The Impact of 21st Century Slavery and Human Trafficking on Development

Good afternoon. Thank you, Mr. De Poerck, for the warm welcome. And thank you, Mr. Vodopivec, for that kind introduction.

I am very pleased today to be a part of this distinguished panel of friends and allies in the fight to eradicate modern-day slavery. I am especially honored to be here with you at the World Bank, a place dedicated to ending poverty, a leader in the fight against HIV/AIDS, and an institution which is combating corruption worldwide, every day, while producing some of the best research on the impact of corruption on governance.

My office at the Department of State, with a mandate from Congress and with the support of the President, has taken the lead on the U.S. Government's efforts to see that the world is free of human trafficking--both sex trafficking and labor slavery.

In my travels as Ambassador-at-Large to Combat Human Trafficking, I have talked to people who have suffered profound degradation. And I have also had the privilege to see the rapid and powerful impact of global social action because the movement to end human trafficking is changing the world.

In the face of this global tragedy I have also encountered triumph--men, women and children who have overcome brutal situations. I find hope in their courage. Aye Aye Win is a perfect example. I met her four months ago, on my first trip to Southeast Asia. She is a young Burmese woman who dared to search for work beyond her own tortured country. A recruiter painted a beautiful picture of work in a neighboring country. Aye Aye assumed substantial debt to cover up-front costs required by the recruiter for this job placement.

Together with some 800 Burmese migrants, many children, Aye Aye was "placed" in a shrimp farming and processing factory. But it wasn't a job. It was a prison camp.

The isolated 10-acre factory was surrounded by steel walls, 15 feet tall with barbed wire fencing, located in the middle of a coconut plantation far from roads. Workers weren't allowed to leave and were forbidden phone contact with any one outside. They lived in run-down wooden huts, with hardly enough to eat.

Aye Aye is a brave, daring soul. She tried to escape with three other women. But factory guards caught them and dragged them back to the camp. They were punished as an example to others, tied to poles in the middle of the courtyard, and refused food or water. Aye Aye told me how her now beautiful hair was shaved off as another form of punishment, to stigmatize her. And how she was beaten for trying to flee.

Beaten. Tortured. Starved. Humiliated. Is this not slavery?

The 2007 Trafficking in Persons Report sheds new light on this alarming phenomenon--trafficking of people for forced labor purposes. Every day, all over the world, people are coerced into bonded labor, exploited in domestic servitude, and enslaved in agricultural work and in factories.

They are victimized by unscrupulous employers who take advantage of vulnerabilities, especially among migrants, young women and children.

Each year as we add to our knowledge of the different faces of trafficking we are better able to locate, rescue and assist these victims.

Thankfully, Aye Aye's story has a happy ending.

She was rescued in a raid led by Thai police, the kind of raid that was unheard of just four or five years ago. And she is now living in a wonderful shelter, fully funded by the Government of Thailand. Around the world, there are far more shelters and programs to serve victims of human trafficking, victims like Aye Aye Win.

The U.S. Government estimates that approximately 800,000 people are trafficked internationally each year; millions more are enslaved in their own countries. The data we use is based on intelligence community estimates in 2004 and 2006. Victim data has been challenged, but since the U.S. Government's concern was codified into law, with the Trafficking Victim's Protection Act of 2000, our chief motivation has been the depraved nature of the crime, and its assault on human dignity, not the numbers--because we will never know with great precision how many victims there are.

This year we noted several disturbing global trends. Of particular note is the use of debt as a tool of coercion. In labor as well as sexual exploitation, illegal or illegitimate debt is increasingly used to keep people in servitude.

This debt is employed by traffickers as an instrument of coercion, especially among migrant laborers. Migrant workers, a population of 120 million according to the International Labor Organization, are particularly vulnerable to the evils of slave labor and sex trafficking.

Worldwide, the reason most victims are trafficked is to be turned into commodities in a massive global sex industry. Approximately two-thirds of transnational human trafficking victims, each year, are pulled into the commercial sex industry. And victims keep getting younger.

Ultimately, at its core, human trafficking is not about crossing borders, it is about exploitation and control.

Not only is it a grave threat to human rights, depriving people of freedom and liberty, it undermines the safety and security of nations through organized crime, and threatens global health through the spread of HIV/AIDS.

Globally, women who have been trafficked for prostitution have a high incidence of HIV. In South Africa, HIV prevalence among prostituted women is 70 percent. A Harvard/Journal of American Medical Association (JAMA) study indicates that among women trafficked into prostitution from Nepal to India the number is 38 percent. Sadly, that number rises to over 60 percent for Nepalese girls under the age of 15. Children under the age of 15 are at higher risk of HIV infection as a result of their victimization after being held in brothels for longer periods of time, and being prostituted in multiple locations compared to their older counterparts.

Trafficking in persons is one of the dark sides of globalization. But turning people into commodities kept, bought, and sold is not a necessary part of the growing global economy. We can not ignore the unique challenges to vulnerable populations both at home and abroad the human trade represents.

As we've learned more about this form of modern-day slavery, the U.S. has quickly moved into global leadership. Our leadership is not purely rhetorical. In FY 2006 alone we obligated approximately $74 million to fund 54 programs in about 70 countries, and over $449 million for international anti-TIP programs since FY 2001.

Unique challenges need innovative solutions. My office is proud to fund the World Bank IFC Grassroots Business Department development project to identify, expand, and create income generating opportunities for victims of trafficking.

This model, combined with direct assistance to survivors of trafficking, ultimately provides the best chance for those who have been victimized to rebuild their lives. As part of our victim-centered approach, job creation, along with trauma-informed care, is critical in the successful reintegration of trafficking victims within their communities and greater society.

To prevent victimization, we also must address contributing factors that fuel trafficking--among them poverty, displacement, repressive governments which drive people to search for a better life. But it is not just poverty and desperation that make human trafficking possible. It is not poverty that victimizes vulnerable people. They are victimized by the extreme greed and sadism of the exploiters, the erosion of government authority and rule of law, and the complicity of official corruption.

We have noted in our annual Report that from Burma to Uzbekistan, and countries in between, there are military, civilian, and government officials who are directly involved or complicit in trafficking for sex, forced labor, unlawful conscription of child soldiers, and trafficking-related bribery and fraud.

Too often, victims seeking protection under the law from police, judges and immigration officials, find that those who should be their advocate are in fact furthering their degradation. Bribes paid to law enforcement, immigration officials, and members of the judiciary impede a government's ability to battle corruption.

Across the world there have been great strides by governments to enact comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation to prosecute traffickers and dirty officials, and to protect victims. In the last five years, over 100 countries have passed new laws or amended existing law to toughen penalties for human trafficking.

But simply enacting trafficking legislation is not enough. We advocate for tougher prosecution of criminals, greater support and protection for victims, and stronger warning messages to prevent innocent men, women and children from being lured into exploitation schemes. To accomplish these noble goals requires strong and just governance.

Malawi is an example of a country that has addressed the three P's used in our evaluation of a country's anti-trafficking efforts: prosecution, protection, and prevention. For the past two years, Malawi has received our highest Tier ranking, Tier 1, in the annual Report.

Though it is among the least developed countries in the world, Malawi is the leader in Africa on this issue--evidence that poverty alone is not the source of trafficking. Malawi has made significant progress despite limited human and financial resources because of their dedicated political will to address the issue of human trafficking.

Last year, the Government of Malawi recruited 400 child protection officers and trained them to identify child trafficking victims, raise awareness, and provide reintegration assistance for victims. It also hired forty additional labor inspectors to investigate cases of child labor and trained prosecutors and law enforcement on prosecuting trafficking cases.

There is a misguided impression that economic wealth is a necessary component for governments to enact anti-trafficking initiatives. But, as Malawi has bravely shown us, nations cannot use meager resources as an excuse for government apathy to and complicity with those who would exploit human beings for forced labor and commercial sex.

Failure to adequately address human trafficking weakens the rule of law, one of the pillars of sustained economic growth. Human trafficking threatens economic development--trafficking is more than just a violent crime. Someone stands to profit from the selling of girls to brothels or the cheaply made goods produced with slave labor. These are criminal enterprises which retard legitimate economic development.

Regardless of a country's annual GDP or tier placement in our annual Report, every country can do more, including the United States.

At the heart of U.S. Government efforts to end human trafficking is a commitment to human dignity--a desire not only to rescue people, but restore dignity. So too, the preservation and restoration of human dignity is at the heart of your efforts at the World Bank--and I am proud to partner with you in this great undertaking.