Press Roundtable with Ambassador Mark Lagon, Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, U.S. Department of State

September 4, 2008| U.S. Embassy | Colombo, Sri Lanka

Ambassador Lagon: I think I’ll take about ten minutes to talk about the global situation on human trafficking and why I have come to Sri Lanka.  I head the office of the State Department that works with other countries to fight human trafficking--whether it’s sex trafficking or forced labor.  I also head our inter-ministerial group in the United States to work on fighting human trafficking in the United States, domestically--as well as our international efforts.  We put out a global report on trends and an assessment of how countries are working and succeeding to fight human trafficking and help the victims.  It comes out every June.  The Secretary of State released the latest report on June 4th of this year. 

I thought before I talk about Sri Lanka, I’d just mention some of the overall themes and trends we’ve seen in the world, as context.  One trend we’ve seen is that demand is a crucial part of human trafficking.  Sometimes we think of the supply of people, migrants or otherwise, who are sexually exploited or harmed in forced labor.  But we need to remember that if it weren’t for demand – the demand of men for children or women who are sexually exploited commercially or the rapacious demand for labor that’s so cheap that it verges on slavery -- we would not have our trafficking problems.  That is one theme of this year’s report. 

A second important theme is that of the two types of human trafficking, sex trafficking and forced labor, around the world we found most of the prosecutions of criminals are in the area of sex trafficking.  But only about ten percent of the prosecutions and convictions have been for labor--although we know that there is every bit as much of a problem of human trafficking for the purposes of labor as for commercial sex. 

Now, as for the other form of human trafficking, sex trafficking, we have found in the world an emphasis on law enforcement but a kind of lagging effort by governments to work on protecting the victims. 

The final major theme of the report is a focus on migration--how migrant workers become vulnerable to human trafficking.  The interesting thing that one learns is that migrant workers can be vulnerable to human trafficking if they are legal, contract workers, or if they are irregular or illegal migrants.  In both cases, they can be victims of human trafficking.  There is a responsibility both of destination countries for the migrants --where they go, work -- and the source countries – where they come from--to try and work on making them less vulnerable.  That’s one of my personal causes. 

We put out another annual report--the United States feels it’s important to look at itself in the mirror, and assess its own efforts.  I’ve worked with our Department of Justice in the United States to make sure that the annual report we prepare on the US efforts comes out at the same time as the global report so that people can ask: how are you doing when you are making assessments for others?  I’ll be happy to talk about that. 

Now, as for Sri Lanka - why I am here: This is the second country on a four-country trip for me.  I am going to Greece, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Jordan.  All of them have issues that relate to sexual exploitation and forced labor that we are working together to fight.  In Sri Lanka, in particular--in meetings that I have had already and will have tomorrow--I’ve met with the Attorney General; I’ve met with the Chairman of the Bureau of Foreign Employment; and will meet with a number of other officials.  We’ve talked a good bit about migration--about how migrant workers look for a better life, and earn remittances for their families and for society in Sri Lanka.  But they become vulnerable.  There is a huge demand for migrant workers notably as domestic servants--women as domestic servants in Gulf states.  But despite that demand and the money that they help make for their families and for Sri Lankan society, there is a responsibility of governments to make sure they are not vulnerable.  I had a good conversation with the Chairman of the Bureau of Foreign Employment about efforts by the Government of Sri Lanka to look out for its citizens so that they are trained before they go so they know how they may be vulnerable.  So the diplomatic personnel of Sri Lanka look out for your workers when they are in other countries.  I have traveled in such places as the United Arab Emirates and Kuwait and will be traveling to Jordan soon. I have seen--I have met with--Sri Lankan diplomats looking out for your citizens, as I hope I am in my small way as well.  So that is one thing I have been talking about here. 

Another thing I am here to talk about, and hopefully to build cooperation between the U.S. Government and the Sri Lankan Government, is to fight the very sad phenomenon of child sex tourism.  Children in prostitution are by definition--under your law, under American law, under international law--victims of human trafficking.  There is no meaningful consent of any sort when it is a child that’s in question.  The United States is trying to do its part to punish the predators who we sometimes call “child sex tourists”.  That is a nice, polite way of saying it.  We have put into place laws in the United States to severely punish an American who would go travel only to abuse children--to take advantage of, to consume children like commodities.  We have been pursuing some tough prosecutions.  Now we are encouraging other countries, like the Europeans, also to put in place laws that would punish their citizens for crimes committed off their soil – in a place like Sri Lanka.  But there is an internal trafficking problem of children being lured into prostitution and we are eager to work closely with the Government of Sri Lanka to try and reduce that problem. 

We have talked about a couple of other specific things.  While I am here I will continue to do so in my meetings tomorrow.  Particularly, there is the area of prosecuting those who are responsible for human trafficking.  Sri Lanka has a real model, exemplary law passed in the form of amendments in 2006 which matches the UN protocol - the UN treaty on human trafficking.  It is the best law in all of South Asia.  But of course now the hard part comes:  full implementation--holding people responsible for human trafficking.   Notably labor agents, who lure people into highly exploited jobs abroad, need to be held to account.  I am talking with counterparts and senior officials including the Attorney General about ways that the Government of Sri Lanka will achieve for itself, results to use its law to convict people who are responsible for dehumanizing their fellow human kind. 

The final thing we have been talking about on my visit is victim protection.  The highest priority, even more than law and order, is to help the victim--the survivor of human trafficking.  Whether a child soldier, a sexually exploited boy or girl, the migrant worker--often a housemaid--the highest priority is to help them reclaim their dignity.  It must begin by setting up a process for finding the victims.  Victims are afraid; they are sometimes afraid of their exploiter; sometimes they are afraid to be treated like they have committed some wrong themselves.  But they need to be found and then specifically, steps need to be taken not just to rescue them, but rehabilitate them so that they can lead full lives.  Whether it’s the repatriated migrant worker or domestic servant from another country or those who have been recruited in the conflict in Sri Lanka into armed forces as child soldiers --- they must be rehabilitated.  The humanity of people is taken away from human trafficking victims, and tangible steps of shelters, victim protection and economic opportunities are the way to restore their humanity. 

In short, in the fight against human trafficking, which I hope the government of Sri Lanka is as committed to as the United States is to make sure that no human being is treated as less than human, just because someone is a child, or a woman, or of a minority group or a migrant worker of a foreign society.  They should not be treated as a slave or as sub human.  I am here to work together with the Sri Lankan government and Sri Lankan civil society to try and make sure we can prevent this from happening.

I welcome your questions about the overall trends that are noted in our annual global report; about the United States, including the report that we put out on ourselves, on what we admit we need to improve (as both of our countries for instance need to do a better job of protecting child victims); or, some of the discussions I’ve been having with the government.

The global report can be found at the website www.state.gov/g/tip that is on the bottom of my business card on the bottom right corner.  In that website you all can find the report.  You may find some other things there including some work we have been doing to encourage businesses to be socially responsible and help fight human trafficking.  And then this report from the US Attorney General can also be found at the same website.  Do you have any questions or observations you would like to raise? 

Journalist (Island):  What are the countries in South Asia where trafficking is noted to be highest?

Ambassador Lagon:  As I mentioned before, there is a demand for migrant workers from all South Asian states.  There is a massive migration to other places, from other countries including India and Pakistan.  There are different circumstances to some extent, in India and Pakistan or problems peculiar to them; the phenomenon of bonded labor particularly for lower castes exists in India and Pakistan.  Both countries have laws which allow for people to be liberated from bonded labor and claim restitution.  But like in other cases, realizing the principles enshrined in law in reality needs to be increased.  But that’s peculiar to India and Pakistan.  There is a good deal of child labor in South Asia in general and when that child labor is of a particularly severe form, which the International Labor Organization calls the “worst forms of child labor,”   then it is technically a form of human trafficking because of the level of exploitation.

This might be a good moment to just note something.  Human trafficking or trafficking in persons is a cumbersome technical term.  It tends to leave people to think it has to do with crossing borders.  Well it might--as I have said migrants are often the victims.  But human trafficking is distinguished by the exploitation--the control of the person, the loss of control of the daily life. Maybe it’s better thought of as the human trade or modern day slavery.

Journalist: When it comes to child sex tourism where does Sri Lanka stand?

Ambassador Lagon:  Sri Lanka, in general on human trafficking, receives a “Tier Two Watch List” ranking. There are four tier rankings for countries on their efforts to fight human trafficking generally. Tier One: Those are the countries that meet all of the basic standards of prosecuting traffickers, protecting the victims, and preventing the problem.  Tier Two countries have not succeeded in putting in place those standards but are trying very hard to do so. The “Tier Two Watch List” represents countries that are making significant efforts, like Sri Lanka.  But they are not making appreciable progress forward.  Finally there is the lowest category--countries that have a significant problem of human trafficking but the governments are not making significant efforts.  So, while Sri Lanka is in the third category down, the “Tier Two Watch List”, I’ll emphasize that it is among the countries that the United States assesses are making efforts to try to address trafficking.

Journalist:  In Sri Lanka and in most of the South Asian countries the problem is that we don’t have numbers. You know, we do not know how many child servants there are? We do not know how many children are abused on the beaches of Sri Lanka. In your discussions with the government officials or organizations did you all discuss figures and how we could overcome this? Because some organizations say 100,000, some organizations say 20,000 and some say 2000 for everything.

Ambassador Lagon:  It is an important question that you raise.  In many countries I have traveled to, including this one, we discuss the question of the scale of the problem. It’s an estimate of the United States that globally there are about 800,000 victims of human trafficking who cross borders--transnational victims.  Of those that are cross border, we believe that the majority of them are for sexual exploitation and the majority of them are women.  However, if you count the forms of human trafficking that are within countries, then it is in the millions.  If you count the slave laborers in Brazil or bonded laborers and child laborers in India, the overall global total is probably in the millions. And then are you accounting for many more who are involved in labor forms of trafficking not sexual exploitation.  But we get hung up about numbers.  There’s a debate in the United States— as I am trying to be clear that we ourselves try to be accountable—whereby we estimate that there are about 14,500 to 17,500 victims of human trafficking in the United States each year.  We are proud that we have identified hundreds and hundreds of victims and pursued hundreds and hundreds of prosecutions.  But compared to the estimates of 14,500 to 17,500, we are not there yet.  I think it is important that we understand the problem and get better numbers, but we will never have perfect numbers.  I would rather spend money on a shelter or training police to be sensitive that a woman is not just a disposable prostituted person or a merely a housemaid but actually a victim.

Ambassador Blake:  We are sponsoring an effort by the International Organization of Migration to try to better understand what the scope of the problem is here and try to begin to establish a statistical base.

Ambassador Lagon:   IOM has been very helpful here in this region and other regions establishing data bases and a baseline on how extensive the problem is.

Journalist: Is IOM involved in internal trafficking as well or only trafficking of migrants?

Ambassador Lagon:  IOM’s focus is chiefly trans-national, but practically
speaking in many countries they  are involved in helping human
trafficking victims who never cross the border, and they are involved in that here as well.

Journalist:  You spoke about child soldiers. In your discussions with the government did you talk about any sort of assistance to set up rehabilitation centers or any of that kind of mechanism?

Ambassador Lagon:    I urged senior officials in the government and will continue to do so in meetings through tomorrow that it is important, as a legacy of the unfortunate conflict, when children have been pulled into roles whether with a gun or as a porter or some other role in the conflict that they be rehabilitated. I urge that resources be spent on that.  I recognize that it is difficult if the LTTE was responsible for recruiting someone into situation of being a child soldier helping them is difficult in the context of the conflict, but it is something that the government of Sri Lanka will see as being in its self interest to pursue.  That is something that I have emphasized.

Ambassador Blake:  If I could just add on that.  You have to distinguish between the child soldiers held by the LTTE and the child soldiers held by the TMVP.  The government in government-controlled areas has made progress in releasing child soldiers held by the TMVP and they are publicly committed to releasing all of those child soldiers, but there still needs to be work done to ensure that all of those are released. 

Ambassador Lagon:  We have offered our help in that process with those who have been released by the TMVP. 

Journalist:  Help in what manner?

Ambassador Blake:  The important thing is that UNICEF is working with the Ministry of Justice and other government agencies to identify exactly how many are left and then to establish a process to demobilize them----either to return them to their families or to provide psychosocial treatment for those that need it.  So that’s what’s underway now. 

Ambassador Lagon:  We are trying to support the process of those partners, those key partners.

Journalist:  Human Trafficking is directly linked with poverty. So without eradicating poverty is there any other alternative to counter that?

Ambassador Lagon:   I am glad you asked that. There’s a frequent concern that many people say: we must focus on preventing human trafficking and how can you prevent human trafficking without dealing with poverty?  Yes, economic desperation permits the human trafficker--the greedy recruiter--to take advantage of people.  But it is not poverty alone--it’s criminality; it’s greed; it’s demand; and it’s corruption among officials whether they are police or migration officials, who assist traffickers at times.  I think the more immediate things that we can probably affect are these matters of criminality, greed and demand and corruption.  Well at the same time, we should of course pursue a general economic growth policy together to get better opportunities for people.

You know, you alluded earlier to child sex tourism. I just wanted to say that there are many partners for fighting child sex tourism.  It is a sad element of human trafficking, a particularly sad one.  I have been in other countries and met with victims, teenagers, and here in Sri Lanka I should note that among the victims there are not just girls but notably also boys.  One thing I have tried to focus on in places as diverse as Mexico and South Africa and Kenya and now here is how hoteliers and tourism industry businesses have an interest and a moral imperative to try and help fight the problem. They should have a reputation that is clean of child sex tourism.  And they can do something to really help.  There is already a public awareness campaign that has been supported by UNICEF and the tourism bureau that emphasizes ‘You don’t come here to this lovely place to use our lovely children’.  But the government could be a more active partner in fighting that fight.  That is not only a matter for countries punishing their citizens if they travel--like the United States is trying to do and get the Europeans to do—and a matter for business, but we need to make sure that governments like that of Sri Lanka try to stop those who would recruit their children into one of the worst forms of abuse.        

Journalist: Have you got any assurance from the Sri Lankan authorities that they track down domestic child labor?

Ambassador Lagon:  We have talked about child labor and domestic servants.  So far we have not gotten into great detail about that.  But I have only been here since late morning and I have all of tomorrow here so we may pursue more discussion on that. 

Did you have anything in particular you wanted to raise?  I welcome your questions because as those with eyes on public policy, I welcome a chance to learn from you. 

Journalist:  Children as servants is quite rampant in Sri Lanka. 

Ambassador Lagon:  Under some circumstances, this can meet the definition of human trafficking.  In a number of countries around the world, it is considered as a matter of economic desperation – so that the families send their children to work as servants elsewhere.  It’s culturally accepted.  When a child is not in school and has a ladder of opportunity taken away from them, and in particular when they are confined to work many, many hours and not be free from the job then it can be human trafficking.  That is something that Sri Lanka is not alone in facing and that we‘d like to address. 

Journalist: Is it technically the same thing?  I mean human trafficking and abuse of children as domestic servants?

Ambassador Lagon:  No, human trafficking requires certain aspects.  In the US law and the UN protocol, which your Sri Lankan law follows, it is the elements of force, fraud and coercion--either violence or manipulation -- which are necessary elements.  It may appear that someone can enter the work situation voluntarily.  But if they lose their choice, and they lose their ability to leave that situation, then it can become human trafficking.  This is true for a number of child domestics in homes, but not all child domestics are human trafficking victims. A child domestic might be struck or hit, but that doesn’t necessarily make them a human trafficking victim, although they can well be and this is something I try to raise with a number governments. 

Journalist:  So the element of forced labor is important.

Ambassador Lagon:  Yes. But it can also be psychological coercion. You know a child can be told that they can’t leave the home – that they must not leave the home, they’ll be arrested.  Someone can be under lock and key or they can be psychologically coerced. 

Journalist: Could parents who are encouraged with words like, “your child will have a better life because he or she will get to eat, they will be looked after.”  Could that be considered manipulation?

Ambassador Lagon:  That is a difficult technicality; but of course.

Same journalist again:  Because that is the argument used in bringing child servants.

Ambassador Lagon:  Yes, but I do not want to suggest that every form of recruiting someone into work is trafficking.

Journalist (Sunday Times):  No, not every form.

Ambassador Lagon:  Yes, manipulation can take all sorts of roles and in all instances of child labor and child trafficking there is some responsibility on the part of parents.  There may be desperate economic reasons for seeking income or to remove a mouth to feed from their home.  But there is a certain responsibility, along with governments, of parents not to allow their children to fall into such situations. 

Anyway, I’d welcome further questions.  You have my email address.  You can certainly contact the Public Affairs Section of this embassy.  I am very glad about your substantial interest.  Thank you.