State Department releases human trafficking report

In June, the U.S. State Department released their 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report. In the report, Secretary of State Kerry states that ending modern day slavery is a foreign policy priority, describing human trafficking as “an assault on our most dearly held values of freedom and basic human dignity.”

The report focuses on how well both U.S. and foreign governments respond to human trafficking, assessing 188 countries and territories. The report also focuses on effective victim identification and victim services, which are provided by a variety of stakeholders from civil society, faith communities, government leaders, and the private sector.

Luis Cdebaca, Ambassador-at-Large, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, spoke about the report on July 11, when he addressed the Subcommittee on Africa, Global Health, Global Human Rights, and International Organizations of the House Foreign Affairs Committee. In his testimony, Cdebaca stressed the importance of cross-government and stakeholder partnerships in combating trafficking in persons, saying that such partnerships are “rooted in the idea that we as a nation need to stand up for universal values—freedom, justice, the dignity of all people—here at home and around the world.”

For more information on the Trafficking in Persons Report, please follow the links below.
Trafficking in Persons Report, State Department
The State Department 2013 Trafficking in Persons Report, Testimony of Luis CdeBaca, State Department