27 February 2003

U.S. Statement to OSCE on Human Trafficking and Visa Issues, February 27, 2003

(Feb. 27, Vienna: Amb. Stephan Minikes to the OSCE Permanent Council)

The United States urged "caution against any attempt to over-simplify the [human] trafficking problem and to reduce it to an issue of labor mobility," a U.S. envoy told the OSCE Permanent Council in Vienna February 27.

The envoy, Ambassador Stephan Minikes, the permanent U.S. representative to the OSCE, was responding to a report to the Council on the recent seminar in Ioannina, Greece which examined the impact of human trafficking for cheap labor and for the sex industry on the international economy and the national economies of the OSCE States. The seminar was the second in a series of three preparatory seminars leading up to the 11th OSCE Economic Forum to be held in May in Prague.

Minikes said he wanted to reiterate a position taken by the United States at Ioannina: "Visa-free travel throughout the OSCE space is not a viable option as a solution either to trafficking or to other labor imbalances."

He cited conditions that experts have noted can facilitate trafficking: "state weakness, the political-criminal nexus, police corruption, and the widespread willingness by those in a position to stop trafficking - such as customs, immigration and border officials - to look the other way."

"These are conditions that can be corrected by greater adherence to the principles of good governance and transparency," Minikes said.

Following is a transcript of his remarks:
(begin transcript)

United States Mission to the OSCE
Vienna
February 27, 2003

STATEMENT ON THE ECONOMIC DIMENSION SECOND PREPARATORY SEMINAR: THE ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF TRAFFICKING IN HUMAN BEINGS

As delivered by Ambassador Stephan M. Minikes to the Permanent Council

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. First of all, I'd like to thank the Economic Coordinator for his report, to thank the organizers for their hard work, and to thank the Government of Greece for hosting the Second Preparatory Seminar in Ioannina.

Our delegation was impressed by the lively debate, the comprehensive review of the subject matter, and the numerous concrete recommendations that emerged for possible OSCE action. The seminar reinforced our view that good governance, transparency, the rule of law, sound economic policy, and democratic political systems are the most important foundation for a sound society.

As was noted in Ioannina, high unemployment alone is not sufficient to lead people to accept the offers put forth by traffickers. Poverty and political instability are potent underlying causes of trafficking. They lead to a hopelessness that makes the desperate vulnerable to offers of employment and then find out, tragically, that they are indeed too good to be true.

Experts noted that state weakness, the political-criminal nexus, police corruption, and the widespread willingness by those in a position to stop trafficking -- such as customs, immigration and border officials -- to look the other way, all facilitate trafficking. These are conditions that can be corrected by greater adherence to the principles of good governance and transparency.

We caution against any attempt to over-simplify the trafficking problem and to reduce it to an issue of labor mobility. As experts in Ioannina noted, trafficking in human beings, especially for exploitation in the sex trade, is heavily influenced by "push" factors in the country of origin, such as lack of education, lack of job opportunities, and the lack of any prospects for the future. We must also be careful about encouraging migration, as a big problem facing many emerging democracies is indeed "brain drain." Countries have to look for ways to retain their human capital, because their very futures depend on it.

Finally, I want to reiterate our statement in Ioannina that visa-free travel throughout the OSCE space is not a viable option as a solution either to trafficking or to other labor imbalances. We encourage interested states to pursue bilateral and regional travel arrangements among themselves, but caution them against pursuing unrealistic aims -- such as visa-free travel throughout the OSCE space -- as this will only divert our efforts from more achievable goals.

Thank you.

(end transcript)