Each year the US State
Department is required under the Traffic Victims Protection Act of 2000 (TVPA)
to issue a report on actions by governments to prevent human trafficking,
protect victims, and prosecute perpetrators. This year’s report focuses on vulnerabilities
to trafficking and how governments are working to address those
vulnerabilities: sexual and gender orientation, disability, religious
affiliation, statelessness, migration due to conflict, etc. Though statistics
are difficult to gather, on a global level the number of prosecutions of
traffickers has increased. Still, the $150 billion dollar “industry” is
thriving, according to Secretary of State John Kerry, and each of us must do
his/her part to end human trafficking.
In the July issue of Stop Trafficking,
Sister Jean Schaefer provides a preview of the report. But you are
encouraged to look inside the report itself, and especially at the country
reviews for Nicaragua (Tier 2, pp 286-288) and for the USA (Tier 1, pp
387-393). Sadly, Nicaragua has lost ground because the government has not been
implementing legislation. Nicaragua’s neighbor, Costa Rica, is on a Tier 2
“Watch List,” meaning it could be downgraded to Tier 3 next year. As a
neighbor of Nicaragua, its country profile may be of interest as well.
Another action we can take is to advocate for “Safe Harbor”
protection for victims of trafficking in the states where we reside.
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