22 June 2005

(Ambassador urges all countries and United Nations to address the problem)

By Brittany Sterrett
Washington File Staff Writer

Washington -- Human trafficking is a modern-day form of slavery and a worldwide problem, according to John Miller, senior adviser to the U.S. secretary of state on trafficking in persons.

“In our country, the United States, there were people that just assumed that slavery must have ended with the American Civil War, and it came as a shock to find that slavery still existed” -- in the form of human trafficking, Miller told a group of Kuwaiti journalists in a digital videoconference June 22.

He said, “Our aim in these dialogues is to focus public attention on this issue so as to create discussion … about … the slavery issue within the country, to create discussion about what can be done, and we believe this discussion has the potential to lead to positive steps.”

Miller differentiated between smuggling of immigrants and human trafficking.  “[W]e’re referring here not to smuggling; we’re referring here to people who find themselves in conditions of slavery, people who have lost their freedom,” he said.

He noted that many governments in the world, including that of Kuwait, have spoken out against slavery, but he said that the United States does not believe Kuwait is making “significant efforts to combat slavery.”

“From our perspective, the deeds have yet to match the words,” he said.

Kuwait was ranked as a Tier 3 country, the lowest possible ranking, in the State Department’s recently released 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report.  President Bush will review the rankings in September.  He may either raise the ranking if improvements have been made or issue sanctions if nothing has been done.

Miller expressed hope that the government of Kuwait would develop a plan of action to protect those in conditions of slavery before Bush’s review.  He said, “We are hopeful that there will be action.  The whole purpose of this exercise is not to criticize; it is to bring progress in ending slavery, which is an international problem.”

Miller explained that the rankings given to each country are reflections of the efforts being made in the country to stop trafficking, not the size of the problem.  Even Tier 1 nations, those receiving the highest ranking, are not exempt from the issue in his opinion.  He said, “Tier 1 is only meeting minimum standards.  Tier 1 doesn’t mean you don’t have a problem.  I can tell you every country in this report in Tier 1 has a large problem.”

The primary purpose of the report was to identify the problems.  “We don’t tell anybody how to do something here.  We’re spotlighting an issue.  We’re reporting on it.  We make recommendations,” said Miller.

Kuwait, like many developed countries, such as the United States and Japan, was described as a destination country for slavery.  Although these nations do not supply and sell slave labor, people within the nations buy it.  Miller said, “As destination countries, we have just as much responsibility as source countries.”

Responding to a question about how Kuwait can address the problem, given that many Kuwaiti leaders employ slave labor, he said that government officials “are certainly not immune and should be setting an example, a positive example.”

Miller encouraged the journalists to participate actively in stopping slavery within their country.  He explained, “When you write about this issue, you do increase public awareness.  And when public awareness increases in democratic countries or in countries that are moving toward democracy, good things start to happen.”

Throughout the discussion, Miller encouraged dialogue on the issue, asking for commentary about the reality of the situation in Kuwait and suggestions on how to end it.  He also encouraged other countries and the United Nations to look at the United States’ human trafficking situation.  Miller said that the United States shares the burden of the worldwide slavery problem and that a thorough analysis of domestic trafficking will be released soon by the Department of Justice.

Miller added that, based on his observations, people everywhere generally abhor slavery.  He said he remains optimistic about the future of slavery in the world and said, “I look forward to the day when this report is not necessary.”

The full text of the 2005 Trafficking in Persons Report is available on the State Department Web site.