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30–141PDF 2006

ENHANCING THE GLOBAL FIGHT TO END HUMAN

TRAFFICKING

BRIEFING AND HEARING

BEFORE THE

COMMITTEE ON 

INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

ONE HUNDRED NINTH CONGRESS

SECOND SESSION

SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

Serial No. 109–232

Printed for the use of the Committee on International Relations

(

Available via the World Wide Web: http://www.internationalrelations.house.gov/
(II)

COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS 

HENRY J. HYDE, Illinois, Chairman 

JAMES A. LEACH, Iowa 

CHRISTOPHER H. SMITH, New Jersey, 

Vice Chairman 

DAN BURTON, Indiana 

ELTON GALLEGLY, California 

ILEANA ROS-LEHTINEN, Florida 

DANA ROHRABACHER, California 

EDWARD R. ROYCE, California 

PETER T. KING, New York 

STEVE CHABOT, Ohio 

THOMAS G. TANCREDO, Colorado 

RON PAUL, Texas 

DARRELL ISSA, California 

JEFF FLAKE, Arizona 

JO ANN DAVIS, Virginia 

MARK GREEN, Wisconsin 

JERRY WELLER, Illinois 

MIKE PENCE, Indiana 

THADDEUS G. MCCOTTER, Michigan 

KATHERINE HARRIS, Florida 

JOE WILSON, South Carolina 

JOHN BOOZMAN, Arkansas 

J. GRESHAM BARRETT, South Carolina 

CONNIE MACK, Florida 

JEFF FORTENBERRY, Nebraska 

MICHAEL MCCAUL, Texas 

TED POE, Texas 

TOM LANTOS, California 

HOWARD L. BERMAN, California 

GARY L. ACKERMAN, New York 

ENI F.H. FALEOMAVAEGA, American 

Samoa 

DONALD M. PAYNE, New Jersey 

SHERROD BROWN, Ohio 

BRAD SHERMAN, California 

ROBERT WEXLER, Florida 

ELIOT L. ENGEL, New York 

WILLIAM D. DELAHUNT, Massachusetts 

GREGORY W. MEEKS, New York 

BARBARA LEE, California 

JOSEPH CROWLEY, New York 

EARL BLUMENAUER, Oregon 

SHELLEY BERKLEY, Nevada 

GRACE F. NAPOLITANO, California 

ADAM B. SCHIFF, California 

DIANE E. WATSON, California 

ADAM SMITH, Washington 

BETTY MCCOLLUM, Minnesota 

BEN CHANDLER, Kentucky 

DENNIS A. CARDOZA, California 

RUSS CARNAHAN, Missouri 

THOMAS E. MOONEY, SR., Staff Director/General Counsel 

ROBERT R. KING, Democratic Staff Director 

LINDSEY M. PLUMLEY, Staff Associate 
(III)

C O N T E N T S 

Page

BRIEFER 

Mr. Ricky Martin, Goodwill Ambassador, UNICEF, and President, The Ricky 

Martin Foundation ............................................................................................... 7

WITNESSES 

The Honorable John Miller, Director, The Office to Combat Trafficking in 

Persons, U.S. Department of State ..................................................................... 24

Wade F. Horn, Ph.D., Assistant Secretary for Children and Families, U.S. 

Department of Health and Human Services ...................................................... 28

LETTERS, STATEMENTS, ETC., SUBMITTED FOR THE HEARING 

Mr. Ricky Martin: Prepared statement ................................................................. 9

The Honorable John Miller: Prepared statement ................................................. 27

Wade F. Horn, Ph.D.: Prepared statement ............................................................ 30

(1)

ENHANCING THE GLOBAL FIGHT TO END 

HUMAN TRAFFICKING 

TUESDAY, SEPTEMBER 26, 2006

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, COMMITTEE ON INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS, Washington, DC. 

The Committee met, pursuant to notice, at 9:30 a.m., in room 

2172, Rayburn House Office Building, Hon. Christopher H. Smith 

(Vice Chairman of the Committee) presiding. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY [presiding]. The hearing will come to 

order and good morning everybody. I am pleased to convene this 

briefing and hearing of the Full Committee of the House International Relations Committee to examine means to enhance the 

global fight to end human trafficking. 

When I held the first hearing on human trafficking as Chairman 

of the Subcommittee on International Operations and Human 

Rights back in 1999, only a handful of countries had laws explicitly 

prohibiting the practice of human trafficking. Individuals who engaged in this exploitation did so without fear of legal repercussions. 

Victims of trafficking were treated as criminals and illegal immigrants and had no access to assistance to escape the slavery-like 

conditions in which they were trapped. Few seemed to be even 

aware that this modern form of slavery was taking place and even 

some of those who did failed to recognize it as a violation of fundamental human rights. 

However, the situation has changed markedly over the past 6 

years. Significant credit for improvements must be attributed to 

the enactment of the Bipartisan Trafficking Victims Protection Act 

of 2000, together with the two reauthorizations of that act in 2003 

and 2005, all of which I sponsored. These three laws created a comprehensive framework for combating trafficking in persons abroad 

as well as the trafficking of American girls and young women within the United States. These three laws are superb examples of 

what we can accomplish when we work in a bipartisan way. So I 

again, I want to thank Tom Lantos for his extraordinary partnership in crafting these pieces of legislation as well as that of Chairman Hyde. This is the result of a great deal of collaboration and 

bipartisanship. As a result of these three laws, our Government 

has been a leader in addressing this serious human rights violation 

and encouraging other governments to do the same. 

Just this past weekend I experienced the impact of our collective 

leadership during a trip to Iraq. Millions of people who lack job opportunities are misled by ads for well paying jobs and leave their 

countries for what is presented to them to be the chance of a life-
2

time. Last year, the Chicago Tribune did a series of articles detailing the practice by employment brokers and subcontractors to bring 

laborers into Iraq through fraud or coercion. The seizure of the 

workers’ passports and recruitment fees made it difficult for them 

to escape employment in a war zone. After the State Department 

trafficking report confirmed this practice, our Subcommittee held a 

hearing in which Colonel Robert Boyles testified that the military 

had issued an order that all contracts include a clause allowing the 

worker to quit his or his job without penalty, prohibits the use of 

unlicensed employment brokers, and ends the practice of confiscating workers’ passports. 

With the compliance inspections set to begin this month, one of 

the major objectives of my visit to Iraq was to ensure that the 

order on labor trafficking would be enforced. Major General Bruce 

Moore, Chief of Staff of our military in Iraq, assured me that compliance was being checked on this. As of the time of our Subcommittee hearing, 90 percent of the contracts had been modified, 

and the military is ensuring that the other 10 percent would be 

modified and that implementation of the order will be complete. 

Also, on my trip this weekend I spoke with State Department officials about trafficking in Kuwait and Germany. According to reports earlier this year, more than 40 Indian youth have been 

stranded in Kuwait where their passports had been confiscated by 

unscrupulous job brokers and had been penalized by Kuwaiti police. State Department officials told me that they have launched an 

aggressive program entitled FALCON for Fostering Awareness of 

Labor Conditions to let foreign workers know their rights. In Germany, State Department officials described efforts to discourage 

patronage of brothels during the World Cup in which women and 

girls were coerced into prosecution. Efforts were especially concentrated on ensuring that the U.S. military did not patronize such 

establishments. Since the end of the World Cup, the United States 

has continued to work with the German Government to ensure that 

coerced prostitution is ended to the extent possible and facilities 

are established to help prostitutes who want to escape that degrading lifestyle. 

One of the key components of the 2000 act is the requirement 

that the Secretary of State provide Congress with a list of those 

countries whose governments are not fully complying with minimum standards to eliminate trafficking and are not making significant efforts to do so. These countries, designated as ‘‘Tier 3,’’ 

may be subject to certain sanctions, including the withholding of 

non-humanitarian, non-trade-related assistance. These sanctions 

could be waived if the government makes significant efforts to comply with the minimum standards or pursuant to a determination 

by the President that the provision of assistance would promote the 

purposes of the law or is otherwise in the national interest of the 

U.S. The President is to submit a notification to Congress no later 

than 90 days from the submission of the annual report as to the 

determination made for each tier 3 country. I have received numerous reports from our Government representatives and nongovernmental organizations as to how the implementation of this tier 

ranking and the consequent threat or imposition of sanctions has 
3

dramatically impacted the trafficking practices in relevant countries. 

The determinations for 2006 were due on September 1st, and it 

was the intention of this Committee to examine those determinations at this hearing. It is therefore deeply disappointing that the 

determinations still have not been provided by the President 3 

weeks later. This raises grave concerns that will need to be examined later in the hearing, including whether the Administration is 

giving due priority to its stated commitment to combat human trafficking. This delay past the legislative mandate sends the wrong 

message to these tier 3 countries as to the urgency with which this 

serious human rights violation needs to be addressed. 

We will, however, have the opportunity to inquire about the implementation of the Department of Health and Human Services Assistance Program as mandated by the 2000 act. The purpose of 

such programs is to expand benefits and services to trafficking victims in the United States without regard to the victim’s immigration status. Unfortunately, evidence of the need of such assistance 

within our own country is growing. Just this month it was reported 

that a woman from my own State of New Jersey pled guilty to 

being part of a smuggling ring that brought in more than 20 young 

women and teenagers from Honduras to work in a bar. These 

women were virtually imprisoned in apartments and are alleged to 

have been beaten, raped, and subjected to forced abortions. 

Such horrific stories make us all too aware that this modern 

form of slavery has silently infiltrated and poisoned the fabric not 

only of the United States but of virtually every society around the 

word. It is extremely important that this awareness be amplified, 

so that public outrage will further motivate those of us in government, shame those who are creating demand for trafficking victims, 

and ultimately stop those responsible for perpetrating these gross 

human rights violations. 

We are privileged to have with us today a prominent public figure who is using his extraordinary position on the world stage to 

publicize the reality and prevalence of human trafficking. Not only 

has Ricky Martin given his time and talents to promote the cause 

as a Goodwill Ambassador for the United Nations Children’s Fund, 

but he has also established a foundation that is engaged in numerous activities on behalf of trafficking victims and especially children. As just one indication of his personal commitment to the 

most vulnerable among us, he visited the affected areas in Thailand following the 2004 tsunami. In 2005, he entered into a partnership with Habitat for Humanity to construct over 220 homes for 

shelter and safety, particularly for those children orphaned by the 

disaster. 

It is a very high privilege to have him here but before going to 

him, I would like to yield to our good friend and colleague, Mr. 

Lantos, who is a passionate defender of human rights, especially 

when it comes to human trafficking. 

Mr. LANTOS. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to add my warm 

welcome to Ricky to yours. We are truly delighted to have you, and 

your presence I hope will inspire other celebrities to engage in a 

group cause. Not too long ago we had Bono, who has done such incredible work on behalf of fighting AIDS, particularly in Africa, and 
4

we have had a whole series of celebrities, and every time we welcome them because we need them to achieve our work. But we 

have someone among our own Members who deserves extraordinary recognition. That is my friend Chris Smith. While many of 

us have been working in the field of trafficking, fighting this monstrous practice, no one has had the passion and the commitment 

and the determination that my friend Chris Smith has had, and I 

am delighted publicly to pay tribute to you, Chris. 

There is one other comment I would like to make, Ambassador 

Martin, if I may, before we turn to you. Nothing is more popular 

these days than bashing the United States, and the anti-Americanism has reached an all time high globally, and when one examines all of the issues one finds an almost epidemic quality to this 

hate or dislike or disparagement of the United States. 

Now clearly we have made many mistakes as the one remaining 

superpower on the face of this planet which has to be engaged on 

all issues. It is self-evident. We make mistakes. And for every mistake our opponents can cite you, I can cite two because I look at 

things from the inside and I see the mistakes we have made. But 

let me say with all of the emphasis at my command that whether 

it is human trafficking, fighting hunger, combating the AIDS epidemic, dealing with natural disasters like the tsunami, the United 

States is invariably in the forefront of fighting these problems 

which inflict humanity. And it is in this context that I want to welcome you to our Committee. 

The subject of trafficking, particularly as it relates to young people, to children, to young women, to girls, is a nightmare for all of 

us and your willingness to put your celebrity achievements, resources on behalf of the movement to fight this is truly moving. So 

may I, on behalf of the Democratic side of the International Relations Committee, welcome you to our hearing. We are anxious and 

eager to listen to you and you will find that we are committed affiliates in this cause which you have undertaken. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you, Mr. Lantos. Chairwoman 

Ileana Ros-Lehtinen. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you so much, Mr. Chairman. I am 

proud to join Congressman Lantos in the positive statements that 

he has made about your leadership efforts throughout the years, 

Mr. Smith, on human trafficking. Thank you so much. 

And Congressman, Puerto Rico may claim Ricky Martin as their 

hometown boy. I would like to say that south Florida also has an 

equal claim and he is a constituent of my congressional district. 

Bienvenido, Ricky, tu my casa. 

The element of human trafficking is one of significant importance, and it is imperative that our country affirm its unfaltering 

stance on this heinous subject. Human trafficking is an immoral 

business of oppression and a sickening practice. The abuse of the 

world’s most defenseless and vulnerable citizens for revenue and 

personnelpersonal benefits is unconscionable. 

We are currently seeing examples of human trafficking in dozens 

of countries, with Iran, Syria and Uzbekistan by our State Department listed as among the worst examples. In Iran, women and 

young girls are trafficked for purposes of sexual exploitation and 

involuntary servitude. 
5

Boys from Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan are used 

through Iran and other states where they are ultimately forced to 

work as camel jockeys, beggars or laborers. 

Syria is a destination country for women in Southeast Asia, Eastern Europe, Africa and Iraq for sexual exploitation and domestic 

slavery. Women from Indonesia, Sri Lanka and other countries are 

recruited for work in Syria as domestic servants, but some face 

horrendous conditions and involuntary enslavement, including unreasonably long hours, nonpayment of wages, withholding of passports and other restrictions. 

Uzbekistan is a source country and to a lesser extent a transit 

country for children who are trafficked through the United Arab 

Emirates, Israel, India and others for the purpose of sexual exploitation. Women from other central Asian countries in China are 

trafficked through Uzbekistan. Men are trafficked for the purposes 

of forced labor in the countries’ agricultural industry. 

In our own hemisphere Venezuela, for example, is a source of 

transit and destination country for women and children who are 

used for the purpose of sexual mistreatment and forced labors. 

Venezuela is also a transit country for illegal immigrants from 

other countries in the region, particularly Peru and Columbia. My 

home country of Cuba has sadly been promoted as a destination 

spot for sexual tourism exploiting underage girls. 

Some nations, such as Bahrain and Oman are on the State Department tier 2 watch list. In the aftermath of the trade agreements with these two nations it is imperative that we leverage our 

expanding relationship to secure commitments from these governments to strengthen their efforts to fight trafficking and to enhance 

their capacity to protect the victims, hold the perpetrator accountable and enact laws that will deter and prevent this abhorrent 

practice. 

The stories coming from regions throughout the world are horrifying. These crimes against humanity must be taken seriously. We 

must work both bilaterally and through international forums to 

bring more attention to this sickening practice and commit to its 

eradication, and that is why I congratulate Ambassador Martin for 

his leadership efforts in this terrible practice. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. 

Mr. Poe. 

Mr. POE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I want to thank you for 

holding this vital hearing on the methods to combat human trafficking. Innocent women and children are being kidnapped, coerced, lured or sold into sexual slavery and forced labor throughout 

the world. This has become the world’s dirty little secret. 

As Co-Chair of the Congressional Victims Right Caucus and a 

former criminal court judge in Texas, I am aware of the issue of 

these young women being violently and brutally victimized through 

the evils of human trafficking. These victims are taken into countries where they don’t speak the language. They have no family. 

They don’t know the customs and have no idea where they can 

turn to for help and many times they can’t turn anywhere for help. 

They are physically and mentally threatened and beaten or raped 
6

to intimidate into performing their services and their refusals will 

result in their death or physical harm. 

There are many countries that have made tremendous efforts in 

combating human trafficking around the world and these countries 

are to be commended and encouraged to continue these efforts. 

However, there are some countries which refuse to acknowledge 

the problem of human trafficking and fail to seek efforts to combat 

it and continue to encourage those who seek profit for the sale of 

people, women and children. 

These indecencies and vulgarities of human trafficking and the 

effects on innocent victims demand that people throughout the 

world, especially in the United States, continue to tirelessly work 

toward ending this dirty little secret. 

I look forward to hearing from the witnesses about this issue. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Poe, thank you very much. I 

would like to now introduce Luis Fortuno, who is the elected Representative from Puerto Rico. He is now serving 2 years of his 4-

year term. I would note he is the first Republican to represent 

Puerto Rico. He is the former Secretary of Development for Puerto 

Rico, a good friend and a very distinguished colleague for the purpose of introducing our friend, Mr. Martin. 

Mr. FORTUNO. Thank you. Let me begin by thanking you, Chairman Smith and Ranking Member Tom Lantos, for granting me the 

honor and opportunity to participate in this very important hearing 

and, more importantly, for your steadfast leadership in promoting 

the eradication of human trafficking. I am honored by the invitation. I look forward to working with you and your colleagues in the 

Committee as we continue to examine ways in which both the government and the private sectors can work together to bring an end 

to these terrible crimes. 

It also gives me great pride to welcome a person who is without 

a doubt one of my most distinguished, accomplished and certainly 

famous constituents, Mr. Ricky Martin. Given Mr. Martin’s commitment to this and other causes, he is not only our Ambassador, 

he is a constituent of the world. Mr. Martin needs no introduction. 

A Grammy Award winning recording artist and President of the 

Ricky Martin Foundation, his fame precedes him not only in the 

entertainment business but also in the international community as 

a whole. His tireless work both at home and abroad on behalf of 

our most vulnerable population has been acknowledged and praised 

by numerous world leaders. 

Last year, he received the International Humanitarian Award 

from the International Center for Missing and Exploited Children 

in recognition for his efforts in assisting the youngest victims of exploitation. 

I want to take this opportunity to thank Mr. Martin, or Ricky, 

as we all call him, for his dedication and tireless effort in making 

our Nation and our world a better place for all of our fellow men 

and women. Once again, welcome to the People’s House. I look forward to your testimony as well as that of the other distinguished 

witnesses. And again, I thank you, Mr. Chairman and Mr. Lantos, 

who allowing me to partake in today’s hearing and allow me to join 

you all in the dais. Thank you very much. 
7

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ambassador Martin. 

STATEMENT OF MR. RICKY MARTIN, GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, 

UNICEF, AND PRESIDENT, THE RICKY MARTIN FOUNDATION 

Ambassador MARTIN. Oh. Sound check. 

Thank you very much, Chairman Smith, and Members of this 

Committee. I am here today, as we know, to raise awareness on an 

urgent problem and confront the market of human trafficking. Our 

enemy is rich. Human trafficking generates anywhere from $12 billion to $32 billion around the world every year, and is surpassed 

only by the trafficking of drugs and arms. 

Ladies and gentlemen, unfortunately we are still without a global commitment to end this atrocity. My name is Ricky Martin, 

Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF and President of the Ricky Martin Foundation, and I appreciate the opportunity to testify today on 

an issue that is very, very important to me. 

My commitment and passion for this issue was born from a very 

humbling experience. In the year 2002 when I traveled to Calcutta, 

India, I met three little girls that were living on the streets, maybe 

days away from being sold into prostitution, trembling beneath 

plastic bags. I knew then I had to do something. Ladies and gentlemen, something has to be done. 

At a time when children should be learning to read and write, 

they are forced into the world of trafficking. Public safety mechanisms designed to protect are paid to look the other way or, even 

worse, to cooperate in this criminal activity. 

Child trafficking is a global nightmare. It is a modern day form 

of slavery and, unfortunately, few people understand its magnitude. The facts, however, speak for themselves. Each year 2 million people are victims of human trafficking. Of those, 1 million 

children are forced into the sex trade each year. Every country on 

this planet is entangled in the child trafficking web as a source, a 

destination, or a transit point. 

Traffickers have many different faces. They are members of sophisticated networks of organized crime, but I mean organized 

crime. They are family members, they are friends of the victims, 

and very often they are former victims of trafficking themselves. 

The effects of trafficking can be found on every continent. Let me 

be specific. For example, in Mexico City more than 5,000 children 

are involved in prostitution, pornography and sex tourism. In Thailand, there are about 200,000 children involved in the sex trade 

and 86 percent of the patrons are local. In Africa, 200,000 boys and 

girls are trafficked and forced to work on plantations, mines, fishing boats and brothels each year. 

In Brazil, 500,000 children are prostitutes. And in the United 

States of America, 350,000 children are engaged in the sex trade, 

according to the University of Pennsylvania. As a public figure, I 

understand that if used strategically my foundation can influence 

the discussion. I am here today not only to explain what I have 

witnessed, but also to encourage the Congress of the United States 

of America to take action. 

The stories that I would like to share with you today are stories 

of children that are facing real exploitation. For example, I had the 

opportunity to spend the last several days here in Washington, DC, 
8

with people that are doing an outstanding job, doing beautiful work 

at a grass roots level and I heard amazing stories. I mean, not 

amazing, excuse me, horrible stories about this issue. Like the 

story of a 12-year-old boy from El Salvador who was sold to traffickers and smuggled into Arizona. He was kept with other children in a small room for weeks and sexually exploited. He and 

other children were used as drug mules. 

During his time in this country he witnessed the decapitation of 

one friend when she resisted being raped by the traffickers and the 

death of another child when he was trying to escape. 

This story, however, has a better ending than most. This child 

is a survivor. He is still alive. He lives Florida. He lives in a mental hospital. He is only 14 years old. 

When we listen to the story, I mean if we have a soul, we have 

to feel the pain but sometimes we also feel the hopelessness. But 

in face of hopelessness action can bring hope. 

There are steps to take to work on this commitment. First of all, 

we must prevent exploitation by educating children and families 

about the dangers of human trafficking. Step two, we must protect 

the victims by providing resources to reintegrate and rehabilitate. 

And number three, we must prosecute and punish those who make 

a living out of this illegal activity from traffickers to consumers. 

I commend Congressman Smith and Congressman Lantos and 

the Members of this Committee for their outstanding efforts 

through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its reauthorization in 2002 and 2005, and I commend the State Department for publishing the Trafficking in Persons Report for the last 

6 years. That is fantastic. It really is. It really helps us. 

But still I believe there is a lot that needs to be done. At a global 

level, I believe we must call for standards on birth certificates. 

Without documentation these children are invisible. Ladies and 

gentlemen, unfortunately half of the children that are born today, 

they are not going to be registered. That is the best thing that 

could happen to a trafficker. A child without documentation doesn’t 

exist, is invisible. This has to change. 

There are countries in this world where a child becomes an adult 

at the age of 12. That doesn’t make sense to me. I think it is very 

important to create a standard, a universal standard where a child 

becomes an adult at the age of 18 minimum. And number three, 

I believe it is very important that the United States join forces 

with the rest of the world to ratify the convention of rights of the 

child in cases like this. Like in many others, the United States 

should be first, not last. 

At a Federal level, I beg the Congress to take action on establishing a Division on Child Trafficking. Number two, expanding 

Federal funding initiatives to prevent child exploitation on the 

Internet. The Internet is really good because we can educate, but 

at the same time pedophiles go in there and they enter your house 

without permission. And number three, increasing the funding for 

anti-trafficking assistance to foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations. 

You have my foundation and my commitment to continue to work 

with the United Nations and the State Department to call for the 

eradication of trafficking. My foundation will continue to work with 
9

the Inter-American Development Bank and International Organization for Migration to distribute to some Call and Live! PSA campaign to increase awareness on this issue. And we will continue to 

strengthen the lines with UNICEF, EPCAT, End Child Prostitution 

in Asian Tourism, and Save the Children due to the excellent work 

they are doing. They really are doing a fantastic job. Until we as 

a world community acknowledge this is a real problem, we will 

never effectively eliminate it. Let us begin to fight—let us begin to 

fight this battle with real policy change and action. Let us work together to create a world in which the basic rights of all individuals 

are respected and our own children can live in a safe environment. 

Ladies and gentlemen, are the children our future? No, they are 

not. They are our present. Human trafficking has no place in our 

world today. It is time to react, ladies and gentlemen. 

Thank you very much. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Martin follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF MR. RICKY MARTIN, GOODWILL AMBASSADOR, UNICEF, 

AND PRESIDENT, THE RICKY MARTIN FOUNDATION

Thank you, Chairman Smith, and members of the Committee. 

I am here today to raise awareness on an urgent problem and confront the market 

of human trafficking. Our enemy is rich—human trafficking generates anywhere 

from $12 to $32 billion annually, surpassed only by the trafficking of arms and 

drugs. Yet we are without a global commitment to fight and end this scourge. I hope 

today is the beginning of a new offensive on this blight. 

My name is Ricky Martin, Goodwill Ambassador to UNICEF, and President of the 

Ricky Martin Foundation. I appreciate the opportunity to testify today on ‘‘Enhancing the Global Fight to End Human Trafficking,’’ an issue that is very important 

to me. 

My commitment and passion for this issue was born from a humbling moment. 

In 2002, when traveling in Calcutta, I met three little girls. They were living on 

the street, maybe days away from being sold into prostitution, trembling beneath 

plastic bags. I knew then that I had to do something about it. I could not turn away. 

That was four years ago. It has been a long journey from Calcutta to Washington, 

from meeting three victims of child trafficking to testifying in front of the United 

States Congress. The common theme is we must raise awareness and take action 

to end human trafficking. 

My interest and commitment on this issue didn’t start yesterday. It began three 

years ago when we launched People for Children—the flagship program of the Ricky 

Martin Foundation, a non-profit organization whose mission is to advocate for children’s rights and provide well-being in three crucial areas: social justice, education 

and health. The Ricky Martin Foundation, established in Puerto Rico in 2000, was 

created to be a vehicle to enforce children’s rights in partnership with other organizations, socially responsible corporations and committed citizens. I needed to tell the 

story of those who cannot tell their own. 

Child trafficking is a global nightmare. It is the modern day form of slavery. Despite the nature of child trafficking, few people understand the scope of the tragedy. 

The facts, however, speak for themselves:

• Each year 2 million people are victims of human trafficking.

• Of those, UNICEF estimates 1.2 million children are trafficked each year.

• Every country on this planet is entangled in the child trafficking web, either 

as a source, a destination, or a transit point.

At a time when children should be learning to read and write, they are forced to 

enter the world of trafficking. Public safety mechanisms, designed to protect, are 

paid to look the other way or, worse, to cooperate in this criminal activity. 

Traffickers have many different faces. They are members of highly sophisticated 

networks of organized crime; they are family members; they are friends of the victims; and often, they are former victims of trafficking themselves. 

But despite the serious and widespread nature of child trafficking, few people understand the magnitude of the tragedy. The effects of trafficking can be found on 

every continent:
10

• In Mexico, an estimated 5,000 children are involved in prostitution, pornography and sex tourism.

• In Thailand, there are about 200,000 children involved in its sex trade, and 

86% of the patrons are local.

• In Africa, 200,000 boys and girls are trafficked and forced to work on plantations, mines, fishing boats, and brothels each year.

• In Brazil, about half a million children work as prostitutes. Many of them are 

trafficked to the gold mines of the Amazon.

• And in the United States 50,000 women and children are trafficked from no 

fewer than 49 countries every year.

We must also recognize that human trafficking does not happen in isolation, but 

rather that its roots lie in poverty and hopelessness. Supporting the children and 

families at risk of being exploited by traffickers will help them avoid exploitation. 

I commend Congressman Smith, Congressman Lantos, members of this Committee, and the United States government for their efforts to combat child trafficking through the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and its reauthorization in 2002 and 2005. This landmark anti-trafficking law addresses the prevention 

of trafficking, the protection and assistance of victims of trafficking, and the prosecution and punishment of traffickers. Over 100 countries have also passed antitrafficking laws. 

I commend the U.S. State Department-issued Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report, 

which provides information about trafficking and puts countries with doubtful commitment to ending human trafficking on notice. And I thank the US government 

for the $375 million in anti-trafficking assistance to foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations you have provided since 2001 to help abolish human 

trafficking. 

As a public figure, I understand that—if used correctly and strategically—I could 

use my position and my foundation to influence the discussion at this time. The opportunity to testify before this committee today is a privilege but, more importantly, 

I hope it will trigger action to end this human suffering. 

I am committed to continue to work with the United Nations and the State Department to call for strong, strong commitments to eradicate trafficking. I will continue to work with the Inter-American Development Bank and International Organization for Migration to develop and distribute the Call and Live! PSA’s to increase 

awareness of this issue. I will continue to encourage organizations such as ECPAT 

(End Child Prostitution in Asian Tourism), Save the Children and UNICEF to keep 

up the excellent work they do at assisting victims and providing services to them. 

I am here today not only to explain what I have witnessed, but to motivate this 

Congress to action. The stories I share with you are stories of real children facing 

real exploitation. 

When I met the little girls in India, they had no idea what their life could have 

become. Today they live in a beautiful shelter in Calcutta with another 167 girls 

that have been rescued from the streets. They are studying, going to school, learning 

music—being children. There is hope that if we act, children will not be lost into 

the world of modern day slavery. In the face of hopelessness, action can bring hope. 

I come before you today to urge action. 

Our action steps must start with basic commitments.

1. We must enforce the laws against human trafficking by providing children 

and their families with the opportunity to live safely and peacefully.

2. We must educate children and families about the dangers of trafficking.

3. We must provide resources and services to reintegrate and rehabilitate victims of these practices.

4. We must prosecute and punish the traffickers.

The common slogan, ‘‘Think Globally—Act Locally,’’ is an appropriate starting 

point for outlining effective action against human trafficking and the exploitation 

of children. 

Thinking globally, we must call for international standards on birth certificates. 

This simple act of registering every child is vital for the protection of their safety 

and rights. According to UNICEF, 50 million children are not registered at birth. 

Without documentation of their existence these children are invisible, and all other 

mechanisms of support, safety, and human rights cannot be successful. 

An international standard to universally define a child as 18 years of age or 

younger is a necessary and important component of uniting international law and 

developing more effective international interventions. 

To act locally, I would recommend that Congress take action to:
11

• Expand federally funded initiatives for Internet crimes against children

• Establish a division on child trafficking in the TIP report

• Increase the funding for anti-trafficking assistance to foreign governments 

and nongovernmental organizations.

Lastly, the people of the United States can demonstrate a commitment on this 

issue by calling for the US government to ratify the Charter of the Convention of 

Rights of the Child. This is a cornerstone of human rights. The United States is one 

of only two countries (Somalia being the other) yet to ratify this charter. On matters 

such as this, the United States should be the first, not the last. 

Until we as a world community acknowledge this is a real problem, we will never 

effectively eliminate it. Let us begin to fight this battle with real policy change and 

real action. Let us work together to create a world in which the basic rights of all 

individuals are respected, and our children can be safe and live without fear. 

Human trafficking has no place in our world today. 

React. It’s time. 

Thank you.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ambassador Martin, thank you very 

much for that passionate and eloquent statement and, more importantly, for the extraordinary work you do on behalf of children 

around the world. 

Just a few questions and then I will yield to my colleagues for 

any questions that they might have. 

Could you tell us which programs the Ricky Martin Foundation 

find to be most effective? Your ‘‘Call and Live!’’ program—could you 

elaborate on that if you would? Your Web site describes a partnership with Microsoft to protect children from exploitation through 

the Internet, which you referenced a bit in your testimony, maybe 

perhaps you could elaborate on that as well. Finally, you were 

quoted as telling Ambassadors to the United States that governments need to declare war on tourists who sexually exploit children 

around the world. I am wondering what the reaction was when you 

made those statements and whether or not the United Nations has 

responded to its own Goodwill Ambassador the way they ought to? 

Ambassador MARTIN. First of all, Mr. Smith, I believe that we 

need to join forces. We can’t do it alone. So of course I believe in 

alliances like, for example, Microsoft, with the help of Microsoft in 

the region of Latin America. Well, we have to start somewhere. 

That is where I am from, and with Microsoft we have been able to 

educate children, teachers and parents about the good things about 

the Internet and the bad things about the Internet. For example, 

going into another alliance that we created, with the Inter-American Development Bank we created PSA’s Call and Live. Well, it 

says it all. You call and you live. We created a 1–800 number all 

through the region 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. People will call 

when they are being trafficked, when they believe they are being 

trafficked or when they witness a case, and that moment you will 

be safe. With this campaign that was launched in March, we have 

been able to save already 10 lives. So it is very effective. 

Repetition. Education. Without education is like being blind. So 

that is pretty much what the Ricky Martin Foundation and its 

project, People for Children, has done since it was launched and I 

think it has been really effective. I went to the United Nations, like 

you say, and it is very difficult. Sometimes very frustrating, but I 

am not here to subtract. I am here to add. And I believe that the 

way, for example, the people of the media they come to me, they 

want to be informed, they want to know what is really going on. 
12

And when I have a fantastic platform to send this message like the 

United Nations, I really have nothing bad to say about that opportunity. So it was very important for me to be there, and I will do 

it again. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Do you sense that MTV and VH1 

and the other channels, BET, has shown any interest in carrying 

PSAs of the sort that you are doing in Latin America? 

Ambassador MARTIN. Yes, they are. They are, but more needs to 

be done. Music helps us to reach the children, to reach young people, and I believe that if MTV says I am here ready to fight this 

battle, that would be a big stand-up occasion. We need action. We 

need action. Let us not talk. Let us do what we need to do. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. 

Mr. Lantos. 

Mr. LANTOS. Well, first, Ricky, let me commend you on an outstanding statement. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thank you. 

Mr. LANTOS. We found lots of substance in what you said and we 

appreciate your fight. I would like you to comment on what I view 

as good news and bad news in this field. The good news is that you 

are not alone. There are some remarkable people, either in the field 

of entertainment or business, who have seenscene the incredible 

importance of being engaged in causes much bigger than ourselves. 

Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, have now decided to donate the untold 

billions that they have to fighting disease and I tip my hat to them. 

Yet there are hate-filled diatribes emanating from others on the 

international scene mainly in the political arena. Those of us who 

listened to the statements of Ahmadinejad or Chavez at the United 

Nations General Assembly were appalled that so-called leaders of 

significant countries like Venezuela and Iran in the year 2006 

could stoop to the levels that these two men have stooped to in 

spreading their message of hate. 

I wonder if you could comment on the reason why so few people 

who have attained your celebrity and status have chosen to become 

engaged in good causes. And what can be done by people like you 

or Bono or others to involve the scores of people who have attained 

in this media driven globe an opportunity to become engaged in 

your case, in the issue of trafficking, in the case of Bono in fighting 

AIDS, and in all of these other many good causes. What happens 

when you talk to your colleagues of similar positions and celebrity 

and you urge them to pick a cause, any cause and become engaged? 

Ambassador MARTIN. Well, Congressman Lantos, I can only 

speak for myself. Life has presented me with some scenarios. I 

must say that I am lucky being able to be in front of some pictures 

that life has presented me that are full of pain. I realize that with 

the work that I have done with my foundation, music is only an 

excuse. Music is only a tool of what my mission in life is. You 

know, sometimes you wake up in the morning and you ask yourself 

what is this all about. Why am I here. Why me, Ricky Martin. Why 

me, this fame. And when I met these three little girls in India and 

I rescued them and I brought them to the shelter. I just got back 

from India a week ago and I had the opportunity to see them and 

see that they are becoming girls—they are learning—they are 

learning music. That is when I realize that music was only an ex-
13

cuse and that music was a fantastic platform for me to talk on 

their behalf. I believe there are people that are doing an amazing 

job, like you said, Bono. I believe Shakira is doing an outstanding 

job as well. But it doesn’t matter how hard I try to convince my 

colleagues that we need to use music to talk about things that we 

all should be concerned about. If you don’t live that pain, if you 

don’t look in the eyes of the victim, it is almost impossible because 

it is like not knowing. 

I am here today because I believe in this. It is a fantastic platform, not to promote my music. I am here because I want to talk 

about child trafficking and be the voice of the victims that I have 

been able to meet. I am here to be a voice of the people that are 

my mentors. People that probably, some of them are here today, 

that are doing a fantastic job at a grass roots level. And that is all 

I can do. I can’t force anybody to do something they don’t feel. I 

just I hope I can be an example. That is it. 

Mr. LANTOS. Well, let me first commend you on a very eloquent 

statement, and let me remind all of us that one of the great statesman of this Nation, Hubert Humphrey, said that you measure the 

quality of a society by how we treat its members, who are the dawn 

of life, children, and the twilight of life, the elderly, and in the 

shadows of life, the poor, the sick, and the disadvantaged. 

And you are living out this dream of Hubert Humphrey because 

you are trying to deal with the children who are in danger of not 

growing up as healthy human beings. But you have also avoided 

answering my question. So I will take you back. Because while everybody is impressed by your celebrity status, to us you are just a 

witness. 

So my question, Ricky, is why is it that only such a small percentage of your fellow celebrities who have the capability of transforming so many ugly aspects of this globe into positive realities, 

why don’t they respond and how could you and Bono and others 

who have made this your life’s work assist them in moving in a direction that they too will find incredibly rewarding and enriching? 

Ambassador MARTIN. I believe they have no idea the power they 

have in their hands, and they just don’t know how to use it. 

When you enter the world of music it tends to be really intense; 

the amount of work that you have to do to become someone noticeable around the world. And you get caught up in the long days of 

promotion, long hours locked in a studio creating music, finding 

that vulnerability and finding something that is accepted by the 

masses of people. Mr. Lantos, I started when I was 12 years old. 

I am 34 years old, and I started only 5 years ago, 6 years ago. I 

guess the time for me was 6 years ago, was not before. Actually 6 

years ago I took the time, I stepped out of the limelight. I needed 

to decompress. Everything that I have lived through music was so 

intense that I can be honest. I was exhausted. And in that moment 

of silence, that is when information of things that I really need to 

be concerned about came to me; that is when everything came into 

my being and that is when I started. I hope my answer is the one 

you were waiting for. 

Mr. LANTOS. It is much better. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thank you very much. 
14

Mr. LANTOS. And let me just say that while my wife of 56 years 

considers you devastatingly handsome, I think your true beauty 

lies inside. Thank you very much. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thank you very much. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ms. Ros-Lehtinen. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, and 

thinking of beauty for many years, our Committee has heard from 

Ambassador Miller on this terrible subject of human trafficking 

and he has told us every time he has testified before our Committee that he is more than just a pretty face, and I think that 

today is definitely proving that there are other pretty faces who are 

doing the Lord’s work on Earth and, Ricky, using your fame to advance this cause is a noble venture, and I agree with Congressman 

Lantos that we wish that more celebrities would use their name 

and obviously you have attracted great media attention and that 

is to highlight and to shed light on this terrible problem of sexual 

trafficking. 

You were quoted, as in your testimony, as telling Ambassadors 

and activists at the United Nations and other international forums 

and governments that they need to declare war on tourists, not just 

the governments who are doing all of this work of sexual exploitation, but the tourists who are sexually exploiting the children. 

What can we do when we work with governments and work with 

different agencies, U.S. and abroad, to highlight the terrible crime 

that tourists would be committing were they to go to certain countries? I have seen in my travels panels that they have in airports 

telling people that sexual exploitation is a crime, and I think that 

we have them for so many things like protecting natural resources 

in Florida. We talk about protecting coral reefs for the tourists who 

come to Miami International Airport, but I have never seenscene 

one on sexual trafficking, and Miami would be a great area and 

other countries to highlight them. 

What can you do—were you a legislator, how would you be declaring war on the tourists who exploit these young children? 

Ambassador MARTIN. I must mention that Costa Rica is doing a 

fantastic job on this and maybe we can learn from them. Travel 

agencies, I believe it is very important to get them involved because they have no idea that this goes on. We have to bring them 

into this journey and really educate them about the things that 

need to be done to abolish this way of slavery. 

Schools. We need to go to the schools of each country and we 

have to let them know that child trafficking exists, that child exploitation, child prostitution exists, that we should not jump into 

the paws of this horrible crime. I guess airports, we have to put 

in every airport, at every gate, ‘‘We are watching you, what you are 

doing in this country. Come and join us in this, in a beautiful journey of tourism but don’t touch our children.’’

I hope you understand. My English sometimes is really bad, but 

the government has to come in and say enough is enough. 

This is not about poverty. This is a problem about values, about 

human issues, human rights and dignity. So if we cannot say that 

this only goes on in the poor countries. This is happening here in 

America. This happens in the United Kingdom. This happens in 

Japan. Once again we come back to the United Nations to really 
15

tell the governments to educate the world. I go back to repetition. 

It goes back to the importance of letting the world know that slavery exists today. We have to make it noticeable. We have to—the 

media, we need you. Every time this happens the story should be 

part of the front page of every newspaper around the world. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Sadly some of those travel agencies are 

complicit and they do charter whole airplanes full of sexual tourists. 

Ambassador MARTIN. That is right. 

Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Right in our backyard. Thank you so much 

and get back to Miami. 

Ambassador MARTIN. I will be there this afternoon. Gracias. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. 

Ms. Napolitano. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Bienvenido. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Gracias. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. Reading your testimony and listening to your 

speech, I admire your fervor and your participation and including 

yourself finding a niche that you know will really make a difference 

in this world. It did for those three young ladies that you were able 

to put into the shelter. They now have a life, right? 

Ambassador MARTIN. They do. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. There are a lot of questions that I am listening 

to you talk, the cooperation in the South American countries toward admitting that there is an issue about child trafficking. We 

know about it, we hear about it, we read about it. What do you feel 

we need to start in our own backyard here in the United States because we do have it here either as a—not as a destination but people go from here to other countries and you are right about the 

travel agencies. 

Have you approached maybe the Gates Foundation, Hewlett 

Packard to address the issue of the Internet and then possibly with 

the cable companies and the television companies to be able to put 

a message out as a public service announcement because they will 

do that free, because it is an issue that you are right, unless we 

educate, unless we continue to remind people it is not going to happen on its own and you are only one person. So it isn’t just you 

but the rest of us that have to come into sync with the work that 

you are doing and I think you are doing a—I can’t get over how 

much you have done. 

You talk about values. What have we lost in values. And those 

are things that I am listening and I am hearing, I want to add. The 

United States gives millions upon millions of dollars to foreign 

countries, yet we do not abrogate that this is given to that country 

if you do all of these other things. But we haven’t added human 

trafficking or at least in some areas we turned a blind eye. What 

do we need to do? What have you seenscene? What have you 

heard? How can you help us maybe to channel some of that into 

areas where it will do the most good and be able to bring the rest 

of the entertainment industry, the rest of business because this is 

business that we are talking about? 

Ambassador MARTIN. I believe repetition once again, we have to 

step out of denial. Unfortunately, we believe that this is not affecting us because this doesn’t happen here in America. We need to 
16

talk to our children. We need to sit down and have dinner with our 

children. I am not a father, but I remember that that is what I 

lived and I believe that doesn’t happen any more in this country. 

Now it is a lot of the TV, now it is all about the Internet. Children 

spending long hours in front of a computer without socializing with 

anyone but a stranger. Let us talk to our children. We need to inform them about life. We have to be honest. Children have to be 

proud of us. If a child has a question, please answer it with the 

truth. If you will, if he was able to generate that question, it was 

because he was willing to receive the real information. It is not because he is testing you. Let us talk to them with honesty. 

Microsoft is doing an outstanding job. We have an amazing alliance with them, and we started in Latin America because we have 

to start somewhere. I am here today ready to do whatever it takes 

to bring our Nation in the forefront of this issue. The regionwide 

foundation has created many PSAs. We are waiting for all of the 

networks in the country to present them. CNN has became part of 

our mission. It was amazing to be sitting in front of the hotel and 

hey, I am on CNN, which is my PSA, which was really good. But 

there is more that needs to be done. 

This is organized crime. It is so organized that everything is 

under the radar. We don’t know it exists. That is why I am here 

today to once again talk about this cruel reality. It is happening. 

I didn’t know this existed 5 years ago. They would tell me about 

human trafficking and I would think it was all about illegal immigration. But no, that is a little part of it. It goes beyond illegal immigration, like I have said. It is about the soul of a child that is 

being stolen. 

All I can say is I am doing my best little by little. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. What is the level of cooperation that you have 

seen from the Hispanic-Latino communities? Are they still ignoring 

it? 

Ambassador MARTIN. There is a lot of denial. I need more help. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. How? 

Ambassador MARTIN. The network Univision, for example. I want 

a PSA to run in every block of commercials. Telemundo, please join 

us in this effort. Every Spanish newspaper I am willing to give 

interviews. Please read my Web sites. All of the information is 

there. That is let us do what we need to do. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. You sound frustrated. 

Ambassador MARTIN. A little bit, yes. But it is okay. It is about 

adding, not subtracting. Let us move forward. 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. You have been working both sex trafficking 

and in labor slavery, but which one has the greater emphasis, that 

must have the greater emphasis? The child——

Ambassador MARTIN. This is—can you repeat the question? 

Ms. NAPOLITANO. You have been working both sex trafficking 

and labor. What do you think is the more important focus? 

Ambassador MARTIN. They are as both as important. I am here 

to condemn exploitation in any way, shape or form, labor exploitation, sexual exploitation. Debt bondage. It is really all painful. 

And they are both just as important. You know, the sex exploitation. It is our morals. It is a little bit more delicate, but it is all 

the same for me. 
17

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The time has expired. Mr. Poe. 

Mr. POE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Mr. Martin, thank you for 

being here. I think we can call it what we want, but human trafficking is just slavery. And it has all of the trappings and chains 

of slavery that have been in the world for centuries and like the 

slave trade before it. It is all about money. It is all about greed. 

I agree that education and awareness is important, and I commend 

you for that. But I think consequences for being involved in the 

slave trade are needed as well. So I am asking you do you have 

any suggestions on what we can do as a legislative body to go after 

the slave traders and make them pay for what they do? 

Ambassador MARTIN. It is very delicate. But there is no one like 

the government to really attack this issue. 

You know little by little we have to create universal laws. Universal law, first of all, where a child becomes an adult at the age 

of 18. There are countries in this planet where a child at the age 

of 18—I am sorry. There are countries in this planet where a child 

becomes an adult at the age of 12 and that doesn’t make sense to 

me. It is ridiculous. 

We need birth registration. I need to go to this. Half of the children that are being born today are not being registered and this 

is the best thing that could happen to a trafficker. A child is invisible without the documentation. A child has no rights. We have to. 

Okay, I am, Mr. Poe, I am going to go straight to your answer. 

Mr. POE. If you would cut to the chase, I appreciate. 

Ambassador MARTIN. That is what I am working on. We need the 

FBI to go in. We need the CIA. We need to establish a department, 

an office that will focus on this and we need to do undercover work 

aggressively. My idea for the next year is to do a documentary 

where I would like to invite a journalist to do an undercover job 

to really know what is going on. And yeah. That is—I think that 

is the way I would do it. 

Mr. POE. So that we see what we can do about that here. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you, Mr. Poe. Chair recognizes gentlelady from California, Ms. Watson. 

Ms. WATSON. Thank you very much. Mr. Martin, I want to commend you for the efforts of your foundation, your achievements. I 

think this is all a result of living La Vida Loca, what, living the 

good life. I admire the work you are doing and as you have expressed, you cannot do it alone. Do you feel the Latin American 

governments are serious about this crime? Are they taking it seriously and in the countries you have been through, have they assisted you in your private efforts? 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thanks to Ambassador Miller, I have the 

opportunity to meet with a lot of Ambassadors in the United Nations and they have a lot of issues. Unfortunately human trafficking is not a priority. In the meantime I am going the keep advocating on behalf of the children. That is all I can do right now. I 

will make a fuss. I will make some noise. And that is why I am 

sorry but I need to go back to education and repetition. 

Ms. WATSON. Don’t be sorry. 

Ambassador MARTIN. The world needs to know this goes on. 

Once we know about this, we can send letters to our Members of 

Congress, to our Senators in each country, and then our leaders 
18

will take more action on this. So that is why I believe it is very 

important. 

Ms. WATSON. This Committee has to be commended because it 

has given considerable focus to this problem locally and we have 

rated the various countries in terms of their progress or lack thereof, and I think that this hearing is a manifestation of our efforts. 

I think that we at this level have to do more with the governments 

and place a priority on this again. As you say, repetition. I am a 

former teacher so I identify with that. You have to repeat it over 

again and be relevant to the times, visually relevant all the time. 

Ambassador MARTIN. All the time. 

Ms. WATSON. So I am sure this hearing will result in a further 

move to provide various governments and, with the Ambassador 

coming up on the next panel, will raise the questions as to how we 

can move our agenda in a more progressive fashion. 

I want to thank you for your efforts from the private sector. You 

are doing a wonderful job. People will listen to you when they just 

kind of cast us aside. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thank you. I don’t have the solutions. I 

don’t have all the solutions. I am here because I need to serve as 

a voice. If I don’t do this, then all the work that I have put into 

this will have no value. I wish I had all the solutions; then I would 

be here and tell you, this is what needs to be done, and then we 

would have a perfect world. 

Ms. WATSON. We understand our role as policymakers; you are 

the briefer. You brief us on your experiences around the world, and 

that gives us further indication of the kinds of policies we need to 

adopt here and share them with other nations. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thank you very much. 

Ms. WATSON. So thank you for what you have added and what 

you are doing. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. The gentleman from South Carolina, 

Mr. Wilson. 

Mr. WILSON. Thank you, Ambassador Martin, for being here. 

I want to thank Congressman Luis Fortuno, who we appreciate 

as a new young leader in our Congress, and he has done a great 

job serving the people of Puerto Rico, serving the people of the 

United States. 

I want to thank you for your efforts. Your international status 

helps raise this issue, which is international human trafficking, 

and so I am very grateful for what you are doing. And I want you 

to realize that I think you are making a difference, and I appreciate your reference to this as organized crime. That is what it is. 

I appreciate Congressman Poe recognizing it as the new slave traffic. That is what—that is what we are facing. 

I particularly appreciate—and I think you are making a difference in terms—you say you don’t have all the solutions, but you 

have got wonderful commonsense proposals. The signage at the airports, that needs to be done. People need to see the signs, maybe 

observe what is going on. I appreciate the PSAs that you have provided. I hope those, indeed, are shown to the people of the United 

States, around the world. I appreciate your availability for interviews. Again, that can be so helpful. Your suggestion for birth certificates for children worldwide. These are issues that need to be 
19

addressed. And they are common sense. They can be done and can 

make a difference. 

I was introduced to this issue by State Representative Catherine 

Ceips of Beaufort, South Carolina, and she has worked on State 

legislation. And this is an issue that can be addressed by the 

States, by the Commonwealth, by Federal Government, and this is 

a horror that has to be addressed. 

Additionally, I appreciate your efforts in India. I am the former 

co-chair of the Indian caucus. I was succeeded by somebody much 

better, Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, what a great lady, so 

we work very closely with people of India. We are so proud of the 

success of that nation. But can you describe the intervention, and 

what was necessary to rescue the three girls in Calcutta that were 

potential human trafficking victims? 

Ambassador MARTIN. Today they live in a shelter with 167 other 

girls. For the 7 or 8 years that this shelter exists, 60, 75 percent 

of the girls that are in it either were already forced into prostitution or were born in the arms of prostitution because of their mom 

being a prostitute. 

And so that is—there were children, boys that were telling us, 

those girls in the streets that were helping us, those girls are having problems because men are talking—men are talking about 

those three little girls. So that is why we approached them as fast 

as we could. 

Mr. WILSON. And did you receive cooperation from the Government of India, from nongovernmental organizations? 

Ambassador MARTIN. This is an NGO, nongovernmental organization, that is working on the rescue of girls. It survives because 

of the donations of civilians. 

Mr. WILSON. And you also identify Costa Rica as a country which 

has a positive example. Are there other countries that you would 

like to point out that have made a difference? And what are some 

of the programs that they have adopted? 

Ambassador MARTIN. Well, for example, India, there is always 

space for improvement. There is always space for perfection, but 

my case with India is—is gratifying, but I believe—I believe Ambassador Miller can give you details about what is going on in specific countries in his testimony; right, Mr. Miller? 

Mr. MILLER. Sure. 

Mr. WILSON. In conclusion, I am grateful that you are here. I join 

with Ambassador Watson; I appreciate the Committee raising this 

issue. We appreciate your efforts. Best wishes to you. 

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. I yield the balance of my time. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you. 

Ms. Lee? 

Ms. LEE. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Let me thank you and Mr. 

Lantos for holding this very important hearing, and thank you, 

Ambassador Martin, for being here. 

I want to thank you for your leadership, for your passion and 

your brilliance, really, in really forcing the world to address the 

issue of human trafficking. And we all know that slavery is the 

sale of two human beings. And so this is a modern day slavery. 

And if anyone should understand that, the African-American community should, because for hundreds of years, African-Americans 
20

were sold into slavery. And it was those voices and those individuals who took the risks and who said, ‘‘this is wrong,’’ that ultimately helped free my people. And so I think we have to remember 

this as we move forward and rev up this effort that you are engaged in because there is no way that we should stand by and 

allow any type of slave trade to exist in 2006. I just want to thank 

you very much for being there at this moment, at this time. 

You know, I think it is so important to focus our efforts on addressing the victims of sex trafficking and prosecuting those who 

are the offenders directly. But also we need to look at some of the 

fundamental reasons why women and girls are vulnerable to being 

trafficked and are—I mean, those reasons are often ignored. So I 

think, in many ways, sometimes we piecemeal approaches and 

strategies and ignore the broader human development issues, like 

poverty and the unequal status of women. And I, too, visited India. 

I went into the red light district of Mumbai and talked to many 

girls and women who had been sold into prostitution, and they all 

indicated that they wanted economic opportunities and educational 

opportunities, and if they could address the issues of poverty and 

raise their children, they wouldn’t be where they were. And so I 

think what I wanted to ask you is, how do we address this in a 

comprehensive way and get our Government to do that also? Because the transmission of HIV and AIDS, of sexually transmitted 

infections, all of the public health—all of the secondary issues that 

result are just killing women and children throughout the world. 

And so I guess I want to ask you in terms of how do you view a 

comprehensive approach that includes, in addition to the prosecution and the making sure we—you know, do what we need to do 

on the criminal justice front because these are crimes—they are 

crimes against humanity—how do we require our country and the 

world to develop a comprehensive strategy to address economic and 

educational opportunities for women and girls? 

And finally, let me just say, I think it is obscene, it is immoral 

and it is wrong that our country has not ratified the charter of the 

Convention on the Rights of the Child. And I am so glad you are 

raising that here in your testimony, and hopefully, the word will 

go out that that needs to happen, and it needs to happen now because this is again another piece of the strategy to combat the 

slave trade. Thank you very much. 

Ambassador MARTIN. You are welcome. 

I would like to introduce a person of my foundation, Angel 

Saltos. He is one of my teachers. Can you repeat the question for 

him, please? 

Ms. LEE. Sure. I just wanted to make sure, in terms of development of a comprehensive strategy, we have to address prosecution 

and going after those that engage in the sale of human beings into 

prostitution and human trafficking; how do we address this and 

also it is the second piece of it, and that is the broader issues of 

poverty, providing economic opportunities and educational opportunities for girls and women so that they have that kind of empowerment, that they feel empowered to be able to fight this often? 

Mr. SALTOS. Thank you very much. I would like to address that 

from a couple of points of view. First of all, one of the underlying 

problems for this is poverty, as we all know. So our feeling as a 
21

foundation and as a working group behind all these issues is that 

we would like to urge the United States, the financial institutions 

worldwide to invest in human capital. Therefore, that investment 

that can go to create a productive model that will incentivize people to get busy, productive. Therefore, they have an option. They 

have choices. Once they have choices, at least there is a hope of 

light over there. So they can enter into a more productive economy 

and they can be productive for themselves and for their countries. 

We would like our message to go across this room, that funding is 

needed to—for the creation of those choices overseas as well as 

here. There are examples of that. There are micro enterprise institutions in some countries that are right now being—serve as the 

platform for women to start creating their own micro enterprise 

businesses. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Stick around. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. And I, too, would like to echo 

what the gentlelady said. I admire you, too. I think that you have 

really done an outstanding job, and to have the position of 

UNICEF Ambassador, it certainly is a fine tribute to you as a 

youngster. 

Remembering the end of the World War II, Danny Kaye was the 

first new UNICEF Ambassador, Goodwill Ambassador, long, long 

ago. Some of the gray-haired people might remember that. And I 

really think it is a great tribute to you and the work that you have 

done. 

I think the Ambassador said it all, that you can bring light to 

issues that we attempt to do, but because of your status, people 

will then pay attention to it. We are always talking about issues, 

and so they say, oh, there they go again; it is just another issue. 

But when a person like you stands out and takes on something as 

serious as this, I think it draws a lot of attention. So your work 

is really appreciated. 

And I do think that, as your spokesperson said, that abject poverty is really the problem. The millennium goal is to halve poverty 

by 2015. Abject poverty as a U.N. goal I think is something that 

we all must work towards, and it has to be done by governments. 

It can’t be done by individuals. Although, I think that individuals 

have certainly stepped up to the plate: Lately, Warren Buffett with 

$29 billion to help with HIV and AIDS. Just the other day, President Clinton was able to persuade Brunson I think from Virgin Air 

to give $3 billion to try to come up with alternatives to global 

warming. And the Gates, Bill and Melinda Gates just turning over 

billions and billions of dollars to work on HIV and AIDS, malaria 

and TB. So I think that perhaps the world is understanding that 

the root cause is abject poverty, and if we could all work together 

to try to help eliminate at least abject poverty, that is the lessthan-$1-a-day people, you know, that is what we are talking about 

trying to change. But I do believe that we have to—and I would 

like to sort of commend the Chairman for his attention that he has 

given to this whole question of sex trafficking and so forth. As a 

matter of fact, in our city, Newark, my City of Newark, New Jersey, my district, we have one of the first shelters and services run 

by Archbishop Myers from the Catholic diocese in Newark where 
22

we have gotten actually $300,000 or $400,000 grant to work as a 

safe house and for counseling, for these are adults who have come 

over seeking regular employment, primarily from Central Europe, 

Russia and some of the former Soviet countries, and come in and 

are then put into brothels and are in prison right in New Jersey 

and New York; a tremendous number of people are victims. 

And so your work with children—I just might quickly ask you, 

you have been working both with slave trafficking and labor slavery. And I wonder what areas do you feel need greatest emphasis, 

the whole—or do you think they are both equally important and involved together? 

Ambassador MARTIN. Human trafficking has many faces. You 

have bondage, child exploitation, child sexual exploitation. It is like 

a pyramid. They all go against the soul of a person, of a child. They 

all deserve the same attention I believe. And I wouldn’t say this 

one is my favorite because it is really not about that. It is about 

human trafficking. It is about the value of a person; that is it. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you. 

Thank you very much Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Mr. Fortuno. 

Mr. FORTUNO. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, thank you 

for allowing me to join you all, even though I am not a Member 

of the Committee. 

I would also like to thank Mr. Lantos and my other colleagues. 

As a father of three 14-year-olds, I want to thank you, Mr. Martin, 

for what you are doing, for your passion and for your commitment. 

As a Member of this body, I commend you for taking a concern to 

action. I believe that is your message today, that we need more action in this case. You have raised a number of issues, as is our job 

to really try and see, how can we implement this? As I see it, and 

I want you to comment on this and make sure we are getting the 

correct message. As I see it, on the government side, what you feel 

is that enforcement, you know, you mentioned certain things about 

FBI intervention, Department of State listing of child trafficking as 

a separate list and so on and so forth, you mention in the airports 

the signage and all that. And funding, as I understand it, that is 

what the government can do. I understand it as well and I just 

want you to comment and correct me if I am wrong, that there are 

NGOs, not-for-profits or what have you, can actually take that and 

implement it. But certainly we need to have both sides working together, and I just want to make sure that we got your message correctly before you leave and that indeed that was your message. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Yes. That is why I believe it is so important to educate ourselves because once we have this information, 

the instinct is going to kick in, and then we are also going to find 

new things to do. And then we are going to start finding the people 

who would like to be allied with and do their job, but without the 

information, nothing can be done. Thank you for the question. 

Thank you. 

Mr. FORTUNO. Thank you. If I may have another question. I 

would like to understand, in terms of the Ricky Martin Foundation, 

based on what you have experienced, what you have found, what 

you have put to work, is there an area, a program that you feel 

that we should know about, something very important—we know 
23

about your PSAs, and I have also watched them at a hotel, but is 

there something we should know, you have experienced or you 

have seen in different countries that we should certainly not leave 

this room today without knowing? 

Mr. SALTOS. Mr. Fortuno, thank you. 

On behalf of the foundation, a working group, I will tell you that 

all of the programs are important. I don’t want to prioritize them 

because our mission is protection of children. But to give you which 

ones we are very much pushing them, we would love to see some 

funding going to create a model for childhood registration. That is 

something that is in our plans, and we will do anything to work 

toward that. 

As the founder of the foundation, Ricky mentioned education. We 

make ourselves available, the foundation is available to create a 

model of awareness. Let us bring our message to other NGOs. We 

are open to working partnerships and alliances with everybody who 

would like to join this crusade. Thank you. 

Mr. FORTUNO. Thank you, again, Ambassador Martin. It was an 

honor to have you here. 

And I yield back the balance of my time. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much. Just to conclude, first, let me again thank Ambassador Martin for again 

spending time here today but more importantly for bringing the 

message out into the world as a UNICEF Ambassador. I would just 

make two observations to conclude. We will be hearing momentarily from Dr. Wade Horn, the Assistant Secretary for Children 

and Families, an old friend, a man who is absolutely dedicated to 

trying to help the victims. I think it is worth noting, and Mr. Payne 

mentioned, one of the meetings that was held in Newark which led 

to the creation of a shelter known as Rescue and Restore. These 

forums have been held throughout the country. I was at the one 

in Newark. I know the President participated in one in Tampa, 

Florida, and they are ongoing and ever-expanding. I note that at 

those meetings, prosecutors, NGOs and church, faith-based individuals all attend. Best practices are discussed, and everyone walks 

away much more enlightened and motivated to do something to 

stop this crime of human trafficking. But what I noticed in the one 

in Newark and really many of the others, there is often very little 

press coverage. Perhaps you might give some consideration to lending your prestige and celebrity to one or more of those Rescue and 

Restore efforts. As you are doing today, you bring focus like none 

of us can. So I would just make that request if you would consider 

that. And secondly, several of my colleagues mentioned the need to 

accelerate our efforts to fight these traffickers, these modern day 

slave traders as a criminal enterprise. I think it is worth noting, 

for example, that this is one of many programs the Bush Administration in 2003 created: The Innocence Lost Initiative, the Federal 

Bureau of Investigation, Department of Justice, Child Exploitation 

and Obscenity Section in partnership with the National Center for 

Missing and Exploited Children has developed task forces in 16 cities specific to child trafficking and prostitution issues. I would note 

that as of May 2006, the Innocence Lost Initiative has identified 

over 300 victims. It has made 547 arrests with 105 indictments and 
24

80 convictions. That is the beginning. That is progress. Obviously 

much more needs to be done, but we need to attack it on the victims side as well as on the criminal side, which you have made 

very clear in your testimony. So I would like to give you the last 

word. Thank you again so much for your leadership. It is extraordinary. 

Ambassador MARTIN. Thank you very much. 

Mr. Chairman, it is incredible, but my record company, they do 

an outstanding job promoting my music because I am not promoting my music anymore. Every time I do an interview, I don’t 

talk about music. I talk about this issue. Thank you so much for 

the opportunity you have given me to once again talk on behalf of 

those who are not being heard. This, this is a great beginning. We 

are taking steps. Hopefully they are elephant steps. I want to 

thank, once again, the media and everyone in this Committee for 

your support, for listening, for helping me in this battle, and I hope 

you all join us in this crusade. Thank you very much. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ambassador Martin, thank you. 

We will now invite to the witness table our first panel beginning 

with Ambassador John Miller. Ambassador Miller is director of the 

State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in 

Persons, and senior advisor to the Secretary of State Condoleezza 

Rice on issues of human trafficking. From 1985 to 1993, Mr. Miller 

served as a Member of the U.S. House of Representatives for the 

State of Washington. While in Congress, John held a seat in the 

House Committee on International Relations—so this room is no 

stranger to him—and was a member of the congressional human 

rights caucus. Prior to being elected Congressman, he was active 

in state and municipal governments. And for his leadership on 

human rights, the Seattle Anti-Definition League gave Mr. Miller 

its torch of freedom award. I would say personally it has been a 

privilege to serve with him in partnership on issues related to global trafficking. He has been doing a wonderful job. 

Next we will hear from Dr. Wade Horn who was sworn in as the 

Assistant Secretary for Children and Families in the Administration for Children and Families, U.S. Department of Health and 

Human Services, in 2001. Prior to his appointment, Dr. Horn was 

president of the National Fatherhood Initiative. From 1989 to 

1993, Dr. Horn was the Commissioner for Children, Youth and 

Families and the chief of the Children’s Bureau in the Administration of the Children and Families. Dr. Horn is the author of numerous articles on children, including a weekly newspaper column entitled ‘‘Fatherly Advice,’’ and he is the co-author of several articles, 

including the Better Homes and Gardens’ ‘‘New Father Book.’

Thank you gentlemen for being here. 

Ambassador Miller if you could begin. 

STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOHN MILLER, DIRECTOR, 

THE OFFICE TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, U.S. 

DEPARTMENT OF STATE 

Mr. MILLER. Sure. Mr. Chairman, Congressman Payne, Congresswoman Watson, thank you again for bringing us all together 

to focus on what has emerged as one of the premiere human rights 
25

issues of the 21st Century, also a great health and national security issue. 

Mr. Chairman, you were one of the original sponsors of the Trafficking Victim Protection Act. Your work back years ago set the effort of the United States Government in motion, and you didn’t 

only just sponsor the legislation, you have kept after it, year after 

year, reauthorization after reauthorization, and all I can say is that 

many of the survivors and victims in this world owe a great debt 

to you for your efforts. Your colleagues have also been involved in 

this issue for years, and I want to thank them as well. 

Congresswoman Watson, I think we have talked on this issue 

many times, Congressman Payne. I am privileged to be here with 

Dr. Horn and others that I serve with in the Executive Branch—

Martha Newton—because this does take a coordinated effort. We 

have a senior policy operating group that I chair, and it is important we coordinate our efforts at home and abroad. 

This challenge exists everywhere in the world including the 

United States of America. I travel all over the world, and maybe 

there is some island paradise that I haven’t been to that doesn’t 

have trafficking of persons, but I don’t think so. I have never seen 

a nation and government that doesn’t face this challenge. And it 

is a challenge that involves children. It involves adults. It is all 

kinds of slavery—sex slavery, forced labor slavery, including factory, farm slavery, domestic servitude slavery, child soldier slavery, 

and even child camel jockey slavery, as I think Congresswoman 

Ros-Lehtinen commented at the beginning. There are all kinds. 

Now, brief comments on where we are internationally, and then 

I will turn it over to Dr. Horn and your questions. Mr. Chairman, 

you began the hearing by offering some gentle criticism that while 

the report was put out in June by the Secretary on trafficking of 

persons around the world, the Presidential decision that was expected in early September on the sanctions, the sanction decisions 

in 2006, was not out yet. I have some good news and bad news. 

The good news is, as I was driving up here, I heard that the President had signed the decision. So it is out. The bad news is, I don’t 

have a copy. I just got this phone message, but I haven’t read the 

final copy that was signed. So this limits to some extent what I can 

say. I hope to get you that decision today or at the latest tomorrow 

morning. So that is where that is. 

Nonetheless, that won’t keep me from commenting on the status 

of trafficking in the world, including a lot of the countries that are 

on the list. And as you well know, when we look around the world 

today, yes, there is some progress. I will get to that later, but also 

there is so much more to do as there is in this country. 

There were 12 countries placed on tier 3 in the Secretary’s report 

in June: Belize, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Laos, North Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, Venezuela and Zimbabwe. We have 

engaged with all of those countries or most of those countries, I 

should say, the last several months, and the President’s decision 

today will show which remain in tier 3 and, of those that remain 

in tier 3, which have been sanctioned. 

Nonetheless, I can point out some things that have been going 

on. For example, in Belize, which was on tier 3, we do know that 

the government formed a team of police and immigration officers 
26

and social workers and stepped up raids on commercial sexual slavery operations. They did rescue some trafficking victims. They have 

made plans to open a shelter dedicated to the victims of trafficking, 

and they have launched a public awareness campaign. 

In Laos, we found out that our information gathering is not perfect. We have, since the report, found out through reporting from 

the Government of Laos that 12 suspected traffickers were arrested 

early this year; 12 have since been prosecuted with an average sentence of 6.5 years. So those are good things. 

Now, it is easy just to look at tier 3 because those are the countries at the bottom of the list. By the way, for the countries at the 

top of the list, being in tier 1 doesn’t mean they don’t have a problem, as you well know, Mr. Chairman. Some of them have big problems. All it means is that, in the view of the Secretary, those countries meet minimum standards relating to prosecution, protection 

and prevention. 

But there is this focus on tier 3, but then there is this tier 2 

watch list that you all in your wisdom created a couple of years 

ago. And those are countries that, while they are not tier 3, we 

think tier 1 watch is pretty serious. They are in danger of dropping 

to tier 3, although we hope they will move to tier 2. And there were 

32 governments on that list in the June report, and some of those 

governments were on tier 2 watch list for the third consecutive 

year. For example, Mexico, India, Russia—these are large, important governments, and if you want, we can get into this in the 

question and answers. For various reasons, in prosecution, protection and prevention, these governments did not do what we had 

hoped. There are some promises of action. That is one of the criteria for putting a country on tier 2 watch lists. So we hope that, 

in the assessment—the interim assessment on tier 2 watch list 

countries that comes out in January—we will see some improvements. 

Now, let’s look at the state of the world. Let’s be realistic. We 

don’t know exactly how many men, women and children are in 

slavery. There are estimates. And I think the estimates are legitimately in the millions, but there is no scientific census. There 

never will be. We are starting to make progress—starting to make 

progress in finding ways to combat this terrible scourge—but there 

is much more research that needs to be done in that area, nonetheless. Much more needs to be done. I think this Committee can take 

some pride in the accomplishments, in some of the indicators of 

what has happened that are positive. 

Let me give you some examples. When you started your efforts, 

Mr. Chairman, there were several hundred traffickers around the 

world convicted. A year ago when this report came out, we could 

show 3,000 traffickers convicted around the world. This year, 4,700. 

Now, that doesn’t mean the problem has been solved. But it does 

mean that a law enforcement message is starting to get out. Secondly, I don’t have a count on this, but I go around the world; some 

of my staff does, too. Every month we see a new shelter for trafficking victims opening up in some country. And that is a positive 

sign. Another positive sign: Last year, 41 governments passed antitrafficking in persons legislation. The year before, 39. Mr. Chairman. I don’t know the exact count, but I suspect that when you all 
27

passed the United States anti-trafficking in persons legislation at 

the end of 2000, I would be surprised if more than three or four 

governments in the world that year passed anti-trafficking in persons legislation. 

So these are positive indicators, along with all the media interest 

and the efforts, the efforts by people such as Ricky Martin. And 

there are others in the entertainment industry—Julia Ormond, 

working for UNODC—that have also done good things. 

I have to just close with one story about Ricky Martin. I think, 

Congresswoman Watson, was it you that asked whether the Latin 

American governments were making this a priority? Well, I don’t 

know if it is a sufficient priority, but I will tell you this: At the 

United Nations, Ricky Martin was there, as I was, to kick off an 

effort on child sex tourism. And the Latin American U.N. Ambassadors lined up to see—I would like to say they were lining up to 

see Ricky and myself, but we know what the situation was. And 

of course, some of them came in, and they wanted to get a picture 

taken, but then we did get to discuss the trafficking situation. And 

they offered public service announcements, ‘‘Oh, if you come down, 

we will have you meet with the First Lady and the President.’’ And 

I said to Ricky Martin, ‘‘I have never had this sort of response.’’ I 

said, ‘‘This is unbelievable.’’ He said, ‘‘Oh, don’t worry, Ambassador, when I go down to meet with the President, I will take you 

along.’’ So, I mean, that is the power that somebody like Ricky 

Martin, with his passion, has. And it is a good thing that people 

like that are enlisting in the cause. Thank you. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Miller follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF THE HONORABLE JOHN MILLER, DIRECTOR, THE OFFICE TO

COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE

Mr. Chairman and Members of the Committee: It is a pleasure to be here today 

and provide you with an overview of government and intergovernmental efforts to 

combat human trafficking. I would like to acknowledge this panel for its leadership 

in making human trafficking, or modern-day slavery, a high priority. 

As our sixth annual Trafficking in Persons Report demonstrates, this effort is 

achieving results from the work of a growing community of nations. This past year, 

we’ve seen a greater global effort to combat human trafficking by punishing traffickers, protecting victims and preventing future acts of slavery. Thanks to your proactive efforts and advocacy for anti-trafficking measures, modern-day slavery is receiving the world-wide attention it deserves. 

The goal of the TIP Report is to stimulate action and create partnerships around 

the world in the fight against modern-day slavery. Countries determined to have a 

significant number of trafficking victims are evaluated in the report and are assigned to one of three tiers. This year 158 nations from around the world were evaluated. 

Countries assessed as meeting the ‘‘minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking’’ set forth in the law are classified as ‘‘Tier 1.’’

Countries assessed as not fully complying with the minimum standards, but making significant efforts to meet those minimum standards, are classified as ‘‘Tier 2.’’

Countries assessed as neither complying with the minimum standards nor making 

significant efforts to do so are classified as ‘‘Tier 3.’’

Countries classified as ‘‘Tier 2 Watch List’’ are at risk of slipping to Tier 3 unless 

serious concerns are addressed. 

In June, the Secretary of state placed 12 countries in Tier 3, as those governments did not fully comply with the act’s minimum standards and were not making 

significant efforts to do so. Those countries were: Belize, Burma, Cuba, Iran, Laos, 

the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, Saudi Arabia, Sudan, Syria, Uzbekistan, 

Venezuela, and Zimbabwe. 

The U.S. works closely with cooperative Tier 2 Watch List and Tier 3 governments that are not fully complying with the minimum standards for the elimination 
28

of trafficking, helping them make significant efforts to do so. In the weeks following 

release of the TIP Report, we produce Action Plans that help governments provide 

approaches in prosecuting, drafting laws and victim rehabilitation, and funding 

anti-trafficking programs tailored to those approaches. 

After receiving the plans, Tier 3 countries have 90 days to come into compliance 

in order to justify a reassessment by the Secretary of State to Tier 2 Watch List. 

The Congressional mandate for the report, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act 

(TVPA), as amended, requires the President to make sanctions determinations regarding each country remaining in Tier 3, after the Secretary’s reassessment. 

In addition to my role as director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking 

in Persons at the State Department, I serve as chairman of the Senior Policy Operating Group, which implements the policies set forth by the President’s Interagency 

Task Force on Trafficking in Persons chaired by Secretary Rice. Each of the government agencies involved in anti-TIP efforts meets quarterly to guide actions to end 

modern-day slavery. This is good for government-wide policy and program coordination, and for maximizing our success against human trafficking here and abroad. 

This morning, I want to commend Ricky Martin’s efforts against modern-day slavery. He has been a true friend to the abolition of slavery and of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, donating his time and money to keep the 

vulnerable in a number of countries from falling prey to the deceptive tricks of the 

slave traders. 

I also commend Dr. Horn and the Department of Health and Human Services 

(HHS), certifying foreign trafficking victims so they may qualify for the same assistance available to refugees. HHS is also running a major public awareness campaign 

in the U.S. 

There is no simple approach to combat trafficking. We need to combine efforts—

across states, across countries, and across regions—to ensure that this inhuman activity is not allowed to exist in any part of the world. As Secretary Rice said earlier 

this month, ‘‘protecting the non-negotiable demands of human dignity is the equal 

calling of every country . . . including the United States.’’

Mr.SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Ambassador Miller, thank you so very 

much. 

Dr. Horn. 

STATEMENT OF WADE F. HORN, PH.D., ASSISTANT SECRETARY 

FOR CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF 

HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES 

Mr. HORN. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is a pleasure to appear 

before you and Members of this Committee on this important topic. 

It is always an honor and privilege to be with Ambassador Miller 

who I consider to be, along with you, Mr. Chairman, two of the 

most important leading lights on this issue. I think history will remember you along with names like Wilberforce and others as we 

attack this extraordinary evil that we face in our times. 

Under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, the Administration For Children and Families is responsible for doing three 

things: First, certifying internationally trafficked victims here in 

the United States; second, assisting victims with accessing benefits 

and services; and then, finally, in promoting public awareness of 

trafficking and the services that are available to trafficked victims. 

As Ricky Martin and Members of this Committee have pointed out, 

human trafficking exists here in the United States. We are not immune to this modern day evil. It is estimated that between 14,500 

and 17,500 people are trafficked into the United States each year. 

Victims are drawn from countries throughout the world through 

the use of force, coercion and fraud. They often are physically and 

socially isolated in unfamiliar cultures. They often don’t speak the 

language. They are often raped and beaten and terrified into submission and as a result, they are literally paralyzed with fear and 

find it is very difficult even when they do come in contact with law 
29

enforcement officers or health providers or others who might be in 

a position to help, to actually come forward and seek that help. 

Nevertheless, to date we have certified over 1,000 victims of trafficking here in the United States. The majority of them come from 

Latin America and Asia, but individuals come from such diverse 

countries as Bangladesh, Cameroon, India and Russia. Eight percent of the certified victims so far are children and 94 percent are 

female. 

Under TVPA, ACF was given the authority to certify foreign 

adult victims of trafficking so they may receive benefits and services. We consult on a daily basis with the staff at the Department 

of Justice to investigate and prosecute trafficking cases, and appropriate cases are referred to ACF for certification. Before an adult 

can be certified, law enforcement must deem the individual a victim of a severe form of trafficking. The adult must receive appropriate documentation from the Department of Justice and the Department of Homeland Security and must be willing to assist in the 

prosecution of traffickers. 

Once certified, adults can receive benefits from a wide range of 

programs, including assistance under the Temporary Assistance for 

Needy Families Program or TANF and Medicaid, and if they don’t 

qualify for TANF or Medicaid, they are eligible for an 8-month 

transitional program for single adults and childless couples providing cash and medical assistance. 

We also work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security to 

assist with the issuance of employment authorization documentation, allowing victims to participate in work programs and become 

self-sufficient. While eligible for the same benefits as adults, international victims who are under 18 years of age don’t need to be certified. Once established as victims, they are also issued a letter of 

eligibility by ACF, and then they can then enter the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program where they can receive a variety of 

benefits and services. In addition to certification and assistance activities, we are also responsible for establishing programs to increase public awareness about trafficking in persons. 

In this regard, Mr. Chairman, as you have noted, we have established the Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking public 

awareness campaign. The goal of the campaign is to help communities identify and serve more victims of trafficking so that every 

individual induced into exploitive work will have the courage and 

support to come forward and receive the full protection and benefits offered under the Trafficking Act. We have also established a 

24/7 toll-free trafficking information referral hotline, and we work 

closely with groups who have experience in providing outreach efforts to vulnerable populations, such as homeless and at-risk youth. 

Finally, as part of our continuing efforts to improve our outreach 

efforts, we will this week be convening the first ever conference on 

Survivors of Sex Trafficking. The conference will allow survivors to 

share their physical, emotional, financial and legal needs and help 

us to learn what is most necessary to help them on the road to recovery. 

Since the passage of TVPA, we have addressed trafficking at 

many levels. We are committed to building on our experiences and 

continuing to improve our efforts to identify, rescue and restore 
30

more victims of trafficking. It is a great pleasure to be here testifying before this Committee, a great honor to be with my colleague 

and mentor on this issue, Ambassador Miller, and I welcome any 

questions you may have. 

[The prepared statement of Mr. Horn follows:]

PREPARED STATEMENT OF WADE F. HORN, PH.D., ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR

CHILDREN AND FAMILIES, U.S. DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES

Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, thank you for the opportunity to 

testify about international trafficking victims and the role that the Department of 

Health and Human Services plays in providing assistance to these victims under the 

Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as amended (TVPA). The trafficking of 

women, children, and men into the United States for use in the sex industry, sweatshop labor, domestic servitude, and migrant agricultural labor has been estimated 

to involve 14,500 to 17,500 persons annually. The TVPA initiated a comprehensive 

effort to combat this scourge by providing enhanced punishment of traffickers as 

well as support for the identification, protection and care of victims. 

Under TVPA, the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), within the Department of Health and Human Services, plays a key role in the fight against 

human trafficking. We are responsible for certifying foreign persons as trafficking 

victims in the United States and assisting them in accessing the benefits and services needed to rebuild their lives. In addition, we have been charged with promoting 

the public’s awareness of trafficking and the services available to trafficking victims. 

Before discussing each of these activities in more detail, I would like to share some 

background on what we know about victims from abroad trafficked into the United 

States. 

Background 

International trafficking victims are drawn from countries throughout the world 

often through the use of force, coercion or fraud. Traffickers may mislead skilled or 

educated adults facing chronic unemployment as they search for higher paying jobs 

or a better life; buy or coerce children from families facing poverty and economic 

desperation; or abduct their victims. Victims find themselves physically and socially 

isolated in an unfamiliar culture in which they may not speak or understand the 

language. Often victims do not have immigration documents and traffickers may 

threaten physical harm to the victim or to a loved one left behind in the country 

of origin. Many victims are raped or beaten into terrified submission. As a result, 

when international trafficking victims do come in contact with law enforcement officers, health providers or other people who would be in a position to help them, they 

are afraid to come forward. 

To date, we have certified over 1,000 victims of trafficking in the United States. 

The majority of these international victims have come from Latin America, namely 

El Salvador and Mexico, and Asia, primarily Korea and China. Over 62% of the victims were from Central and South America, with 28% from El Salvador alone. Another 23% of the victims were from Asia. In addition, individuals have been trafficked from such diverse countries as Bangladesh, Cameroon, India and Russia. 

Eight percent of these victims were minors and nearly 94% were female. 

Human trafficking takes place throughout the United States and over the past 

year we have found victims in 20 states, the District of Columbia, Guam, and 

Saipan. The largest concentration of victims was found in Texas, where over 100 

victims were certified this fiscal year. 

I would like to turn now to describe our efforts to certify these trafficking victims 

and facilitate their access to benefits and services. 

Certification and Victims Assistance 

Prior to enactment of the TVPA, trafficking victims lacking legal status in the 

United States were not eligible for most types of public assistance or services. Under 

the TVPA, ACF is given the authority to certify foreign adult victims of trafficking 

so that they may receive the same benefits and services available to refugees, thereby giving these victims access to both state and federal assistance programs. We 

consult on a daily basis with staff at the U.S. Department of Justice, Criminal Section of the Civil Rights Division (CRT), which investigates and prosecutes trafficking 

cases and refers appropriate cases to ACF for certification. Before an adult can be 

certified, law enforcement must deem the individual a victim of a severe form of 

trafficking, the adult must receive appropriate documentation from the Department 
31

of Justice or the Department of Homeland Security, and must be willing to assist 

in the investigation and prosecution of the traffickers. 

Once certified, the adult may receive benefits from a wide range of programs, including Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF), Medicaid, food stamps, 

and Supplemental Security Income (SSI). For those who do not quality for TANF 

and Medicaid, an eight-month transitional program for single adults and childless 

couples, providing cash and medical assistance, is available. 

In addition, we work with the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, Immigration and Customs Enforcement Agency (ICE) to assist in the issuance of Employment Authorization Documents. These documents are a critical component of our efforts because they allow victims to participate in work programs and become self 

sufficient. Employment improves a victim’s self-esteem and increases confidence and 

stability. 

While eligible for the same benefits as adults, international victims of severe 

forms of trafficking who are under 18 years of age do not need to be certified. Once 

established as victims of trafficking, children are issued a letter of eligibility by ACF 

and then can enter the Unaccompanied Refugee Minor program which has a long 

history of providing comprehensive services specially designed for youth. We coordinate placement of minors based on individual needs, taking into consideration their 

cultural, linguistic and religious background, as well as any special health, educational and emotional needs. Services include housing, food, clothing, medical and 

mental health services, intensive case management, and education are provided 

through this program. 

In April of this year, in order to more efficiently provide services to international 

victims of human trafficking in any location within the United States, we awarded 

a single national ‘‘Per Capita Victim Services’’ contract to the U.S. Conference of 

Catholic Bishops. Under this contract, a defined financial stipend is provided to each 

victim. This per-capita approach will ensure efficiency and improve access to the 

best possible services for victims. Improved access to comprehensive case management, shelter, food, transportation, legal assistance, job training and health care 

will better enable these individuals to establish lives free of violence and exploitation. 

A brief story of the types of victims served, will give a better understanding of 

the range of services needed by these victims. In just this past year, we identified 

over 100 women who were trafficked into the U.S. after being told of opportunities 

to work in restaurants and earn a good living in America. After they arrived in the 

United States, the women were informed they had incurred large debts and would 

need to work to pay back those who had brought them to America. Jobs were provided in bars and restaurants, but in too many cases these jobs went far beyond 

working as a waitress. 

In some instances, these women were forced to drink large quantities of alcohol 

during their shift, worked over 12 hours a day, and lived in housing controlled by 

their traffickers. Worse yet, the victims were forced to participate in ‘‘dates’’ purchased by bar patrons. To keep their victims compliant, traffickers often beat and 

otherwise punished women who were late, did not show to work, or were seen not 

to perform up to the traffickers’ standards. Moreover, women who were found to be 

pregnant were forced to have abortions. 

When found and rescued from these abhorrent conditions, we learned that some 

of these women had been held in captivity for over four years. Many of these women 

will continue to suffer extreme health problems due to their enslavement, but as a 

result of the TVPA the victims have been provided medical care, counseling, English 

classes, and many other services. 

We have seen other examples of the insidious nature of trafficking where women 

came to the United States and entered into ‘‘good-faith’’ marriages in which their 

husbands ended up being their trafficker. The men promised them the good life in 

America—a fresh start in the land of opportunity. Instead, these men said that the 

only way to make money was through prostitution. The men forced their wives to 

work as prostitutes and threatened to tell families back home if the women tried 

to leave. Some of the women, once identified, decided to return to their families, 

some decided they did not need any services, while others decided they want to pursue a better life in America. These individuals have received HHS certification, entered into programs to learn English, and are now working and surviving on their 

own 

Outreach Efforts 

In addition to certification and assistance activities for international trafficking 

victims, the TVPA requires us, in coordination with other designated federal agencies, to establish and carry out programs to increase public awareness about traf-
32

ficking in persons. We are hopeful that our efforts to increase public awareness will 

encourage many more victims to step forward and seek help, and will make those 

who encounter victims more aware of what they are seeing. Despite the passage of 

TVPA and increased attention to the problem of trafficking, many remain unaware 

of the plight of trafficking victims. 

Therefore, we have taken several steps to expand public awareness. We established the Rescue and Restore Victims of Human Trafficking public awareness campaign, which promotes public awareness about trafficking and the protections available for trafficking victims. The goal of the campaign is to help communities identify 

and serve more victims of trafficking so that every individual forced, coerced, or 

fraudulently induced into exploitative work will have the courage and support to 

come forward and receive the full protection and benefits offered under the Trafficking Act. 

The goal of the campaign is to educate those persons or entities who are most 

likely to come into contact with victims such as local law enforcement officials, social service providers, health care professionals, faith-based organizations, domestic 

violence groups, ethnic organizations, refugee assistance professionals, homeless assistance professionals, drug rehabilitation organizations, child protective services officials, juvenile court officials, educational organizations, and legal assistance organizations. The general message points of the Campaign are that victims of trafficking are numerous but often inconspicuous; victims are not criminals; the government is able to help victims; here’s how to recognize a victim; and here’s what to 

do if you are, or you know, of a victim. 

In addition to promoting public awareness about trafficking, the Rescue and Restore campaign also established coalitions in 16 cities, including Tampa, Philadelphia, Los Angeles, Phoenix, Atlanta, St. Louis, and Portland, and the State of Illinois. The coalitions consist of dedicated law enforcement personnel, social service 

providers, local government officials, health care professionals and leaders of faithbased and ethnic organizations. The goal of the coalitions is to increase the number 

of trafficking victims who are identified, assisted in leaving the circumstances of 

their servitude, and certified so that they may receive benefits and services. Along 

with identifying and assisting victims, coalition members use the campaign messages to educate the general public about human trafficking. 

Another component of the public awareness campaign is the 24/7 toll-free trafficking Information and Referral hotline. The purpose of the Hotline is first and 

foremost to provide service referrals to potential trafficking victims. In addition, the 

Hotline crisis workers educate callers about Rescue and Restore campaign materials, direct non-trafficking related questions to relevant Federal and local agencies, 

and take reports on possible trafficking cases. Tips and relevant information are 

sent to the Civil Rights Division at the Department of Justice. 

For example, the Trafficking Hotline received a call from the National Domestic 

Violence Hotline concerning a young Mexican woman who only spoke Spanish. The 

woman, a 15-year old juvenile with two children, was calling from a phone booth. 

The victim said she was sold to a man for $25,000 by her mother in Mexico when 

she was 11 years old and the man brought her to the U.S. to live with him. She 

said that this man had been abusive to her, would drink and hit her, and had raped 

her and forced her to have sex with him in front of her two children. She reported 

that she had not been allowed to leave the home without him. She was afraid that 

this man would find her and was looking for help in getting away from this situation. The Hotline worker connected the call to a service provider who was able to 

arrange a taxi ride that transported the victim to safety. 

We work closely with groups who have experience in providing outreach efforts 

to vulnerable populations, such as homeless and at-risk youth. In FY 2005 we 

awarded 18 grants for street outreach to organizations to help them identify victims 

of trafficking among populations they already were assisting. This week, we will 

award 18 new street outreach grants. These grants support direct, person-to-person 

contact, information sharing, counseling and other communication with targeted 

populations. 

As part of our continuing efforts to improve our outreach efforts, as well as better 

target services to restore self-sufficiency to victims of human trafficking so they may 

live productive, safe and healthy lives, we are convening a Conference on Survivors 

of Sex Trafficking, this Thursday. The purpose of this conference is to highlight the 

stories of survivors of sex trafficking, examine case management for victims of sex 

trafficking, and share lessons learned in identifying and caring for victims of sex 

trafficking. The conference will allow survivors to share their physical, emotional, 

financial and legal needs and what has helped them on their road to recovery. There 

will be presentations by case managers demonstrating effective strategies for addressing victim needs, and the conference will offer results and lessons learned from 
33

the trafficking program’s street outreach grantees so that participants can understand the best interventions for identifying victims of sex trafficking. 

Conclusion 

Since the passage of the TVPA, we have addressed trafficking at many levels. We 

have partnered with other Federal agencies in order to set up processes for certification to enable identified victims to apply for benefits and services. We have provided funding to service providing agencies to address international trafficking victims’ needs and assist them with accessing the mainstream public benefits. We provided outreach grants for service providers and community members to create more 

awareness about human trafficking and help identify victims. We also provided education and outreach across the country to raise the level of awareness with educational institutions, law enforcement agencies, and many types of service providers. 

We are committed to building on our experience and continuing to improve our efforts to identify, rescue, and restore more victims of traffic. We appreciate the opportunity provided by this Committee to highlight the tragedy of the lives surrounding 

these trafficking victims. 

I’d be pleased to address any questions you may have.

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much Dr. Horn. 

Mr. Miller, if I can just begin with you, and you did kind of reference it earlier, that some of our closest allies, including Mexico 

and Israel, are on tier 2 watch list. I am wondering what the reaction has been from their governments to that placement and 

whether or not they are making progress to get off of that list. As 

you know, dozens of countries are on the watch list and many of 

whom could just as well be on tier 3. 

And my second question is, do you have any concerns that the 

tier 2 watch list, might be being used as a parking lot? Some countries like Russia and India have been on tier 2 watch now for 3 

years. When do they demonstrate that they have not met those 

minimum standards which have been prescribed by the act and 

should be dropped down to tier 3 with the attendant consequences 

for not taking action to stop trafficking or to combat it? 

Mr. MILLER. Okay. I will take the first question about progress 

that we have seen in the last few months, countries such as Mexico 

and Israel that were placed on the tier 2 watch list. With Mexico, 

let’s just say that things seem to be moving but very slowly. There 

is anti-trafficking legislation that passed one house. It still has not 

passed the other. We have certainly made it clear that this would 

be a good indicator of progress. There is a lot of activity in terms 

of prosecutions. The trouble is that we have difficulty figuring out 

whether the prosecutions are related to trafficking and, when they 

are related to trafficking, whether it leads to convictions that lead 

to people actually going to jail. And this is an issue we are pushing 

them very hard on. 

But let me say, one positive, very positive development south of 

the border: The Ambassador from Mexico has been to my office on 

two occasions. And the Mexican Government under his lead is now 

going to undertake a major initiative involving their consulates in 

this country in terms of educating Mexican consular officials about 

trafficking—about giving information when they find somebody has 

been trafficked—what can be done. And not only are they going to 

take this initiative, they are planning on spending a million dollars 

of Mexican funds on this. So it is truly a Mexican initiative. It 

could be—it hasn’t happened yet—but it could be significant. It 

could be useful as a model for other governments that have consulates in the United States on what they can do. 
34

Every year we try at the State Department to bring together foreign Embassies and tell them, here are the resources that Dr. Horn 

and his department have available in the Department of Justice, 

et cetera. Here is what you can do if any of your citizens call your 

Embassy. But we can do better on this. And the Mexican Government program may help us do better. 

Now, the second question that you asked related to whether tier 

2 watch list is becoming a ‘‘parking lot.’’ and I take it from your 

question, Mr. Chairman, that when Congress a couple of years ago 

changed the tier 1, 2, 3 system and added tier 2 watch list, it was 

done not only to provide another tier along with tier 2 so there 

could be some more gradation, but it was done with the intent to 

give a warning and that the intent was not to—I gather from your 

question and you are nodding—it was not to leave countries permanently on tier 2 watch lists. So am I correct in stating that the intent was the governments that are on tier 2 watch lists should, if 

not after a year, after 2 or 3 years, move either up or down? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Yes. 

Mr. MILLER. I feel like I am a Member of Congress here. For the 

record, let me show that the Chairman has said, yes, that was the 

intent. And I think, given the message, I will carry your message 

back to the department on this. That is what I will do. I think it 

is a good message. I suppose you have the option of making that 

message clear in the form of legislation, but what you are saying 

is what I have gathered from many Members, and so countries that 

have been on tier 2 watch lists certainly should be forewarned. 

Those that have been on particularly 3 years, that there will be 

certainly tremendous pressure to either move them down or move 

them up. I hope it is to move them up because the purpose here 

is not to put a country in tier 3. It is not to sanction. We all agree 

we want to get progress, throw the traffickers in jail and help the 

victims, and that is what President Bush wants, and that is what 

you want. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Exactly. And the concern is that they 

will look at—if they stay on the tier 2 watch list, it is the equivalent of being on tier 2, which they don’t belong—the evidence was 

such that they could have been tier 3. And you know, in order for 

this law to work and these policies to work, they have to be implemented just like there needs to be sanctions, and there needs to be 

a penalty phase for those that are on tier 3, like Saudi Arabia and 

others who have egregious practices of trafficking. So thank you for 

taking that back. I do appreciate that. 

Let me ask you, I just returned yesterday from Iraq, and while 

I was there, I met with the Reconciliation Commission Chairman 

and met with several of our top military leaders. I also made a 

point of inquiring about a subject that you know I and others have 

been very concerned about: Labor trafficking, mostly of foreign nationals, 35,000 strong who often find their way to Iraq under false 

pretenses. Brokers lie, deceive, and coerce, and so that once these 

laborers get to their final destination, they are in an ironclad compact. They can’t leave. Their passports are taken away. 

General Casey has issued guidance, regulations, and an order 

that was several pronged. One of them was that there needs to be 

a contract that clearly shows that the employment can be broken 
35

on the part of the employee if he or she wants to—they are not indentured servants, they are not slaves—and that the passports 

need to be given back to the individuals so that employers don’t 

hold that over employees’ heads. Other parts included a safe place 

to live, and adequate space; 50 square feet was what he prescribed. 

I asked a number of questions about that. 

I got back some seemingly encouraging responses, but I am wondering if you—because you were at that hearing we had in June, 

Mr. Ambassador—could perhaps answer as to how you feel 

progress is going on that issue. 

Mr. MILLER. Yes, well, Mr. Chairman, you obviously have more 

up-to-date information than I do, but I am encouraged, not because 

I think the problem has been solved. As you know, there is a tremendous incentive, not just in Iraq, but in the whole Near East, 

there is this tremendous incentive for people in South Asia to come 

to work, whether it is as domestic servants or construction workers, et cetera. The flow is incredible. There are a million Indonesians in Saudi Arabia now. There are a million Filipinos in Saudi 

Arabia and proportionately less numbers in countries all up and 

down the Near East. Okay, so there is this tremendous global migration going on. 

So you have all these things to begin with, and then you have 

Iraq, and of course, there is such migration to take advantage of 

some of the work opportunities, despite the dangers, in Iraq. And 

as we know, as you know, Mr. Chairman, there was a terrible, terrible event that involved laborers from Nepal deceived by recruiting firms in Nepal, sent to Jordan. They thought they were going 

to hotel jobs. They were taken, apparently against their will, sent 

into Iraq. In this case, we can’t say they worked as slaves in Iraq 

because they were intercepted and killed on the way in. So there 

is a serious problem. 

But I am very encouraged by what the Defense Department has 

done. They looked at this situation. They looked at it in depth. You 

referred to general Casey’s memo where he not only said we are 

going to impose space requirements on living conditions, he said, 

no contractor, American or anybody else, is going to be able to take 

a passport away from somebody that is working. That is, as you 

know, one of the tools that the traffickers use. And as of my last 

conversation with the Defense Department, they were enforcing 

this; they were sending out the word. They were checking on this. 

And so I am hopeful we have taken some steps to arrest this terrible phenomena. And I am delighted that you heard good things 

on your visit there, because this is something we are going to have 

to watch continuously, not only in Iraq, but all throughout the 

Near East. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you very much. 

Dr. Horn, if I could ask you, in regards to the Innocence Loss Initiative and other law enforcement initiatives—how does HHS work 

with law enforcement for the protection of children? Tomorrow I 

will be chairing a hearing entitled, ‘‘Protecting Children: The Battle Against Child Pornography and Other Forms of Sexual Exploitation,’’ under the auspices of the Helsinki Commission. We will be 

hearing from the area chief of the Cyber Crimes Center, James 

Plitt; Immigration and Customs Enforcement; James Finch with 
36

the FBI, also the Cyber division; and then four very notable individuals: Linda Smith, Karen Smolenski, Ernie Allen, Mohamed 

Mattar, Johns Hopkins Protection Project, ECPAT–USA, Shared 

Hope International and the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children. They will be discussing a report of which we have 

a draft that we just got today on the whole issue of the mid-term 

review on commercial sexual exploitation of children in America. 

First we will be talking about what they are doing obviously on 

cyber crimes. They made a couple points, and briefly give your reaction to them. Also your reaction to the most notable lack—and 

I know that we are trying to build shelters, so this isn’t qualifying. 

Can we do more? They point out that the most notable lack is the 

lack of secure physical shelters and safe housing for victims of trafficking and the state tendency to house trafficking victims in juvenile detention centers. Your thoughts on that. Secondly, that gangs 

are increasingly involved in the trafficking of children, especially 

American children within the United States. This is a relatively 

new phenomena, but gangs are being focused on. They reiterate 

throughout the report this secure physical shelter issue as being a 

paramount one. Your thoughts on that. 

Mr. HORN. Well, we work quite closely with the Department of 

Justice. We are in daily contact with the Department of Justice, 

and we rely upon them to help identify adults who are victims of 

a severe form of trafficking so that we can certify them as victims 

and we can provide benefits and services to them. And we also rely 

on the Department of Justice and also the Department of Homeland Security in working in coordination when it comes to minors 

as well so that we can, you know, once they are identified as victims of a severe form of trafficking, then we can also directly certify them and provide them with services. 

We moved from direct granting to local organizations to provide 

services and benefits in specific geographic areas to a national contract in which we provide funds on a per capita basis to organizations who are working with either precertified or certified victims. 

We did that because, when you do direct granting to a specific organization, particularly with this small amount of money that we 

have available to provide services in this program, then that organization is obviously limited to their geographic catchment area in 

terms of their provision of services. And so, essentially, what we 

are doing is, with a direct grant approach, is funding a very small 

amount of the capacity that is available in NGOs across the country to work with precertified and certified victims. Going to a per 

capita reimbursement contract allows us essentially to use the entire capacity of NGOs throughout the country because wherever a 

victim is found, an NGO can provide services and then can get reimbursed for the case management work that they do with that victim as they help them access the health services. The shelter issue, 

I think that, given that this trafficking issue is not just found in 

one or two geographic areas but rather is found throughout the 

United States and given that it is not just found in urban areas 

but also suburban areas and rural areas, it would seem to me that 

at least at the moment there are other alternatives for us to do 

housing rather than to build specific shelters for this problem. 
37

I saw this issue in Greece. I was in Greece doing some consulting 

work on welfare-to-work issues, but also when I travel abroad, I do 

talk about the issue of international human trafficking. And one of 

the problems that they encountered was they built shelters, but 

then they didn’t have anybody to put in those shelters, and there 

was a public backlash for these shelters that were open 24/7, fully 

staffed but with empty beds. There weren’t any victims to put in 

them, and it eroded at least what I was told some public will for 

working against this problem. 

Now, in the United States, what we have it seems to me what 

we want to do is utilize the existing capacity that we have to provide shelter, and we think by going to this national, you know, this 

national per capita reimbursement contract, we are able to do that. 

Now, I don’t rule out the idea of building specific shelters in geographic areas where we have large concentrations of traffic victims, 

but given this small amount of money we have available to support 

this work, I am not sure this is the most efficient way to go right 

now. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Should we be providing additional 

moneys? I mean, if you had it, could you use it wisely? 

Mr. HORN. Well, I think the biggest problem we have right now 

is we are 5 years into this project, and let’s assume there are 

15,000 victims trafficked in the United States every year, and over 

the last 5 years, we have only been able to identify 1,000 victims, 

so the biggest problem right now is victim identification. And we 

are learning as we go along. The Rescue and Restore campaign is 

meant to help us identify more victims. We are seeing progress, but 

I am not satisfied frankly. A thousand victims identified over 5 

years when there may be as many as, you know, 80,000 victims 

brought into the United States, the first order of business to seems 

to me is really victim identification. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. Thank you, Mr. Payne. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. We see that the list of countries in the tier 1, 2, 2 on hold and 3, about how many countries 

are there on 3 approximately? 

Mr. MILLER. Very few. At this point, there are 158 countries in 

the report, Congressman Payne. You will see some special cases in 

the back in which we didn’t think there was an effective government to rate. Liberia, for example. It used to be 2 or 3 years ago, 

there were 30 or 40 governments that weren’t rated because we 

didn’t have the information. But we are now at the point where we 

are down to very, very few—98, 99 percent of the countries in the 

bold are either evaluated or there are special cases in the back of 

this book. 

Mr. PAYNE. So in a nutshell, since we are kind of running out 

of time, do you think that the situation is worsening or is it improving or do you think that the fact that the system is relatively 

new, 4 or 5 years, that it is very hard to quantify whether situations are improving or not improving or at least governments are 

becoming more concerned by virtue of this process. 

Mr. MILLER. Okay. This is—I mean, that is the key question and 

goes back to what I said before about the impossibility of doing a 

census of victims in this underground, illegal trade. What I am offering you is my opinion. You know, I will be right up front about 
38

it. This is an opinion. I hope it is an informed opinion, but I can’t 

say it is scientifically founded: I believe we have started to turn the 

corner—this doesn’t mean that we are not discovering more and 

more victims of trafficking—because there is more media attention. 

There is more public awareness. Governments are starting to do 

something about this now. So it is sort of like we were maybe 30 

or 40 years ago in this country with rape or domestic violence. And 

suddenly there is this attention and people have said, ‘‘Has rape 

or domestic violence increased?’’ because there were more reports 

doubtful that it had increased. It was being discovered. I think that 

is what is happening here. It is being discovered. 

This is my opinion, the increases—of course slavery has been 

with us for centuries, but there were definitely increases after 

globalization in the 1970s. There have been increases in the kinds 

of slave trade today. There are some significant differences from 

the historic slave trade. So I believe from 1970 to 2000 or thereafter there were increases. But I think based on the conviction statistics, worldwide the number of shelters opening, the number of 

public awareness campaigns, the number of governments passing 

anti-trafficking legislation, I believe we have started to turn the 

corner. Started. I don’t want to give anybody the impression that 

this problem is over. There is so much work to be done everywhere, 

including in the United States. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you and that is—like I say, that is really difficult to get, to really get a grip on this. I think that probably we 

will see a positive turn in Liberia and we do have now that government and first woman President in Africa addressed the Joint Session, and I think we will at least be able to put them on a list. 

I finally want to know about China, you know. They are languishing there on the watchlist and I wonder about their labor 

problems, to put it lightly. How do you—how do they just hang 

around without really getting into the final land of purgatory. 

China baffles me, you know. We have this love relation with China. 

They are becoming very wealthy by the United States buying everything from them and we turn around and Sudan, they are helping the government there. In Angola, they just lent the government 

money so they don’t have to go through the IFM to have transparency in oil and diamonds and such. So they get away with murder. Yet and still we have this lovely—we put out the readred carpet when they come. Do you have any—I want you to say if your 

job—but the job may be a little bigger than your pay grade, but 

what is going on? 

Mr. MILLER. Well, Congressman, we tried, my office tries to not 

let our political relations with the country, good or bad, influence 

our judgment on trafficking. For example, in general, democracies 

have less trafficking than authoritarian governments. But there is 

plenty of slavery in democracies. There have been since ancient 

Athens. And so one cannot just say because a country is on our 

good side that they are good on this issue or vice versa. 

Now to get to China, China is on tier 2 watch list, has avoided 

tier 3. I am simplifying here because there are several pages in 

here on this, because our Embassy reports large numbers of arrests, convictions, prosecutions, convictions and sentences of traf-
39

fickers, even in the thousands. Now, the difficulty here is that is 

what is reported. 

Of course, the politics of a country does influence you to this extent. We are trying to make more efforts to improve our information flow there. 

I was in China, was it the end of last year? I met with law enforcement officials. In general, I got the impression they do things 

on law enforcement. When they come to helping victims it is not 

anywhere near as good. 

There is—and I was not able to visit—there was somebody on my 

staff who was going to make a special trip to South China—not 

able to visit a shelter ostensibly run by NGOs and that shows the 

problem in gathering information. 

One of the big problems from China which I brought up and I 

didn’t get anywhere with is North Korean refugees that become 

trafficking victims in China. We don’t know the number, but there 

are thousands of men, women and children, particularly women 

and girls, fleeing North Korea. Sometimes they are be trafficked 

out of North Korea. Sometimes they are just fleeing and then they 

are seized by gangs on the border and they are sold into prostitution, they are sold into marriage. There is a very serious problem. 

There is no question about it. It has been reported on by many 

international NGOs. And I was not able, I have to say, to get the 

Chinese Government officials to confront this problem at least 

while I was there. I did have more success with Chinese academics 

and with some of the government run NGOs. So we are looking to 

see what happens on this. 

Mr. PAYNE. Thank you very much. Just even in the—on a television show here in the United States they are going to, as you 

know, start a series again of sexual abusers of children. I mean, 

it is right on television. If that happens here, and the series is 

going on again, I don’t watch television much, but I saw it once and 

I was shocked. And people that they have actually trapped on television thinking that a child is there and they come in, I don’t know 

if anybody has—it is disgusting. It is unbelievable. So if it is happening here, right now television shows, I just can imagine what 

is happening around the world. 

But I commend, you know, the Department and you all for what 

we are doing and hopefully we can continue to drive this question 

home around the world. Thank you. 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. We have three votes occurring on the 

Floor. First one is almost finished. So I would like to submit a 

number of questions that we were unable to get to and ask if you 

can get them to us as quickly as possible. Let me say to Dr. Horn, 

I want to congratulate you on the work you are doing and your selection of staff. John Cusey has been—and I greatly admire and respect him. Our loss on the Hill was your gain. So I am just so glad 

to see John as well. And again, Ambassador Miller, great to see 

you. 

Mr. HORN. Do we have to return? 

Mr. SMITH OF NEW JERSEY. No. The hearing is adjourned. 

[Whereupon, at 12:20 p.m., the Committee was adjourned.]

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