The United States
on December 3 will become an official party to the U.N.
Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in
Persons, Especially Women and Children, the State Department
says.
The agreement, also known as the Palermo
Protocol, seeks to prevent trafficking, protect victims
and promote anti-trafficking cooperation among nations,
the department said in a December 1 media note.
The Trafficking in Persons Protocol has
been in effect since 2003 and now has 95 party nations.
The document is an adjunct to the U.N. Convention Against
Transnational Organized Crime, which also took effect in
2003 and has won ratification from 114 governments.
The United States compiles the world’s
most comprehensive survey of trafficking in persons each
year and calculates that between 600,000 and 800,000 persons
are trafficked across international borders annually and
forced into prostitution or some other form of involuntary
servitude. The full
text of the report is available on the State Department
Web site.
The text of the U.N.
Convention Against Transnational Organized Crime is
available on the United Nations Web site, as is additional
information on The
International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, which
is recognized on December 2 each year to commemorate the
1949 signing of an earlier protocol against trafficking
and prostitution.
The text of the State Department media note
follows:
(begin text)
U.S. DEPARTMENT OF STATE
Office of the Spokesman
December 1, 2005
MEDIA NOTE
United States Becomes Party to Anti-Trafficking
Protocol: Marks Slavery Abolition Day
On Saturday, December 3, 2005, the United
States will become an official party to the U.N. Protocol
to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons,
Especially Women and Children, also known as the Palermo
Protocol. This noteworthy event comes in conjunction with
the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery on December
2, 2005.
The Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Protocol,
which supplements the U.N. Convention Against Transnational
Organized Crime, is an important multilateral component
of the worldwide effort to combat modern-day slavery. It
seeks to prevent trafficking, protect victims, and promote
anti-trafficking cooperation among nations.
Deputy Director of the Office to Monitor
and Combat Trafficking in Persons Paula Goode called the
occasion a mile marker and one that further underscores
the U.S. commitment to ending modern-day slavery. "The
TIP Protocol provides another important tool to help in
our effort to free more victims and jail more traffickers."
Human trafficking is a serious problem in
the United States and throughout the world. Each year, an
estimated 600,000 - 800,000 men, women and children are
trafficked across international borders (including some
14,500 - 17,500 into the United States). Many trafficking
victims are forced into prostitution, while others work
in sweatshops or are subjected to other forms of involuntary
servitude and exploitation.
The United States is committed to ending
human trafficking to advance freedom for the world's most
vulnerable citizens.
(end text)
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