[Congressional Bills 105th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H. Con. Res. 239 Introduced in House (IH)]







105th CONGRESS
  2d Session
H. CON. RES. 239

 Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the worldwide trafficking 
of persons, that has a disproportionate impact on women and girls, and 
     is condemned by the international community as a violation of 
                       fundamental human rights.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 10, 1998

Ms. Slaughter submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was 
 referred to the Committee on International Relations, and in addition 
  to the Committee on the Judiciary, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                         CONCURRENT RESOLUTION


 
 Expressing the sense of Congress concerning the worldwide trafficking 
of persons, that has a disproportionate impact on women and girls, and 
     is condemned by the international community as a violation of 
                       fundamental human rights.

Whereas one of the fastest growing international trafficking businesses is the 
        trade in women, whereby women and girls seeking a better life, a good 
        marriage, or a lucrative job abroad, unexpectedly find themselves in 
        situations of forced prostitution, sweatshop labor, exploitative 
        domestic servitude, or battering and extreme cruelty.
Whereas trafficked women are often subjected to rape and other forms of sexual 
        abuse by their traffickers and often held as virtual prisoners by their 
        exploiters, made to work in slavery-like conditions, in debt bondage 
        without pay and against their will;
Whereas the President, the First Lady, the Secretary of State, and the 
        President's Interagency Council on Women have all identified trafficking 
        in women as a significant problem and are working to mobilize a 
        response;
Whereas the Fourth World Conference on Women (Beijing Conference) called on all 
        governments to take measures, including legislative measures, to provide 
        better protection of the rights of women and girls in trafficking, to 
        address the root factors that put women at risk to traffickers, and to 
        take measures to dismantle the national, regional, and international 
        networks in trafficking;
Whereas the United Nations General Assembly, noting its concern about the 
        increasing number of women and girls who are being victimized by 
        traffickers, passed a resolution in 1996 calling upon all governments to 
        criminalize trafficking in women and girls in all its forms and penalize 
        all those offenders involved, while ensuring that the victims of these 
        practices are not penalized; and
Whereas numerous treaties to which the United States is a party address 
        government obligations to combat trafficking and the abuses inherent in 
        trafficking, including such treaties as the 1956 Supplementary 
        Convention on the Abolition of Slavery, the Slave Trade and Institutions 
        and Practices Similar to Slavery, which calls for the complete abolition 
        of debt bondage and servile forms of marriage, and the 1957 Abolition of 
        Forced Labor Convention, which undertakes to suppress and not to make 
        use of any form of forced or compulsory labor: Now, therefore, be it
    Resolved by the House of Representatives (the Senate concurring), 
That it is the sense of Congress that--
            (1) trafficking consists of all acts involved in the 
        recruitment or transportation of persons within or across 
        borders involving deception, coercion or force, abuse of 
        authority, debt bondage or fraud, for the purpose of placing 
        persons in situations of abuse or exploitation such as forced 
        prostitution, sexual slavery, battering and extreme cruelty, 
        sweatshop labor or exploitative domestic servitude;
            (2) trafficking also involves one or more forms of 
        kidnapping, false imprisonment, rape, battering, forced labor 
        or slavery-like practices which violate fundamental human 
        rights;
            (3) to address this problem, the Department of Justice 
        Office of Violence Against Women, with the cooperation of 
        Immigration and Naturalization Service, should submit a report 
        to Congress on--
                    (A) efforts to identify instances of trafficking 
                into the United States within the last 5 years;
                    (B) the successes or difficulties experienced in 
                promoting interagency cooperation, cooperation between 
                local, State, and Federal authorities, and cooperation 
                with nongovernmental organizations;
                    (C) the treatment and services provided, and the 
                disposition of trafficking cases in the criminal 
                justice system; and
                    (D) legal and administrative barriers to more 
                effective governmental responses, including current 
                statutes on debt bondage and involuntary servitude;
            (4) in order to ensure effective prosecution of traffickers 
        and the abuses related to trafficking, victims should be 
        provided with support services and incentives to testify, such 
        as--
                    (A) stays of deportation with an opportunity to 
                apply for permanent residency, witness protection, 
                relocation assistance, and asset forfeiture from 
                trafficking networks with funds set aside to provide 
                compensation due to victims of trafficking; and
                    (B) services such as legal assistance in criminal, 
                administrative, and civil proceedings and confidential 
                health care;
            (5) the Secretary of State, in consultation with the 
        Department of Justice Office of Violence Against Women, and 
        nongovernmental organizations should--
                    (A) develop curricula and conduct training for 
                consular officers on the prevalence and risks of 
                trafficking and the rights of victims; and
                    (B) develop and disperse to visa seekers written 
                materials describing the potential risks of 
                trafficking, including--
                            (i) information as to the rights of victims 
                        in the United States, including legal and civil 
                        rights in labor, marriage, and for crime 
                        victims under the Violence Against Women Act; 
                        and
                            (ii) the names of support and advocacy 
                        organizations in the United States;
            (6) the Department of State and the European Union--
                    (A) are commended as to their joint initiative to 
                promote awareness of the problem of trafficking 
                throughout countries of origin in Eastern Europe and 
                the independent states of the former Soviet Union; and
                    (B) should continue efforts to engage in similar 
                programs in other regions and to ensure that the 
                dignity and the human rights of trafficking victims are 
                protected in destination countries;
            (7) the State Department's Bureau for International 
        Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, together with the 
        Department of Justice and the Department of the Treasury, 
        should continue to provide and expand funding to support 
        criminal justice training programs, which include trafficking; 
        and
            (8) the President's Interagency Council on Women should 
        submit a report to Congress, not later than 6 months after the 
        date of the adoption of this resolution, with regard to the 
        implementation by the Secretary of State and the Attorney 
        General of the duties described in this resolution.
    Sec. 2. The Clerk of the House of Representatives shall transmit a 
copy of this resolution to the President, the Secretary of State, and 
the Attorney General.
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