110 HCON 102 IH: Supporting the goals and ideals of U.S. House of Representatives 2007-03-27 text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain.

IV 110th CONGRESS 1st Session H. CON. RES. 102 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES March 27, 2007 Mr. Schiff (for himself and Mr. Wolf) submitted the following concurrent resolution; which was referred to the Committee on the Judiciary CONCURRENT RESOLUTION Supporting the goals and ideals of observing the National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness each year to raise awareness of and opposition to human trafficking.

Whereas the United States has a tradition of advancing fundamental human rights; Whereas because the people of the United States remain committed to protecting individual freedom, there is a national imperative to eliminate human trafficking, including early or forced marriage, commercial sexual exploitation, forced labor, labor obtained through debt bondage, involuntary servitude, slavery, and slavery by descent; Whereas human trafficking is increasing in the United States and globally; Whereas to combat this increase in human trafficking, both the people of the United States and the Federal Government must be aware of the realities of human trafficking and must be dedicated to stopping this contemporary manifestation of slavery; Whereas the United States should actively oppose all individuals, groups, organizations, and nations who support, advance, or commit acts of human trafficking; Whereas the United States must also work to end human trafficking around the world through education; Whereas victims of human trafficking need support in order to escape and to recover from the physical, mental, emotional, and spiritual trauma associated with their victimization; Whereas human traffickers use many physical and psychological techniques to control their victims, including the use of violence or threats of violence against the victim or the victim’s family, isolation from the public, isolation from the victim’s family and religious or ethnic communities, language and cultural barriers, shame, control of the victim’s possessions, confiscation of passports and other identification documents, and threats of arrest, deportation, or imprisonment if the victim attempts to reach out for assistance or leave; Whereas although laws to prosecute perpetrators of human trafficking and to assist and protect victims of human trafficking have been enacted in the United States, awareness of the issues surrounding human trafficking by those people most likely to come into contact with victims is essential for effective enforcement because the techniques that traffickers use to keep their victims enslaved severely limit self-reporting; and Whereas the effort by the March Against Terror USA organization to promote the observance of the National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness on January 11th of each year represents one of many examples of the ongoing commitment by people in the United States to raise awareness of and to actively oppose human trafficking: Now, therefore, be it

That Congress supports the goals and ideals of observing the National Day of Human Trafficking Awareness each year and all other efforts to raise awareness of and opposition to human trafficking.