Impunity Watch: North America

Torture Survivors Testify Before Congress, Call on the U.S. to Investigate and Prosecute

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

Hans Hogrefe, assistant to Rep. McGovern, listened to testimony and asked questions during the hearing. (Photo Courtesy of The Epoch Times)

WASHINGTON D.C., United States - On June 25th torture survivors and advocates testified at a congressional hearing sponsored by Representative Jamex McGovern (D-Mass.) in observance of the Torture Awareness Month.  Congress was asked to investigate military torture of war prisoners.  

Many of those who testified found there to be problems with the U.S. response to torture.  Specifically cited as a problem is the fact that government officials go to lawyers and academics as "torture experts", rather than survivors.  "The voices of survivors are vital to confronting the issue of torture", said one survivor. 

One prominent speaker, Sister Dianna Ortiz who was tortured in Guatemala in 1989, lamented "the disturbing possibility that the Obama administration may believe that it has made an adequate response to the human rights abuses of the Bush era".  

Sister Dianna Ortiz (pictured above) started the Torture Abuse and Survivor Support Coalition after surviving torture in Guatemala in 1989.  (Photo Courtesy of Epoch Times)

Survivors called on the United States to be a leader in investigating and prosecuting allegations of torture.  However, many warned that collecting facts is not enough.  Attendees called on developed countries to "recognize . . . obligations and live up to these obligations."

The United States was criticized for its treatment of refugees who come to the U.S. after fleeing from torture and abuse in other countries. Survivors mentioned the problem of coming to the United States only to see other torture survivors deported back to where they were persecuted. 

Following the congressional hearing, a program was held at The Catholic University of America, where a panel of experts and human rights activists offered a review of the use of torture in U.S. foreign policy.  Speakers detailed U.S. government use of torture since the Vietnam war, stating that "our country has been involved in torture for a very long time".  

One speaker, Father Bourgeois, from Bolivia worked with a human rights activist in investigating stories of torture in Bolivia.  They presented their findings to American officials and the men were arrested and deported.  Father Bourgeois also discussed the United States' use of the School of the Americas, where many Latin American militaries were trained in torture and warfare by the United States.

Those testifying urged the Obama administration to "launch a formal investigation and determine who may be held accountable" for the sanctioning of torture during the Bush Administration.  This would go far, say the survivors in setting the precedent that "there are no circumstances that justify torture".  

Over 500,000 foreign victims of torture reside in the United States.  According to Amnesty International, torture is "widespread" in 70 countries,  and documented in 150 countries, including the United States. 

For more information. please see:

Ethiopian Review - Torture Survivors Testify at the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Commission Hearing - 1 July 2009

Catholic News Service - Torture Survivors Testify at the U.S. Congressional Human Rights Commission Hearing - 1 July 2009

The Epoch Times - Eradicating Torture - 30 June 2009

New Documents Show Canadian Officials Knew of Afghan "Rape Law" Prior to Enactment

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

OTTAWA, Canada - Newly released documents show that Canadian diplomats knew about Afghanistan's Shiite family law, more commonly known as the "rape law", before it passed and did not inform the appropriate government officials.

The law in question gives Shiite husbands broad authority over their wives, effectively legalizing rape within marriage.  Canadian officials charged with monitoring human rights and democracy through the Canadian International Development Agency reportedly knew about the law in October of last year. The specific wording of the law was not known to the agency, however the lack of investigation into the proposed legislation is viewed as a serious failure.

 

Canadian Foreign Affairs Minister Lawrence Cannon (pictured above) was not informed about the proposed legislation.  

(Photo Courtesy of Canwest News)

New Democrat MP Paul Dewar said that someone should have been asking questions about the law.  He further stated that the Canadians were supposed to be "keeping an eye on human right".  He noted that Ottawa is the primary funding source for the Afghan human-rights commission.  "I would have thought if this had been noted to our officials they would have been on it immediately".

According to the released documents, Canadian officials had a hard time getting a hold of the legislation and getting it translated. Numerous attempts to meet with President Karzai were unsuccessful.  Canadian ambassador Ron Hoffman did not meet with Karzai until mid-april.  

As a response to the lack of a coordinated response to the proposed legislation, Ottawa has deployed a legal team to Kabul to help the Afghans assess legislation.  

Soraya Sobharang, a prominent member of the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission, testified  before the committee that Western countries let down the women of Afghanistan. She stressed that Canada needs to be more vigilant about intervening on human-rights matters. 

The Afghan government is currently reviewing the law, but many advocates are not convinced that the provisions in question will be repealed.  Sobharang also worried that similar legislation would be introduced for the majority Sunni population. 

For more information, please see:

The Canadian Press - Documents Show that Canada Knew About Afghan Rape Law in Advance - 29 June 2009

Digital Journal - Rape Law: Canadian Diplomats Knew Of Afghan Law Before It Passed - 30 June 2009

Toronto Sun - Diplomats Knew of Afghan Rape Law - 30 June 2009

Chaos in Honduras: President Zelaya in Exile after 'Military' Coup de'etat

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Europe

TEGUCIGALPA, Honduras - Chaos continues in Honduras after troops acting under the authority of the Supreme Court ousted President Manuel Zeyala and flew him to Costa Rica in the midst of a power struggle over plans to change the country's constitution. 

Arriving in Costa Rica wearing his pyjamas, Mr. Zeyala said that he had been kidnapped by the military in a "coup" following his call for a referendum to extend his "non-renewable" 6-year term in office, which is due to expire on 27 January 2010.

The referendum had been ruled illegal by the Honduran Supreme Court and was opposed by Congress as well as Mr. Zeyala's own party. Congress appointed another member of Mr. Zeyala's liberal party, Roberto Micheletti, as acting head of state. Mr. Micheletti will serve the remainder of President Zeyala's term and elections are scheduled to be held 29 November 2009.

Soldiers stormed the presidential residence this Sunday morning, just hours before the referendum was slated to begin. The BBC reported that armoured vehicles were on the streets of the Honduran capital, and that troops used tear gas to disperse Mr. Zeyala's supporters from outside his residence.

Mr. Zeyala insists he is still the president of Honduras. "This was a plot by a very voracious elite, an elite which wants only to keep this country isolated, in an extreme level of poverty," he said.

New York-based International Action Center, which defines itself as an "anti-capitalist and anti-imperialist group," is circulating an online petition calling on President Obama and Madam Secretary Clinton to "condemn the unconstitutional and anti-democratic military coup in Honduras and insist that the military regime and the newly appointed but illegitimate president of Honduras restore President Zelaya to office...." The group is further demanding that the US recall its Ambassador to Honduras.

Zeyala is a civil engineer and rancher by profession. He took office in 2006 after prevailing over the ruling National Party candidate. Since becoming President, he moved Honduras away from its traditional alliance with the US and toward friendship with Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. Venezuela has reportedly put its troops on high alert, while Mr. Chavez has pledged to do whatever is necessary to restore Mr. Zeyala to power.

Chavez has blamed the "yankee empire" for the coup, but the White House has denied any involvement in the affair. President Obama has urged Honduras to respect "the rule of law." The US recognizes Mr. Zeyala as the rightfully elected president of Honduras. 

The EU has called for "a swift return to constitutional normalty" in Honduras.

Photo above: AP

For more information, please see:

American Thinker - The Honduran 'Military Impeachment' - 30 June 2009

BBC - Honduran leader forced into exile - 28 June 2009

Newsvine - Venezuela's Chavez Threatens to Invade Honduras over Coup - 28 June 2008

Cuban Political Prisoners Honored in the United States But Denied Traditional White House Visit

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

Washington D.C., United States - Five Cuban dissidents, who have been imprisoned in Cuba for decades were given awards by the National Endowment for Democracy on June 23rd.  However, representatives of the imprisoned dissidents were not invited to the White House, for the first time in five years. 

While the Obama administration was criticized for not meeting with representatives of the dissidents, the three political prisoners were cited as evidence that Cuba needs to take concrete steps toward democracy.  

Obama also issued a message in which he congratulated the award recipients, saying that they had been "unjustly jailed for defending the basic freedoms we all hold dear in the Americas."   

During the ceremony, Ivan Hernandez Carillo, a labor and youth activists, spoke in a phone call from prison.  His phone privileges were subsequently revoked for six months.  Other award recipients include leaders of human rights groups aiding political prisoners, feminist organizers, and other youth activists.  

Ivan Hernandez Carillo, pictured above, was arrested during the "Black Spring", a government crackdown on dissidents.  He was sentenced to 25 years in prison for his opposition to the Cuban government. 

 (Photo Courtesy of Amnesty International)

Two of the award recipients were arrested on Tuesday for holding a political meeting in a public park. One of those arrested, Jorge Luis Garcia Perez, had been a political prisoner for 17 years prior to being released in 2007.  

The Obama administration has been cautious regarding relations with Cuba and has relaxed many longstanding retractions on travel and amount of money allowed to be sent to the island.  Additionally, Obama has solicited Cuba for talks regarding legal immigration.  The trade embargo, however, has remained off the table and directly contingent on Cuba's recognition of human rights.

 

Video of award recipient, Jorge Luis García Perez, speaking via telephone from prison. 

For more information, please see:

The Miami Herald - Cuba Democracy Honorees Unable to Attend Conference - 28 June 2009

   All Headline News - Obama Honors Imprisoned Cuban Dissidents - 25 June 2009

   Bloomberg - Obama Says Cuba Must "Unconditionally Free Political Prisoners - 25 June 2009

   Washington Post - Cuba Dissidents Win Award But Not Obama Audience - 24 June 2009

U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement Violate Human Rights in Enforcement and Detention

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

(Photo Courtesy of AP)

WASHINGTON D.C., United States - U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) misconduct is the topic of multiple reports and high level discussion this week, as immigration reform is suggested by the Obama Administration.  

A report released by a National Commission on June 18 found that ICE agents violate workers' rights and traumatize communities in the course of their enforcement duties.  The United Food and Commercial Workers, a union representing workers at several Swift meat-packing plants, requested the report after several immigration raids took place.  Allegations of racial profiling and violations of constitutional rights against searches and seizures were raised.

ICE was criticized for drawing weapons, lack of warrants, deprivation of prescription drugs, and separation of newborns from nursing mothers in the course of immigration raids.  The raids on Swift Foods were an important focus of the report, which detailed how thousands of workers, most documented citizens or immigrants were detained for up to eight hours with no food or water.  The workers were held by heavily armed agents without the opportunity to use the phone or restroom.

Other lawsuits have been issued against the Department of Homeland Security for immigration raid procedures.  Homeland Security Secretary, Janet Napolitano said she would be working to direct the enforcement and prosecution on employers of undocumented immigrants, rather than undocumented workers. 

ICE misconduct extends beyond enforcement raids and into detention according to a Human Rights Watch Report: Detained and Dismissed.  A former immigration detention center nurse, a former detainee, and a group of leading human rights advocacy and research groups testified to Congress yesterday about the deplorable treatment of detained immigrants.  

Immigration Detention is the fastest growing form of incarceration in the United States.  33,000 are held per day on average, 10% of which are women.  (Photo Courtesy of Memphis Commercial Appeal)

Among the concerns, raised by the report are the adequacy of health care that detained immigrant women receive while being detained.  The detention centers currently only have emergency medical care and researchers noted that the vast majority of those detained pose no security risk.

One researcher stated that "it is appalling that ICE does not provide women in its custody with enough sanitary pads to keep from bleeding through their clothes, to say nothing of sufficient Pap smears, mammograms, and the other most basic elements of women's health care."  This is apart from the separation of women from their children.  Many of those detained do not receive an opportunity to use a telephone or access legal representation to locate their children or preserve their parental rights. 

Detainees include asylum seekers, victims of trafficking, survivors of sexual assault and domestic violence, pregnant women and mothers of children who are U.S. citizens.  One single parent detainee who was separated from her children stated "had I not experienced a year in immigration detention, I would never have believed that such inhumanity existed".  

For more information, please see:

Emigrant Online - Report Outlines Ice Abuses - 24 June 2009

Human Rights Watch - US: Immigration Policy Harms Women, Families - 24 June 2009

Politics Daily - Janet Napolitano on Immigration - 22 June 2009 

San Francisco Chronicle - Panel Slams U.S. Over Immigration Raid Tactics - 19 June 2009

Canada Denies U.S. Request to Admit Cleared Guantanamo Detainees

Cleared Uighur detainees held up signs in protest to visiting journalists in June 1st.

(Photo Courtesy of Toronto Star)

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

GUANTANAMO BAY, Cuba -  Canada refused a request by the Obama administration to admit Guantanamo detainees from China, of Uighar ethnicity, amid speculation regarding pressure from the Chinese government.  China has actively sought the return of the 17 detainees for prosecution, but the U.S. will not return the men due to fear of torture. 

The detainees were cleared for release by the Pentagon in 2004 and will remain in an offshore prison until the United States finds them asylum.  Albania accepted five of the men in 2006, and is the only country to do so.

Canadian Prime Minister, Stephen Harper cited security concerns and "security concerns" and a lack of connection to Canada in saying that " there is no rational for accepting them into the country".  Canadian detainee Omar Khadr, accused of killing a U.S. serviceman, would reportedly be "a different case" because he is a Canadian citizen.  However, Canada intends to let his prosecution continue to be handled by the United States.

Two of the detainees, who have been held for over seven years staged a protest with handwritten signs calling for their freedom.  The Pentagon initially refused to allow journalists to release photos of the protest signs, however, the White House approved their release.  The Obama administration has been seeking placements for cleared Guantanamo detainees, asking foreign governments to make sacrifices and unpopular choices to help close Guantanamo Bay.  

Protesters in Washington D.C. rallied for the release of the Uighur detainees in February. 

(Photo Courtesy of New York Times)

Last week, the Obama administration argued in a filing to the Supreme Court that a ruling blocking the detainees' ability to receive asylum in the U.S. should be upheld.  That ruling overturned a federal judge order that the Uighurs be given sanctuary in the U.S., considering the fact that the Pentagon no longer considered them enemy combatants. 

Muslim Uighurs from China's Xinjiang province seek autonomy for their region. The Chinese government has been cracking down on separatist activities.  China has warned that any country that accepts the men will be considered as harboring terrorists. 

For more information, please see:

AP- Canada Refuses U.S. Guantanamo Request - 5 June 2009

Canwest News Service - Canada Refuses Gitmo Detainees - 5 June 2009

CBC News - Canada Refuses U.S. Request to Accept Chinese Muslims from Guantanamo - 5 June 2009

Toronto Star - Canada Won't Accept Uighur Gitmo Detainees - 4 June 2009

Mexican Drug Cartels Supplied with Guns from U.S.

Roughly 87 percent of guns seized by Mexican authorities and turned over to the U.S. for tracing came from the U.S. (Photo Courtesy of Washington Post)

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

WASHINGTON D.C., United States - A study by the Government Accountability Office found that most firearms linked to drug violence in Mexico come from the U.S.  The report cites Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives data showing that approximately 87 percent of firearms seized by Mexican authorities and submitted to the U.S. for tracing in the last 5 years came from the U.S. Roughly a quarter of the guns seized are high-caliber, high-powered assault style weapons, such as AK-47s and AR-15s.  Most of the guns came from shows and stores in the southwestern U.S. 

The majority of the illegal weapons that cross the border are intended to support Mexican drug cartels. Drug-related murders have jumped to 6,200 last year from 2,700 in 2007, according to the study.  Investigators cited a "lack of a comprehensive U.S. government-wide strategy to for addressing the problem".   

 (Chart Courtesy of Houston Chronicle) 

The ATF and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) are most responsible for tracking illegal weapons and are reportedly ineffective because they "lack clear roles and responsibilities and have been operating under an outdated inter-agency agreement".

The Department of Homeland Security disputes these conclusions, and notes that a new agreement between the two agencies is awaiting final approval. Gun-rights groups have similarly challenged the assertions of the report and contend that the data is incomplete because only 7,200 of 30,000 seized weapons are submitted for tracing. 

The report stated that, while it was possible that some of the weapons used by drug cartels come from outside the U.S. the likelihood is very slim because the weapons are "so easy" to get from the U.S.  The report cited bureaucratic problems in Mexico as a reason that many seized weapons do not make it to the U.S. for tracing.

(Photo Courtesy of Washington Post)

The Obama administration released a 2009 National Southwest Border Counternarcotics Strategy, in which he called for the deployment of new technology, stepping up intelligence gathering and increasing interdiction of ships, aircraft and vehicles that are smuggling drugs, guns and cash.  The strategy includes, for the first time, a chapter on countering illegal arms trafficking to Mexico.  The report openly acknowledges that the 2007 Merida Initiative to counter the illegal drug trade did not take into consideration the flow of illegal cash and weapons.

Representative Eliot L. Engel (D. N.Y.), chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on the Western Hemisphere, which is holding a hearing on arms trafficking said " It is simply unacceptable that the United States not only consumes the majority of the drugs flowing from Mexico, but also arms the very cartels that contribute to the daily violence that is devastating Mexico."

For more information, please see:

Houston Chronicle - Report Finds US Slow to Stop Gun Traffickers - 19 June 2009 

Wall Street Journal - GAO Ties US Guns to Mexico Violence - 18 June 2009

IPS News - Mexican Cartels Armed by US - 18 June 2009

The Washington Post - Report: Guns Flow South Thanks to U.S. - 18 June 2009

Hate Fever: Arizona Anti-Immigration Activists Arrested for Killings Aimed at Getting Their Way

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Europe

Shawna Forde, who was arrested for allegedly killing Raul Flores and his 9-year-old daughter, Brisenia, poses at the US-Mexico border. Photo: Mikkel Selin/Ekstra Bladet

ARRIVACA, United States - Shawna Forde, an outspoken anti-immigration activist, has be arrested in connection with the 30th May home invasion killings of Raul Flores and his daughter.

Forde, 41, and two fellow members of her Minuteman American Defense group (MAD), stand charged with "two counts of first-degree murder, one count of first-degree burglary and one count of aggravated assault," according to the Pima County Sheriff's Department in Arizona. The killings are said to have been premeditated and designed to steal money and drugs to fund MAD. According to her family, Forde had discussed using robbery as a fund-raising strategy for her anti-immigration group, but Forde denies this allegation. The Green Valley News and Sun reports that she stated: "No, I did not do it."

Forde's mother, Rena Caudle, who lives in California, said she was not surprised to hear of her daughter's arrest. Forde visited Caudle before going to Arizona, telling her she planned to stage home invasions.

Alleged killers Albert Robert Gaxiola, jasn Eugene Bush, and Shawna Forde; Photos: Green Valley News and Sun

The victims, Raul Flores, 29, and his daughter, nine-year-old Brisenia, were killed when armed intruders invaded their home. Brisenia's mother, who traded gun-fire with the suspects, survived the attack, but required hospitalization due to gun shot wounds. Authorities said the threesome dressed as Border Patrol Officers and broke into the Flores' home, looking for money or drugs to sell. The Pima Count Sheriff's office revealed that Flores had been connected to Mexican drug cartels, and that the US Drug Enforcement Agency knew this. According to police, the intruders intended to kill the Flores' other daughter, but failed to locate her in the residence.

According to Dawn Barkman, the Sheriff's Spokesperson, Forde "was the ringleader of this group and of this attack. She made the order for Bush to go in and shoot these individuals. She's just truly an evil person to do something like this."

Forde's group, MAD, claims that they conduct surveillance and investigations aimed at curtailing illegal immigration and drug-smuggling into the United States. According to the group's website, "MAD is not responsible for the independent actions or the private agenda by Shawna Forde and her cohorts.... Shawna acted totally on her own person [sic] agenda and has caused a lot of pain embarrassment and humiliation to the total Minuteman movement and fellow members of MAD. MAD will cooperate totally and fully with any and all Law Enforcement agencies and the appropriate judicial system to bring this most terrifying event to a close." Chris Simcox, the founder of the original Minuteman group, said, "We knew that Shawna Forde was not just an unsavory character but pretty unbalanced as well."

In the past few weeks, a white supremacist allegedly killed a black guard at the US Holocaust Museum in Washington, D.C., and anti-abortion activist allegedly killed a Kansas doctor who performed abortions.

The Southern Poverty Law Center, an organization that monitors hate groups through its "Intelligence Project," estimates that the number of hate groups in the US has risen 54% since 2000. The increase has been fueled partly by the opposition to Hispanic immigration and the election of Mr. Barack Obama, America's first black president.

Forde had been active in MAD for several years, but prior to heading to Arizona for another season of border patrolling, she e-mailed supporters, telling them: "I will stay the course and lead in this fight with every once [sic] of strength and conviction I have.... It is time for Americans to lock and load."

Minutemen working at the US-Mexico border. Photo: Hyscience

For more information, please see:

CBS - Ariz. Killings Highlight Risk of Fringe Activists - 19 June 2009

Green Valley News and Sun - Suspect told mother of home invasion plan - 13 June 2009

Herald - Activist Shawna Forde charged in double slaying - 13 June 2009

Huffington Post - Shawna Forde, Minutemen Leader, Arrested in Double Killing in Arizona - 13 June 2009

New Report Details 10,000 Migrant Abductions in Mexico in 6 Months

By Sovereign Hager

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America

The National Human Rights Commission presented their findings to the press.
(Photo courtesy of El Siglo De Torreon)

MEXICO CITY, Mexico - 10,000 Central American migrants crossing the border into Mexico have been abducted in the last six months according to a survey by Mexico's National Human Rights Commission.  The survey was conducted in migrant health and detention centers.

According to the report, migrants were kidnapped in Mexico between September and February predominantly by drug gangs. The report identified 5, 723 people abducted by polleros or smugglers, 3,000 from different bands of kidnappers, 44 by gangs, and 427 by kidnappers claiming to be from the mercenary group known as "zetas".  Authorities were also reportedly involved in 91 abductions.

70 percent of those abducted were from Honduras, however there were abductions reported from El Salvador, Guatemala, Nicaragua, Brazil, Chile, Costa Rica, and Peru.  The ransoms range from $1,500 to $ 5,000, with an estimated total of $25 million over the six month period. Some of those abducted are forced into slavery.

 
Mexico has more kidnappings than any other country in the world. Above is a screenshot of a
kidnapping victim  from the documentary "iYa basta!" (Enough!)
(photo courtesy of www.sanangelolive.com)

Abductions detailed in the report include 157 women, four pregnant, of which two were killed.  Many women were reportedly raped.  The report highlighted the lack of official figures on this issue, blaming the "inefficiency" of the justice system in preventing and investigating the cases.  The states with the most abductions were Veracruz and Tabasco.

It is estimated that 500,000 Central American undocumented immigrants try to enter Mexico each year across the southern border. According to Jose Luis Soberanes, the commission's head, "the kidnapping of migrants has become a constant practice, on a worrying scale, generally unpunished and with characteristics of extreme cruelty."

For more information, please see:

AP- Mexico Report: 9, 758 Migrants Abducted in 6 Months- 15 June 2009

Agence France-Presse - 10,000 Migrants Abducted in Mexico: Rights Group - 16 June 2009

El Siglo De Torreon - Coahuila, octavo lugar en secuestro de migrantes - 16 June 2009

El Universal - Plagian a 9, 758 migrantes en 6 meses - 16 June 2009

US Secretary of State Clinton Announces Rise in Global Human Trafficking

By Nima Nayebi

Impunity Watch Reporter, North America and Europe

Mrs. Clinton unveils the TIP Report on 16 June 2009 - Photo: Robert Giroux/Getty Images

WASHINGTON D.C., United States - The US Department of State has unveiled its annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, which assesses the efforts of over 170 countries in curtailing human trafficking. The report was followed by a Washington Post op-ed by Mrs. Clinton on Wednesday, in which she emphasized that the US has an obligation to fight human trafficking.

"To some, human trafficking may seem like a problem limited to other parts of the world. In fact, it occurs in every country, including the United States, and we have a responsibility to fight it just as others do. The destructive effects of trafficking have an impact on all of us. Trafficking weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress. It undermines our long-term efforts to promote peace and prosperity worldwide. And it is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights," wrote Secretary Clinton.

She went on to say that the Obama administration considers the issue of human trafficking a priority in its foreign policy agenda: “The United States funds 140 anti-trafficking programs in nearly 70 countries, as well as 42 domestic task forces that bring state and local authorities together with nongovernmental organizations to combat trafficking. But there is so much more to do."

According to the Secretary, the problem is more urgent than ever as the world struggles through the current financial climate. “People are increasingly desperate for the chance to support their families, making them more susceptible to the tricks of ruthless criminals," she wrote.

The TIP Report estimates that 12.3 million people worldwide are victims of sexual slavery, forced labour, and organ theft, at a time where demand for cheap labour, services, and even human organs is on the rise. The report describes human trafficking as “a crime that deprives people of their human rights and freedoms, increases global heath risks, fuels growing networks of organized crime, and can sustain levels of poverty and impede development in certain areas.”

Since 2000, the majority of countries have enacted laws against human trafficking, but much work remains to be done, according to the State Department. Secretary Clinton summed up the Obama administration’s policy by writing: “The United States is committed to building partnerships with governments and organizations around the world, to finding new and more effective ways to take on the scourge of human trafficking. We want to support our partners in their efforts and find ways to improve our own. Human trafficking flourishes in the shadows and demands attention, commitment and passion from all of us. We are determined to build on our past success and advance progress in the weeks, months and years ahead. Together, we must hold a light to every corner of the globe and help build a world in which no one is enslaved.”

Map: UNODC

The TIP Report, which has been published since 2000, failed to address the trafficking record of the Unites States. According to the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC), the United States is a large importer of sex trafficking victims, with Atlanta, Georgia, as its main hub. Mrs. Clinton promised that in the 2010 report, the US will “rank its own efforts at combating trafficking along with the rest of the world."

For more information, please see:

Radio Free Asia - Economy Worsens Trafficking - 18 June 2009

Time - Human Trafficking Rises in Recession - 18 June 2009

US Department of State - Trafficking in Persons Report 2009 - 16 June 2009

Washington Post - Partnering Against Trafficking - 17 June 2009