By Holly Burkhalter, Vice President for Government Relations

I’ve been involved in human rights policy and legislation for about 30 years here in Washington, four of them working for Congress and the next 26 as a human rights advocate working for nongovernmental organizations. I don’t know when I’ve been so excited over the introduction of a piece of legislation as I am about the "Child Protection Compact Act of 2009," introduced in the House of Representatives on Friday, June 5, 2009.

The Child Protection Compact Act is the work of Rep. Chris Smith (R-NJ) and Rep. Carolyn Maloney (D-NY). The very fact that this conservative Republican and liberal Democrat have teamed up says something good about the bill and the issue it addresses. Protecting children from trafficking and exploitation is something that members of Congress across the political spectrum agree on and have worked on collaboratively for many years. I am sure that there are many things that Representatives Smith and Maloney disagree on. But on the issue of the U.S. providing increased foreign assistance in innovative new ways to countries burdened with child slavery, the two are of one mind.

As leaders of the bipartisan House Human Trafficking Caucus, Reps. Smith and Maloney are particularly well-informed about modern-day slavery and the scourge of child prostitution. Both are active on the issue of violence against women and children, at home and abroad.

IJM has a special reason to be grateful to these anti-trafficking heroes. The central feature of the legislation – providing increased assistance for selected “focus countries” to nourish functioning public justice systems so they protect children from traffickers – was informed by IJM’s own experience aiding foreign governments in combating trafficking.

I talked to congressional staff about IJM’s work in combating child trafficking in two countries in particular: the Philippines and Cambodia. I explained how IJM undercover agents helped local authorities locate minor girls in prostitution and bring them to safety. I described our comprehensive police training program for anti-trafficking forces in both countries, and best of all, was able to tell them the good news that IJM’s investment in both Cambodia and the Philippines was starting to pay off not just in the number of children we helped remove from prostitution and the number of pimps, brothel owners and traffickers we helped convict, but in strong indications of an overall decline in the numbers of children being victimized.

We think our experience in Thailand, Cambodia and the Philippines, where studies indicate that the availability of minor children in prostitution declined dramatically after increased law enforcement, is something that the U.S. government will want to replicate elsewhere. In some cases, governments themselves should receive assistance, in others, NGOs like IJM and others, can help. But the key is to make additional foreign aid funds available only to those governments that have the will to arrest, try and convict brothel owners and traffickers – including those who have in the past been protected by the authorities themselves.

The new legislation builds a process into pilot foreign aid programs aimed at eradicating child trafficking called the “Child Protection Compact.” The Compact is basically a Memorandum of Understanding between the donor country (the U.S.) and the eligible beneficiary country. The purpose is to identify actual targets, strategies and goals, ensuring that the funds are used well and progress can be measured.

IJM is no substitute for governments themselves taking responsibility for the enforcement of their own national laws and protecting those most vulnerable within their borders. But we have seen great progress in the countries where we have operated. The lessons learned from IJM field offices in the Philippines, Cambodia and Thailand have inspired Congress’ anti-trafficking leaders to incorporate some of those lessons into a pilot foreign assistance program.

I’m proud of the courage of my colleagues in Asia and the government officials of good will in the countries where we work who inspired the Child Protection Compact Act.

And I’m thankful for IJM’s friends around the United States who have contacted their Representatives and Senators by postcard, in person, on the phone and through the media to express their support for this exciting new initiative. On March 30, 2009, we hosted over 100 advocates from twenty-five states who attended more than 115 meetings with members of Congress (Read more). Clearly, their efforts are starting to pay off, and we’ll be asking for their help again to see this legislation through to the finish line.