[Federal Register Volume 89, Number 3 (Thursday, January 4, 2024)]
[Presidential Documents]
[Pages 443-444]
From the Federal Register Online via the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
[FR Doc No: 2024-00052]




                        Presidential Documents 



Federal Register / Vol. 89, No. 3 / Thursday, January 4, 2024 / 
Presidential Documents

[[Page 443]]


                Proclamation 10693 of December 29, 2023

                
National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, 2024

                By the President of the United States of America

                A Proclamation

                More than 27 million people around the world endure the 
                abhorrent abuse of human trafficking and forced labor, 
                including thousands of people right here in the United 
                States. It is a threat to global security, public 
                safety, and human dignity. During National Human 
                Trafficking Prevention Month, we reaffirm our 
                commitment to ending these predatory crimes at home and 
                across the globe.

                In 2021, I signed an updated National Action Plan to 
                Combat Human Trafficking, outlining my Administration's 
                efforts to prevent trafficking, prosecute perpetrators, 
                and protect survivors. The plan reflects our commitment 
                to standing up for the most vulnerable among us, and it 
                is a foundation for our work to ensure safe, orderly, 
                and humane migration. Federal agencies are today 
                working closely with governments and organizations 
                around the world to address the root causes of 
                trafficking, bring traffickers to justice, and support 
                survivors as they recover and rebuild their lives.

                The plan also reflects our commitment to workers' 
                rights and ending forced labor in global supply chains. 
                Two years ago, I signed the bipartisan Uyghur Forced 
                Labor Prevention Act, and we will continue working with 
                global leaders to make sure that American imports are 
                produced without forced labor and that the global 
                economic system offers traffickers no safe harbor. More 
                recently, I issued a first-ever Presidential Memorandum 
                elevating and integrating workers' rights and high 
                labor standards into our Nation's foreign policy 
                priorities, including preventing forced labor and other 
                abuses.

                The vast majority of human trafficking victims are 
                women and girls. In 2022, we reauthorized the Violence 
                Against Women Act, which I first wrote as a United 
                States Senator some 30 years ago--this time expanding 
                the jurisdiction of Tribal courts to prosecute non-
                Native American sex traffickers. The American Rescue 
                Plan also provided tens of thousands of housing 
                vouchers to help people fleeing domestic violence or 
                human trafficking find a safe home and reclaim their 
                lives. As we work to help people disproportionately 
                affected by human trafficking, including members of 
                racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, the 
                LGBTQI+ community, and migrants, we remain committed to 
                learning from and partnering with survivors to support 
                their recoveries and to recruit their help in better 
                spotting and preventing these too often overlooked 
                crimes.

                There is no greater sin than the abuse of power, and 
                human trafficking is among the worst abuses that exist. 
                We must each play a role in ending it; we cannot turn 
                away. This month, we urge every American to learn how 
                to identify the signs of trafficking and to share the 
                National Human Trafficking hotline (888-373-7888)--an 
                important resource to report a tip or to ask for help. 
                Together, we must make sure every human being is free 
                to live a life full of dignity and respect.

                NOW, THEREFORE, I, JOSEPH R. BIDEN JR., President of 
                the United States of America, by virtue of the 
                authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws 
                of the United States, do hereby proclaim January 2024 
                as National Human Trafficking Prevention Month. I call 
                upon businesses, civil society organizations, 
                communities of faith, families, and all Americans to

[[Page 444]]

                recognize the vital role we play in combating human 
                trafficking and to observe this month with appropriate 
                programs and activities aimed at preventing all forms 
                of human trafficking.

                IN WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this 
                twenty-ninth day of December, in the year of our Lord 
                two thousand twenty-three, and of the Independence of 
                the United States of America the two hundred and forty-
                eighth.
                <GRAPHIC(S) NOT AVAILABLE IN TIFF FORMAT>
                
                    (Presidential Sig.)

[FR Doc. 2024-00052
Filed 1-3-24; 8:45 am]
Billing code 3395-F4-P