II 

109TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. RES. 48 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding trafficking in persons. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

FEBRUARY 10, 2005 

Mr. LUGAR submitted the following resolution; which was referred to the 

Committee on Foreign Relations 

RESOLUTION 

Expressing the sense of the Senate regarding trafficking 

in persons. 

Whereas an estimated 600,000 to 800,000 people are trafficked annually; 

Whereas approximately 70 percent of trafficked persons are 

female and 50 percent are children; 

Whereas approximately 250,000 people are trafficked in, out, 

and through the South East Asia region each year; 

Whereas the tsunami that struck South East Asia, South 

Asia, and East Africa on December 26, 2004, killed more 

than 160,000 people, affected 5,000,000 people, and left 

an estimated 35,000 children orphaned; 

Whereas these orphaned children are particularly vulnerable 

to being trafficked for sexual exploitation, forced labor, 

or to be child soldiers; 
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•SRES 48 IS

Whereas governments of countries affected by the earthquake 

and tsunami in the Indian Ocean have taken measures to 

prevent the trafficking of children and other vulnerable 

persons; 

Whereas President Susilo Bambang Yudhyono of Indonesia 

has ordered that immigration and police officers not 

allow children from Aceh to be removed from the country; 

Whereas Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi of Malaysia undertook measures to prevent child trafficking by directing 

immigration enforcement officials at entry points in Malaysia to be on the alert for child trafficking and by imposing a temporary ban on the adoption of foreign children; 

Whereas, in India, the State Government of Tamil Nadu 

opened shelters to protect orphaned or separated children 

and pledged that it would provide orphans of the tsunami 

support and education; 

Whereas the Royal Thai Government has placed all tsunami 

orphans in that country in the protective custody of extended family members and has awarded boarding school 

scholarships to children affected by the tsunami; 

Whereas, in Sri Lanka, the National Child Protection Authority (NCPA), UNICEF, and nongovernmental organizations have mobilized teams to identify and register all 

children who have been separated from their immediate 

families; 

Whereas the United Nations Convention Against 

Transnational Organized Crime (hereafter in this resolution referred to as the ‘‘Organized Crime Convention’’) 

and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, a 
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•SRES 48 IS

protocol to the Organized Crime Convention (hereafter in 

this resolution referred to as the ‘‘Trafficking Protocol’’), 

require countries to enact laws to criminalize trafficking 

in persons, punish traffickers, and assist victims; 

Whereas the United States, on December 13, 2000, signed, 

but has not yet ratified, the Organized Crime Convention 

and the Trafficking Protocol; 

Whereas ratification by the United States of the Organized 

Crime Convention and the Trafficking Protocol would enhance the ability of the United States Government to 

render and receive assistance on a global basis in the 

common struggle to prevent, investigate, and prosecute 

trafficking in persons; and 

Whereas, like the United States, most countries affected by 

the tsunami disaster have signed, but not yet ratified, the 

Organized Crime Convention and the Trafficking Protocol: Now, therefore, be it 

1 Resolved, That it is the sense of the Senate that— 

2 (1) combating trafficking in persons should con3 tinue to be a priority of United States foreign policy; 

4 (2) the United States should ratify the United 

5 Nations Convention Against Transnational Orga6 nized Crime and the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress 

7 and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially 

8 Women and Children; 

9 (3) the President should commend the efforts of 

10 the governments of those countries affected by the 
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1 December 26, 2004, tsunami to protect their chil2 dren from the dangers of trafficking; and 

3 (4) the President should urge all countries to 

4 ratify the United Nations Convention Against 

5 Transnational Organized Crime and the Protocol to 

6 Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Per7 sons, Especially Women and Children, particularly 

8 those countries that have been most affected by the 

9 tsunami and in which children face the resulting in10 creased risk of being abducted and trafficked. 

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