[Congressional Record Volume 147, Number 163 (Thursday, November 29, 2001)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E2179-E2180]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




       FIGHTING THE SCOURGE OF TRAFFICKING IN WOMEN AND CHILDREN

                                 ______
                                 

                       HON. CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                      Thursday, November 29, 2001

  Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. Mr. Speaker, tonight I want to highlight our 
nation's efforts to fight, and hopefully end, the scourge of 
trafficking in women and children. Earlier today, International 
Relations Committee held an important hearing on the implementation of 
anti-trafficking legislation I authored, and which was signed into law 
last Congress.
  As the Prime Sponsor of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, H.R. 
3244, I was pleased that our legislation attracted unanimous bipartisan 
support in both Houses of Congress, and was signed into law just over 
one year ago. We succeeded not only because this legislation is pro-
woman, pro-child, pro-human rights, pro-family values, and anti-crime, 
but also because it addresses a horrendous problem that cries out for a 
comprehensive solution.
  Each year as many as two million innocent victims--of whom the 
overwhelming majority are women and children--are brought by force and/
or fraud into the international commercial sex industry and other forms 
of modern-day slavery. The Act was necessary because previous efforts 
by the United States government, international organizations, and 
others to stop this brutal practice had proved unsuccessful. Indeed, 
all the evidence suggests that the most severe forms of trafficking in 
persons are far more widespread than they were just a few years ago.
  My legislation was designed to give our government the tools we 
believed it needed to eliminate slavery, and particularly sex slavery. 
The central principle behind the Trafficking Victims Protection Act is 
that criminals who knowingly operate enterprises that profit from sex 
acts involving persons who have been brought across international 
boundaries for such purposes by force or fraud, or who force human 
beings into slavery, should receive punishment commensurate with the 
penalties for kidnapping and forcible rape. This would be not only a 
just punishment, but also a powerful deterrent. And the logical 
corollary of this principle is that we need to treat victims of these 
terrible crimes as victims, who desperately need our help, compassion, 
and protection.
  As the implementation of this important legislation moves forward, 
success will depend, in large part, on the development of a large 
coalition of citizen organizations that are out there on the streets 
helping these victims day in and day out. The problem is simply too big 
for any one, or even several, governments to tackle alone.
  That is why I am so pleased to learn that outside advocacy and relief 
organizations are continuing to join the fight against human 
trafficking. Father Stan DeBoe, with the Conference of Major Superiors 
of Men, CMSM, is one such civic leader who deserves special recognition 
of his efforts, and the efforts of the CMSM. the CMSM, for those who 
are unfamiliar with their work, serves as the leadership of the 
Catholic orders and congregation of the 20,000 vowed religious priests 
and brothers of the United States. The CMSM is the voice of these 
Catholic priests and brothers in the U.S., and also collaborates with 
the U.S. bishops and other Catholic organizations which serve the 
Church, and our society.
  I have included, as part of the Record, a recent resolution jointly 
adopted by the CMSM and the Leadership Conference of Women Religious, 
LCWR, on August 26 during a conference in Baltimore, Maryland.
  Like all laws, however, this law is only as good as its 
implementation. And, frankly, I have been deeply concerned at the slow 
pace of implenatinion of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act. A year 
after enactment of this legislation, the State Department office--which 
is designed to be the nerve center of our diplomatic efforts to engage 
foreign governments in the war against trafficking--has only recently 
begun to get up and running. No regulations have yet been issued which 
will allow victims to apply for the visas provided by the Act. And many 
other important tasks remain undone.
  I do not say this to complain or criticize--I know that many things 
move too slowly in the first year of a new Administration, and that 
since September 11 our attention and resources have been diverted 
elsewhere--but to emphasize that from now on, we do not have a minute 
to spare.
  I should also say that I am profoundly encouraged by the fact that 
the Administration has been able to recruit Dr. Laura Lederer to bring 
her expertise and commitment to the State Department's anti-trafficking 
effort. Dr. Lederer is generally regarded as the world's leading expert 
on the pathology of human trafficking, and the Protection Project which 
she headed has provided the factual and analytical basis for most of 
the work that has been done so far to combat human trafficking. 
Throughout the long process of consideration and enactment of the 
Trafficking Victims Protection Act, Laura was our mentor and our 
comrade-in-arms. I commend Under Secretary Dobriansky, for this 
important choice.
  Finally, I want to emphasize the principles behind the Trafficking 
Victims Protection Act. I take second place to none in my commitment to 
workers' rights, but this is not a labor law and it is not an 
immigration law--it is a comprehensive attack on human slavery, and 
especially sex slavery. It emphatically rejects the principle that 
commercial sex should be regarded as legitimate form of ``work.''
  I know that a number of officials in the previous Administration 
disagreed with the approach we took in this bill--and that many of 
these officials are career employees who still work in the government--
but the Trafficking Victims Protection Act is the law of the land, and 
we now have a President who has made clear that he agrees with us on 
this fundamental question. So I hope and trust that in implementing the 
law--in making grants, in staffing offices and working groups, in 
seeking partners and advisors in this important effort--this 
Administration will rely on people who fully support the law they are 
implementing, rather than on those who never liked it and who may seek 
to evade or ignore some of its most important provisions.
  What we need to make this law work are ``true believers'' who will 
spare no effort to mobilize the resources and the prestige of the 
United States government to implement this important Act and shut down 
this terrible industry, which routinely and grossly violates the most 
fundamental human rights of the world's most vulnerable people.

         Resolution Opposing Trafficking in Women and Children


                        Statement of Resolution

  LCWR and CMSM stand in support of human rights by opposing 
trafficking of women and children for purposes of sexual exploitation 
and forced labor, and will educate others regarding the magnitude, 
causes, and consequences of this abuse.


                               Rationale

  1. At their May 2001 plenary session in Rome, the International Union 
of Superiors General, leaders of more than 780 congregations of women 
religious having a total membership of one million, endorsed a 
resolution opposing the abuse of women and children, with particular 
sensitivity to the trafficking and sexual exploitation of women. UISG 
resolved that this issue be addressed from a contemplative stance as an 
expression of a fully incarnated feminine spirituality in solidarity 
with women all over the world.
  2. An LCWR goal is to work for a just world order by using our 
corporate voice and influence in solidarity with people who experience

[[Page E2180]]

poverty, racism, powerlessness or any other form of violence or 
oppression. A CMSM goal is to provide a corporate influence in church 
and society.
  3. The Platform for Action of the UN Fourth World Conference on Women 
held in Beijing, 1995, included the strategic objective to eliminate 
trafficking in women and assist victims of violence due to prostitution 
and trafficking.
  4. Each year between 700,000 and 2 million women and children are 
trafficked across international borders, with more than 50,000 women 
trafficked into the U.S. (UISG papers)


                        Call for Specific Action

  1. Deepen our understanding of the realities of trafficking and its 
integral relationship with poverty, male dominance, and the 
globalization of trade.
  2. Join with UISG as they call for specific days of international 
prayer, contemplation, and fasting to unite religious in prayer 
throughout the world.
  3. Encourage education about trafficking, prostitution, and workplace 
slavery in sponsored schools, colleges, and universities and in adult 
educational ministries.
  4. If feasible, collaborate in applying for federal funds from the 
Department of Health and Human Services in implementation of HR 3244 to 
provide services to victims of trafficking.
  The Conference of Major Superiors of Men (CMSM) serves the leadership 
of the Catholic orders and congregations of the 20,000 vowed religious 
priests and brothers of the United States, ten percent of whom are 
foreign missionaries. CMSM provides a voice for these communities in 
the U.S. church and society. CMSM also collaborates with the U.S. 
bishops and other key groups and organizations that serve church and 
society.
  The Leadership Conference of Women Religious (LCWR) has approximately 
1,000 members who are the elected leaders of their religious orders, 
representing 81,000 Catholic sisters in the United States. The 
Conference develops leadership, promotes collaboration within church 
and society, and serves as a voice for systemic change.

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