Every year since 2001, the United States Department of State has published the Trafficking in Persons Report, which ranks countries according to their efforts to combat modern slavery, prosecute perpetrators and aid and rehabilitate the victims.
The 2013 report is the fourth report to rank the United States, and also the first report since President Barack Obama delivered a seminal speech on the fight to end trafficking in persons at the Clinton Global Initiative last September. At that time, President Obama committed to ramping up American efforts to combat trafficking in persons, and announced a number of new Administration initiatives at home and abroad. “The bitter truth is that trafficking also goes on . . . in the United States,” he said.
“One of the things that we’ve seen over this last year with the United States Government’s recommitment and new approaches [to trafficking in persons] is the recognition of the need for government to act on victim identification,” said Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Luis CdeBaca during a special briefing prior to the report’s release.
In fact, the notion that victim identification is the first step in stopping modern slavery is the theme of the 2013 report. “We’re encouraging other countries as well to step up victim identification,” said Ambassador CdeBaca.
The United States also urges consumers and governments around the world to pay close attention to the supply chains through which their goods are made. “In the wake of the tragedies in Bangladesh and . . . high-profile scandals out of a number of factories around the world, . . . we, in the government, have a responsibility [to be vigilant],” said Ambassador CdeBaca.
“The United States will continue to be a leader in this global movement,” said President Obama last year. “We’ve got a comprehensive strategy. We’re shining a spotlight on the dark corners where it persists. . . we’re doing more than ever . . . to give countries incentives to meet their responsibilities and calling them out when they don’t.”