Get Involved Justice Campaigns News From Washington - January 2010 Justice Campaigns mobilizes people around the country in support of US policies that will lead to the abolition of sex trafficking and modern-day slavery and the creation of public justice systems abroad that protect the poor.
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| News From Washington - January 2010 | |
| PRINT | |
| Monday, 11 January 2010 | |
Latest Efforts to Abolish Slavery: January Proclaimed National Slavery & Human Trafficking Prevention MonthBy Holly Burkhalter, IJM VP of Government Relations International Justice Mission welcomes President Obama’s proclamation on National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. The President’s announcement, made on January 4, 2010, commemorated the Emancipation Proclamation, which came into effect on January 1, 1863 and the 13th Amendment. The reference to the United States’ own struggle with the horror of slavery was appropriate and poignant, coming from our country’s first African American President. President Obama stands on a firm platform of American support for the abolition of slavery around the world. The passage of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act in 2000, and the establishment of the State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Office) serve as the foundation on which current U.S. policy stands. The challenge for TIP – and for anti-slavery activists everywhere – is to make the abolition of slavery a reality for its 20 to 40 million victims in the world today. That unfinished business will require much more in the way of resources for poor countries than are currently available. IJM strongly supports an increase in both staff and budget for the work of the TIP Office. We have found TIP officials to be excellent stewards of their small grant-making program, and tireless diplomats and advocates for best practices in protection of trafficking victims, prevention of trafficking, and prosecution of perpetrators. IJM has called upon President Obama to increase funding for the TIP Office, and to provide an increase in foreign assistance to governments that have the will to end trafficking but lack the means to do so. Legislation introduced in the House of Representatives, the Child Protection Compact Act (H.R. 2737), would provide both economic and diplomatic tools to TIP officials to allow them to make deeper inroads against slavery in designated countries. A counterpart is expected to be introduced by Senator Barbara Boxer when the Senate comes back into session on January 20, 2010. |
