05 June 2002

Human Rights Advocates in Congress Question State Department Report, June 5, 2002

(Condemn omission of India, Thailand, Vietnam as worst on trafficking)

By Ralph Dannheisser Washington File Congressional Correspondent

Washington -- Human rights advocates in Congress gave a mixed review to the State Department's latest report on trafficking in persons, complaining that the report omits several countries -- notably India, Thailand and Vietnam -- from the list of worst offenders, possibly for political reasons.

Speaking at a Capitol Hill press conference June 6, Representative Chris Smith, vice chairman of the House Committee on International Relations, said he was pleased to see in the report, issued by the department earlier in the day, that "more than a dozen countries given poor or fair rankings last year have improved their behavior and policies to such a degree so as to earn a passing grade."

But Smith, like several colleagues appearing with him, criticized the report because it "omits from Tier 3 countries including India, Thailand and Vietnam -- all of which have serious trafficking problems." Moreover, he charged, "government officials appear to be actively involved" in the illicit activity in each of those countries.

Smith said his committee would hold hearings within the next few weeks, perhaps jointly with the Appropriations subcommittee that handles State Department funding, to look into the report in detail and determine, "Is it accurate?" and specifically why Thailand, Vietnam and India were omitted from Tier 3 - the worst rating available.

"Hopefully there weren't any political considerations involved," he said. Smith, a New Jersey Republican, sponsored the 2000 law that mandates the annual State Department report.

Representative Frank Wolf (Republican, Virginia), who joined Smith in the press conference -- and who heads the appropriations subcommittee planning the hearings -- said the State report shows progress in the fight against human trafficking, but also shows that "there is still a long, long way to go."

Senator Sam Brownback (Republican, Kansas), said he believes that several countries "where there should be more pressure placed" were omitted from Tier 3. He too cited the same three countries as prime examples.

Expressing largely the same viewpoint, Representative Joseph Pitts (Republican, Pennsylvania) told reporters that, before the report's release, "Many of us were concerned that diplomacy would take precedence over the victims." And, he added, "In some cases, I'm afraid we were right."

In another point, Pitts argued that recent actions by Germany and The Netherlands to legalize prostitution are "unconscionable" and undermine human rights.

Representative Melissa Hart (Republican, Pennsylvania), another participant, said the new report "brings us both good and bad news.

"Countries that have turned a blind eye to the abuse of millions of women and children have finally been put in their place: the bottom," she said. "Saudi Arabia and Cambodia, for example, have a long sordid history of allowing unspeakable crimes against their own people. Teenagers and young children are routinely being forced into prostitution, while mothers are being sold off to pay debts. Today, the State Department has put these and others on notice that this must stop."

But at the same time, Hart said, "It is appalling to learn that nations like India, where over 2.3 million girls and women are believed to be working in the sex industry against their will at any given time are in the second tier. And in Thailand, estimates show (that) anywhere from 200,000 to one million of its citizens are victims of human and sex trafficking.

"To say that these and others are not among the worst offenders is an injustice," Hart declared.

A harsher evaluation of the report itself came from Miriam Bell, national director for public policy of the Wilberforce Forum, a Washington-based group that describes itself as "a Christian worldview institute."

Bell, the only non-member of Congress taking part in the press conference, called the report "an insult to women and children in places like India, Thailand and Vietnam."

"After a cursory review of the State Department's TIP (Trafficking in Persons) report, one cannot help but marvel at the callousness, utter failure of leadership and the lost opportunity to speak on behalf of the enslaved, trafficked and abused women and children worldwide," Bell said.