Letter from Secretary Rice - June 3, 2005

"President Bush, the Congress, and the American people are united in efforts to eradicate trafficking in persons internationally and within national borders because this global crime opposes the universal value of freedom.

"This fifth annual Trafficking in Persons Report, along with the $96 million in anti-trafficking assistance our nation provided to foreign governments and non-government organizations last year, demonstrates our strong commitment to this cause. This year, we included more country analyses as a result of deeper research and a wider range of sources.."

Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice--

Briefing by Ambassador Miller on the Release of the Trafficking in Persons Report - June 3, 2005

"..Our sources of information are diverse: law enforcement, U.S. embassies, NGOs, daring activists, foreign governments, our own visits. Everything enters the mix, extensive analysis and debate goes into the assessment of each country and assignment into Tier 1, Tier 2, Tier 2 watch list, or Tier 3.

"We didn't design the system. Congress designed the system with important help from nongovernmental organization and faith-based communities. I'm happy to note that the Tier 2 warning watch list, introduced last year, has been very effective. 31 of the 46 countries on the 2004 TIP reports, Tier 2 watch list improve their ratings this year. The increased scrutiny of these countries' anti-trafficking efforts required of us by Congress has led to the State Department's greater engagement with these governments. More important, it has led to greater efforts by the governments themselves. 

"For the third year, Tier 3 countries can be sanctioned if they don't take significant anti-slavery action in the next few months.."

Ambassador John R. Miller
Senior Advisor on Trafficking in Persons

Source: US State Dept.

The 2005 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report: Its Purpose

The Department of State is required by law to submit a report each year to the U.S. Congress on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons. This Report is the fifth annual TIP Report.

This Report is intended to raise global awareness and spur foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons — a form of modern day slavery. The Report has increasingly focused the efforts of a growing community of nations to share information and to partner in new and important ways to fight human trafficking. A country that fails to take significant actions to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking in persons receives a negative "Tier 3" assessment in this Report. Such an assessment could trigger the withholding of non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance from the United States to that country.

In assessing foreign governments’ efforts, the TIP Report highlights the "three P’s" — prosecution, protection, and prevention. But a victim-centered approach to trafficking requires us equally to address the "three R’s" — rescue, rehabilitation, and reintegration. The law that guides these efforts, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA), makes clear from its first sentence that the purpose of combating human trafficking is to ensure just and effective punishment of traffickers, to protect their victims, and to prevent trafficking

Source: US State Dept.