On February 4, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee held a hearing, “Ending Modern Slavery: What is the Best Way Forward?” The hearing focused on maximizing and developing better efforts to combat modern day slavery.
Chair Bob Corker (R-TN) stated, “Under U.S. law, [modern slavery is] defined as the most severe forms of trafficking in persons, including forced sexual servitude of minors and adults and bonded and other forced labor conditions. Women, children, and men alike are subjected to involuntary labor or sexual exploitation. According to a leading nongovernmental organization, forced labor accounts for 74 percent of victims and forced sexual servitude accounts for 26 percent of victims. Women and girls are especially vulnerable, accounting for 54 percent of victims. Children under the age of 18 account for 26 percent of victims.”
Gary Haugen, president, International Justice Mission (IJM), stated, “One characteristic that modern day slavery does not share with historic slavery is its legal status. Today, in contrast, slavery is legal virtually nowhere in the world. Yet there are more human beings in slavery today than at any previous time in history.” He added, “[T]he overwhelming failure of effective law enforcement against trafficking and slavery has persuaded many policy makers that it is simply impossible for police to change.” He concluded, “IJM’s experience working with local law enforcement has shown us that police can improve quite dramatically and are equal to the task of changing the calculations of those profiting from the sale of others…But even with the substantial diplomatic and financial resources the United States has offered over the past fifteen years, the global scourge of slavery requires a global response.”
Shawna Bader-Blau, executive director, Solidarity Center stated, “Understanding this link between worker rights violations and human trafficking is key to eradicating this horrific human rights abuse globally…I will focus my testimony on the aspect of modern slavery that is the most prevalent—and that is forced labor. Most modern slavery today is, in fact, forced labor. That includes government-compelled labor in Uzbekistan during the annual cotton harvest; women enslaved as domestic workers in countries as diverse as Lebanon and Singapore; low-wage migrant construction workers trapped in a cycle of debt bondage in Saudi Arabia; and garment workers locked in factories forced to work for hours on end in Cambodia.” She continued, “In other words, end worker exploitation to end human trafficking.”
The following witnesses also testified:
David Abramowitz, vice president, Policy and Government Relations, Humanity United;
James Kofi Annan, founder, Challenging Heights; and
Shandra Woworuntu, trafficking survivor.
