Madam Chairperson, members of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus and the Congressional Children's Caucus and distinguished guests: I am honored to speak to you today on the global epidemic of Trafficking in Children. This is an issue which the Protection Project has documented in its newly released 2002 Human Rights Report on Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children. We will relate our findings to the State Department's Report on Trafficking in Persons, or TIP Report, released yesterday.

Of the 192 countries and territories documented in the Protection Project's Report, trafficking in children is a serious problem in 111. This does not mean that the remaining countries are blameless regarding their treatment of children - only that we have not yet been able to sufficiently document the problem.

The TIP Report currently documents severe forms of trafficking of women and children in 89 countries. Recognizing that adequate information must be available before placing a country in a specific tier, we urge the Department of State to collect information regarding other countries for the 2003 report, so that no country will be exempt from sanctions only on the basis insufficient information.

Our information indicates that between 2 and 4 million children are trafficked each year.

• In West Africa, 200,000 children are enslaved by cross-border trafficking rings. Nine out of every 10 children trafficked are girls.
• In Pakistan 20,000 children are in prostitution. In the past 2 years, over 2,000 young boys have been kidnapped and taken to the United Arab Emirates as camel jockeys
• In South Africa, girls as young as 8 and 9 are primary targets of traffickers where they are repeatedly sold as virgins for as much as $15,000 a night.

The facts are overwhelming. The question before us all today is, how do we stop this dreadful scourge? We would like to offer five recommendations.

1. First, combating trafficking in children requires countries to criminalize not only trafficking in children for the purpose of prostitution, but all forms of trafficking. These include:
   • Baby trafficking or the sale of children in the name of inter-country adoption
   • Trafficking of child organs, or trafficking of children for medical and pharmaceutical experiments.
   • Domestic service or the "maid trade"
   • Child marriages
   • Child labor, and
   • Trafficking in Children for Military Purposes
     
     
   Although the TIP report refers to some of these forms of trafficking, it does not document all forms of trafficking in children.
   
   In the United States, cases of inter-state trafficking in children for the purpose of prostitution have been tried in the past two years, all resulting in convictions, but these have not been enough.
   
   
   • In United States v. Pipkins children were trafficked from Atlanta, Georgia to Alabama, Tennessee, Nevada, California, New York and Florida.
     AND
   • In United States v. Evans children were trafficked from Minnesota to Missouri, Texas and Nevada.
     Labor trafficking in children has also been tried in United States courts.
   • In United States v. Satia a Cameroonian female minor was enslaved and harbored in the defendant's home to be used as their domestic servant in violation of the prohibition of involuntary servitude.
     
     We believe that all forms of trafficking should be aggressively tried and prosecuted both in the United States and throughout the world. Although the TIP Report acknowledges cases of trafficking, it does not cite specific statistics regarding prosecution of trafficking cases, whether trafficking in children or adults.
   
   
   
2. Second, combating trafficking in children requires countries to recognize trafficking in children as an aggravated circumstance or a severe form of trafficking, a term stipulated in the United States Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000. Stringent penalties must be imposed.
   
   Many countries still do not provide adequate criminal sanctions for trafficking in children. Trafficking in children warrants an enhanced penalty in the criminal justice systems of all countries.
   
   The TIP Report does not fully consider whether a particular country provides for such penalties in documenting severe forms of trafficking as required by the Act.
   
   
3. Third, combating trafficking in children requires to provide for the necessary preventive measures to eliminate the contributing causes of the trafficking infrastructure.
   
   Preventive measures to eliminate trafficking in children must include education, job training and promotion of gender equality. In addition, strong families must be nurtured, cultural heritage preserved and entire communities must share the responsibility for the well being of their children.
   
   Criminalizing prostitution should not be limited to child prostitution but should include adult prostitution as well. Studies now show that, where there is a strong adult sex industry, the commercial sexual exploitation of children also increases. It is not clear whether the TIP Report makes this connection, especially since in 16 of the 18 Tier 1 countries, the act of prostitution is not criminalized.
4. Fourth, combating trafficking in children requires countries to adopt appropriate protective measures that meet the specific needs of trafficked children, including child protection centers, special witness protection programs, and the right of a child to a claim of civil compensation.
   
   
5. Fifth, combating trafficking in children requires countries to adopt not only domestic but also transnational polices.
   
   Any effort to combat trafficking in children must recognize it as an extraditable offense. Moreover, any effort to combat trafficking in children must expand the scope of money laundering legislation from one solely related to drug trafficking to one related to all proceeds from trafficking in persons.
   
   Anti-corruption legislation must also be examined to ensure that public officials are not involved in trafficking in children. The TIP Report, while focusing on the criminal law, does not equally examine money laundering or anti-corruption legislation as they relate to trafficking, as explicitly mandated by the Act.
   
   Any effort to combat trafficking in children must include the extraterritorial application of domestic anti-trafficking legislation.
   
   The United States recognizes the extraterritoriality principle in the Child Sexual Abuse Prevention Act of 1994, which prohibits child sex tourism. Under the act a United States citizen or resident alien is subject to criminal liability if such person travels in interstate or foreign commerce for the purpose of engaging in a sexual act with a child.
   
   We believe that the Act does not provide adequate protection for all children under the age of 18 and does not provide the appropriate sentences. We understand that this act is currently under review by the US Congress, and we urge a quick resolution.

Distinguished members of the Congressional Human Rights Caucus, we appreciate the opportunity to speak to you today and we look forward collaborating with you on the implementation of solutions to the problem of trafficking in children.

Copyright © 2008 The Protection Project
1717 Massachusetts Avenue
Washington DC 20036