WASHINGTON — Trump administration actions that have been taken and are in prospect will leave a devastating effect on international efforts to curb what former British Prime Minister Theresa May declared “a moral stain on our humanity.”
“Modern slavery and human trafficking is indeed the greatest human rights issue of our time,” she added.
More than 50 million people are victims of slavery and human trafficking, succumbing to criminal networks that are working with corrupt public officials in many countries. The total number of victims is likely to rise in the immediate period ahead.
United States Secretary of State Marco Rubio is sharply reducing the overall size of his department and taking the sharpest aim of all at the offices dealing with humanitarian issues, with far-reaching cuts imminent. At the same time, under Rubio’s direction, most of the humanitarian programs and projects pursued by USAID are being permanently closed.
With the Trump administration curbing its commitment to Europe’s security, the governments of France and Britain — and no doubt others in the near future — are moving funds from aid to defense budgets, so humanitarian programs will suffer.
Against this dire outlook, two determined women are striving to make a positive difference. The most recent steps by the US and others make these women even more compelling in their work to wake up the world to the enormity of slavery and human trafficking.
These leaders, one a former prime minister and the other a former head of a prominent modeling agency, approach the issues from two ends of the spectrum. Baroness Theresa May of Maidenhead, the former British prime minister, is striving to alert the world as she chairs and guides the Global Commission on Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking. Katie Ford, the former head of Ford Models, is the founder and chief executive officer of Freedom for All, which seeks to help enslaved women to find security, one case at a time.
The shocking conclusion of a vital new report by the Global Commission, “No Country Is Immune: Working Together to End Modern Slavery and Human Trafficking,” is that the overall fight is being lost. It states: “Systems of slavery are embedding themselves more deeply into global supply chains, into regions facing humanitarian crises, into refugee and migrant flows, as well as into areas most affected by the climate crisis. Collectively, we are failing.”
A host of UN entities — such as the International Labor Organization, Unicef, the Refugee Agency, the Development Program, Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights, Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs and the Interagency Coordination Group Against Trafficking in Persons — have long worked to counter slavery and human trafficking. Yet, their efforts are not only insufficient, but US funding for these agencies is also likely to be cut drastically soon.
While the largest number of enslaved people are located in Asia, totaling as many as 30 million, the problem is truly global, with millions of victims being forced into prostitution in many countries, including the developed democratic countries of the north and the richest countries of the Mideast.
No discussion of this humanitarian catastrophe can ignore the roles of international organized crime and its willingness to bribe and corrupt public officials, both at national governments who turn a blind eye to their illicit operations and to the officials at national borders who allow people to be involuntarily moved from one country to the next. Here, too, the Trump administration is compounding the problem by curtailing investigations into corruption and money laundering.
My pessimism on the prospects for curbing slavery is tempered by the extraordinary work being done by May as well by many civil society, voluntary groups in numerous countries. Freedom for All is one such organization. Ford’s group states that “these programs create long-term systemic change and provide pathways to better lives. In the past 10 years, we and our partners helped more than 21,775 women, men and children walk the path to freedom.”
Freedom for All, based in New York City, works with partners in Brazil, Cameroon, Ghana and India. The organization works case by case, individual by individual, seeking to save lives. It can be intensely challenging. There are situations, as Ford once told me, where women have been rescued from slavery in the homes of wealthy families in the Mideast and returned to their home country in West Africa, only to end up being retrafficked because of the lack of basic security and economic opportunities.
May’s new report is essential reading. So, too, is support for Freedom for All and charitable organizations like it.
This is an opinion essay.
We welcome your comments on this article. What are your thoughts on efforts to stop human trafficking?
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Frank Vogl is a co-founder and a former vice chair of Transparency International as well as a co-founder and ex-chair of the Partnership for Transparency Fund. Currently, he is an adjunct professor at Georgetown University. His most recent book is “The Enablers: How the West Supports Kleptocrats and Corruption — Endangering Our Democracy.” www.frankvogl.com
The Committee to Stop Trafficking in Persons, (CSTIP) has been working to prevent human trafficking by embarking on campaigns to bankrupt the business by raising awareness within the United Nations and local engagement. Traffickers are estimated to be earning $236billion in illicit profiteering and affecting 27.6million individuals as indicated by the ILO, IOM and other UN agencies. Financial institutions receive those monies as they are laundered on their journey. With the assistance of AI and other techniques, financial institutions are in unique position to aid in the detection of illicit profits and thereby identify sources, similar to what Santander Bank and ThetaRay did. Working together with law enforcement, arrest and conviction rates can be expanded. NGOs and the media can amplify the messages regarding corruption and impunity, which go hand in hand to enable human trafficking and puts pressure on government institutions. These efforts in North Dakota enabled the ND Speaker of the Senate to be arrested and plead guilty to engaging in illicit sexual contact with minors (which fits the universal definition of human trafficking). Lastly, the UN now has coding that describes various aspects of human trafficking. CSTIP’s 4 point plan to prevent human trafficking is:
Financial detection
End impunity
End demand
Measure & display results
Thank you Frank for this very important challenge facing humanity, I fully understand the gravity of the situation after some decisions were taken to suspend/end International AID which exacerbates issues facing the most vulnerable of us. I would just wish to think that the solution has to come from global solidarity and shared responsibility because now is the time to change the way of thinking and doing things for more impact and results. Let us use your example and bring the UN agencies (UNODC, ILO, WHO, UNICEF, UNHCR, UNWOMEN, UNFPA), countries affected like India, Nigeria, Ghana, Dominican Republic, Brazil, Thailand and Haiti and countries affecting in the Middle-East to act together and to address this very challenging issue together, I am certain we will achieve sustained results.