[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 106 (Friday, July 29, 2005)]
[Senate]
[Page S9447]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              COMBATING TRAFFICKING OF WOMEN AND CHILDREN

  Mr. LEAHY. Mr. President, I rise to draw attention to the widespread 
problem of human trafficking. It is the world's fastest growing 
criminal enterprise. It is a modern-day form of slavery, involving 
victims who are forced, defrauded or coerced into sexual or labor 
exploitation. Annually, nearly 1 million people, mostly women and 
children, are trafficked worldwide, including nearly 18,000 persons 
into the United States.
  The fact is that the violent subjugation and exploitation of women 
and girls is ongoing and not enough is being done by governments to 
address it. Take, for example, reports that in a marketplace in Skopje, 
Macedonia, women are forced to walk around a stage naked while brothel 
owners point their fingers to make a selection. Women are bought and 
sold like cattle and treated like slaves.
  In Krong Koh Kong, Cambodia, 14-year-old girls stand outside a row of 
shacks where they charge the equivalent of $2 or $3 for sex, half of 
which goes to their pimps. These girls, many of whom have AIDS, are 
discarded when they become too sick to continue working.
  Even in the United States, we are not immune to the scourge of human 
trafficking. Earlier this month, Federal agents raided brothels and 
businesses in San Francisco and arrested two dozen people allegedly 
operating an international sex-trafficking ring. Nearly 100 South 
Korean women were lured to illegally enter the United States; 
whereupon, they were held captive and forced to work as prostitutes.
  Around the world, women and girls are sold as slaves and forced to 
engage in unprotected sex because clients offer more money for such 
acts. These women have no control over their lives, their health or 
their futures. Trafficking victims in the sex industry are exposed to 
HIV/AIDS at much higher rates than the general population, with no 
access to medical care. The fear of infection of AIDS among customers 
has driven traffickers to recruit younger girls, erroneously perceived 
to be too young to have been infected.
  Last month, the State Department issued its fifth annual Trafficking 
in Persons report, which ranks the efforts of 150 countries to combat 
human trafficking. Some have observed that the United States has been 
soft on certain Asian countries thought to be lax on trafficking, such 
as Indonesia, the Philippines, India, and Thailand. Because these 
countries are vital allies in fighting terrorism, they may have been 
treated with greater leniency.
  On the other hand, this year, the State Department identified four 
Middle Eastern allies--Kuwait, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab 
Emirates--as being among the worst offenders of human trafficking and 
whose governments are doing little to control it. Despite the fact that 
these countries have been important partners of the United States, 
their inadequate efforts on human trafficking demand a call to action 
by the United States.
  Mr. President, this report is merely one first step in combating a 
growing international problem. We must call upon governments around the 
world to renew their efforts against this form of modern-day slavery.
  We must rededicate our efforts to the prevention of human 
trafficking, protection of victims, and prosecution of traffickers. 
Nowhere on Earth should it be acceptable to deceive, abuse, and force a 
person into a life of enslavement. To deny a person their right to 
freedom, is an affront to the ideals established nearly 57 years ago in 
the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We can and must do better.

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