people of freedom in every part of the world, it is a grave threat to human rights. It also threatens public health and the very safety and security of nations, as disease and organized crime flourish through trafficking.
The Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons is on a mission to eradicate modern-day slavery, and, on this Web site, we invite you to learn about our approach of victim protection, prosecution of traffickers and prevention of trafficking. You can find information about programs the U.S. funds to help victims and improve law enforcement efforts worldwide, learn what you can do, and, of course, read our annual report on the actions countries are taking to combat trafficking in persons.
This work, and cooperation around the world, is vital. As President Bush said at his 2005 inauguration, "No one is fit to be a master, and no one deserves to be a slave."
--Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons | |
