22 September 2003

U.S. Diplomat Praises Indian Counter-Trafficking Efforts, September 22, 2003

(Encourages business to work against human slavery)

U.S. Charges d'Affaires Robert O. Blake, U.S. Embassy New Delhi, has praised the efforts of the Indian government and business community in the international campaign to stop human trafficking. In a September 19 speech at a conference sponsored by the American Chamber of Commerce, Blake said it is "vitally important" for businesses to play a leadership role in combating human trafficking and raising public awareness about the crime.

Blake urged that businesses support nongovernmental organizations working to stop trafficking and rescue victims whether through financial or in-kind support. He suggested programs to heighten employee and public awareness of trafficking activities.

The U.S. State Department official also praised the Indian government's operational plan to combat and eliminate human trafficking. "We all applaud the increase in the number of cases filed against traffickers," Blake said. "Speedy legal action and charges under statutes that do not permit bail pending trial or sentencing help to stop defendants from fleeing before the judicial process has been completed. Swifter prosecutions also help to ensure that victims/witnesses are not threatened by their exploiters."

Following is the text of Blake's remarks as prepared for delivery:
(begin text)

Saving Tomorrow's Children Today
By Charge d'Affaires Robert O. Blake
A Conference on "Saving Tomorrow's Today -- The Corporate Response to Trafficking in Children"

Organized by the American Chamber of Commerce and the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice, The India Habitat Centre
September 19, 2003

Thank you, Mr. Chairman. It is an honor for me to be with you this afternoon to close this workshop and reflect on how the business sector, together with the NGO community and the government, can be involved with the important responsibility of saving our children from the scourge of human trafficking.

I arrived at the Embassy almost four months ago, and I must tell you I have been enormously impressed by the breadth of cooperation between the United States and India. The level of this activity truly reflects the transformation that has occurred in the US-India relationship.

Among the many issues we are working on, I believe the plans you have discussed here today for eliminating the abhorrent trade in children and what you will actually do, in the coming weeks and months, to put those plans into action are vitally important.

The idea that a person can possess another, and exploit the victim's body, labor and talents, is simply not acceptable. It destroys the lives of innocent human beings and violates their human rights. Combating this heinous crime is a high priority for the US Government. Secretary of State Colin Powell recently put it like this:

"The United States is a leader in the international effort to combat the appalling crime of human trafficking, of which the overwhelming majority of victims are women and children. And we join in solidarity with courageous men and women all over the world who strive to advance human rights and democratic values within their own countries and throughout the international community."

Along with economic and technological development, cultural and educational opportunities, and many other benefits that globalization generates, we must recognize that globalization has also spawned new forms of serious transnational crimes. Trafficking in women and children, together with HIV/AIDS, which it invariably spreads, is one of the most serious. It is a universal problem that demands solutions based on international partnerships. Tragically, like HIV/AIDS, trafficking plagues the powerless.

America certainly suffers from the problem. An estimated 50,000 women and children are trafficked into the United States each year, but the federal government is fighting back. A new US law, the "Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act," gives prosecutors new tools to grant legal immigration status for victims of trafficking and increases criminal prison terms from 10 years to 20 years.

India also is committed to preventing, combating and eliminating human trafficking. The "Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking and Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Women and Children," which the Department of Women and Child Development introduced in 1998, provides the Government of India with an operational agenda.

Indian authorities recognize that convictions against traffickers are essential to India's ability to combat trafficking effectively. We all applaud the increase in the number of cases filed against traffickers. Speedy legal action and charges under statutes that do not permit bail pending trial or sentencing help to stop defendants from fleeing before the judicial process has been completed. Swifter prosecutions also help to ensure that victims/witnesses are not threatened by their exploiters. By charging traffickers with a non-bailable offense they can be kept in custody, at a safe distance from their accusers and available for trial.

Today, everyone, governments, NGOs, international organizations, individuals, and the private sector must play a role in fighting this crime. I welcome the fact that the business community is strongly represented here today to show its support in combating this evil.

When business assumes its social responsibility, it benefits also. More money spent joining the effort to combat society's ills does not mean less money for the bottom line. Study after study shows that when companies assume their corporate social responsibility, the morale and productivity of their workers almost always rise, their reputation in the community is enhanced, and sales and profits increase.

Beyond the fact that trafficking in children is a terrible crime, business has many other reasons to join the fight. To mention just a few, business should be involved because the trafficked child of today will not live to be the job applicant or customer of tomorrow. Trafficking in children also results in increased social costs and reduced market size for businesses since it generates many ills, including child labor, the spread of the HIV-AIDS epidemic, and the denial to children of their right to education.

As leaders in their communities, businesses can play a leadership role in sensitizing society to the vicious crime of trafficking in children.

I would urge each of you to consider practical actions you could take. Whatever role you can play or assistance you can offer, as outlined in the pamphlet you received in your invitation kit and during this workshop, will go a long way toward enhancing the ability of NGOs working on child trafficking to do their work more effectively.

You can initiate a dialogue and cultivate a partnership with an NGO engaged in the prevention of trafficking in children, in the investigation of specific trafficking cases, or in the rescue, protection, rehabilitation and community reintegration of child victims of trafficking.

You can support your chosen NGO partner financially. These charity-dependent not-for-profit organizations are always strapped for cash, and you can literally keep them alive. Alternatively, you can assist them with in-kind contributions of computers, software packages, telephones and office furniture and supplies.

You can promote volunteerism in your companies by encouraging your employees to donate their time and business skills to your chosen NGO partner and by giving them credit for their efforts, in your employee performance evaluation process.

Service donations can also take on a more institutional character: your legal department or your accounting staff can be instructed to provide free legal or auditing services to your chosen NGO partner, or you can establish a loaned executive program or a social service sabbatical program.

You can be on the lookout for opportunities to integrate the fight against trafficking in children into the very business or mission of your company. For example, if you are in the travel, tourism, hotel and hospitality industries, train your customer service staff to recognize trafficking situations and to alert law enforcement authorities whenever they spot at-risk children in jeopardy. If you run a media organization or an advertising and public relations firm, consider developing media and advertising campaigns focusing on the fight against trafficking in children.

And finally, you can design and implement skills training and job placement programs that would insure the reintegration of rehabilitated victims of trafficking into the mainstream labor market and the broader community.

These are just a few ideas that you can consider. I am sure you have your own, and all of us here would welcome hearing them.

In conclusion, I would like to thank the Prayas Institute of Juvenile Justice and the American Chamber of Commerce for cooperating so closely in the sponsorship of this workshop with Laura Livingston and the U.S. Embassy's International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs staff.

But more importantly, I want to thank all of you, and particularly the business representatives, for attending this workshop. You obviously have recognized a critical need, and have had the vision to foresee the dire consequences, if you fail to take action.

I came here today to congratulate you for wanting to "do good", as the old saying goes. But both today's child victims of trafficking and I will be forever grateful to you for taking them into account in your planning for tomorrow. By so doing, you not only "do good," you guarantee that, in the long run, your companies will also be "doing well by doing good."

The United States and India are together in this noble task of ending trafficking in persons, and the human suffering that goes with it. We must succeed.

(end text)