[Congressional Record Volume 150, Number 56 (Wednesday, April 28, 2004)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E680]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                           HUMAN TRAFFICKING

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                           HON. DOUG BEREUTER

                              of nebraska

                    in the house of representatives

                       Wednesday, April 28, 2004

  Mr. BEREUTER. Mr. Speaker, this Member agrees with the sentiments 
expressed in an April 22, 2004, Omaha World Herald editorial entitled 
``A New Fight Against Slavery.'' This Member commends the article to 
his colleagues.

                      A New Fight Against Slavery

       Slavery has long been officially illegal in most of the 
     world. Yet de facto slavery continues for hundreds of 
     thousands of women and children kidnapped and exploited as 
     prostitutes, domestic servants or forced laborers.
       The revenues generated for criminal enterprises total a 
     staggering $7 billion a year. The U.S. Intelligence community 
     projects that within a decade, the worldwide returns from 
     criminal trafficking in human beings will exceed those from 
     the sale of illegal narcotics or guns.
       Paula J. Dobriansky, U.S. undersecretary of state for 
     global affairs, described the scale of this problem during a 
     recent speech. ``Each year,'' she said, ``an estimated 
     800,000 to 900,000 human beings--mostly women and children in 
     search of a better life--are bought, sold or forced across 
     international borders.''
       Although most of these cases involve developing and middle-
     income countries, some of the exploitation reaches U.S. 
     shores. Between 18,000 and 20,000 women and children are 
     coerced into the United States annually by traffickers, 
     Dobriansky said.
       Despite the challenge in tackling such a global phenomenon, 
     progress is being made. When a State Department report listed 
     friendly countries such as South Korea, Greece and Turkey 
     among those failing to address human trafficking, those 
     governments soon ratcheted up their law enforcement efforts.
       Greater international cooperation has led to significant 
     arrests. One operation involving 12 countries led last year 
     to the apprehension of 207 suspected traffickers.
       In this country, Congress and the White House have 
     cooperated to sharply increase the penalties for such crimes. 
     In early 2004, the federal government was pursuing more than 
     300 human-trafficking investigations.
       Private aid agencies as well as governments are 
     contributing millions of dollars to help resettle women and 
     children and provide them with educational assistance or 
     other help.
       The official abolition of slavery was one of the milestones 
     of the 19th century. Successfully choking off the 
     opportunities for human traffickers would be one of the great 
     achievements in the 21st.

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