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“CONGRATULATING SOUTH AFRICA ON FIRST TWO CONVICTIONS FOR HUMAN TRAFFICKING” mentioning the U.S. Dept of State was published in the House of Representatives section on pages H5272-H5275 on June 30, 2010.
The publication is reproduced in full below:
CONGRATULATING SOUTH AFRICA ON FIRST TWO CONVICTIONS FOR HUMAN
TRAFFICKING
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and agree to the resolution (H. Res. 1412) congratulating the Government of South Africa upon its first two successful convictions for human trafficking, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the resolution.
The text of the resolution is as follows:
H. Res. 1412
Whereas from June 11, 2010, through July 11, 2010, the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup will be hosted by South Africa and include games played in stadiums across the country, including Cape Town, Port Elizabeth, Durban, Bloemfontein, Rustenburg, Pretoria, Johannesburg, Nelspruit, and Polokwane;
Whereas the 2010 FIFA World Cup is likely to attract an estimated 2,700,000 local spectators and 350,000 to 500,000 visitors to the country;
Whereas the influx of tourism is likely to lead to an increase in demand for sexual services and create demand for the commercial sexual exploitation of women and children;
Whereas the preparations for the 2010 FIFA World Cup have resulted in an influx of foreign workers;
Whereas the hospitality industries may be particularly susceptible to labor trafficking during the 2010 FIFA World Cup;
Whereas the Government of South Africa has invested in media campaigns and other initiatives to prevent and combat trafficking, such as the Tsireledzani Initiative and the Red Card 2010 Campaign: Disqualifying Human Trafficking in Africa, and has created and trained a human trafficking law enforcement unit which is one important element of the South African Department of Social Development's 2010-2015 Strategic Plan;
Whereas the Government of South Africa has planned to provide shelter and rehabilitative care to victims of human trafficking throughout the country during the World Cup and beyond at Thuthuzela Centres, which exist through the country's domestic violence and anti-rape intervention strategy;
Whereas the Government of South Africa has ordered schools to be closed during the 2010 FIFA World Cup, raising concerns that children could be left unattended during a period of high trafficking potential;
Whereas, on June 14, 2010, the United States Department of State released its annual Trafficking in Persons Report, asserting that ``South Africa is a source, transit, and destination country for men, women, and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced commercial sexual exploitation. Children are largely trafficked within the country from poor rural areas to urban centers like Johannesburg, Cape Town, Durban, and Bloemfontein. Girls are subjected to sex trafficking and involuntary domestic servitude; boys are forced to work in street vending, food service, begging, criminal activities, and agriculture.'';
Whereas this release marks the 10th anniversary of the Trafficking in Persons Report and no country has yet to build a fully comprehensive response to combating trafficking and protecting survivors;
Whereas women and girls have reportedly been trafficked into South Africa from as far away as Russia, Thailand, Pakistan, Philippines, India, China, Bulgaria, Romania, Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Burundi, Ethiopia, Senegal, Tanzania, Uganda, Rwanda, Kenya, Cameroon, Nigeria, and Somalia;
Whereas civil society in South Africa, with the support of the South African Government, has invested notable energy and resources into preventing human trafficking at the 2010 FIFA World Cup through Cape Town Tourism, International Union of Superiors General and the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army, the Tshwane Counter-Trafficking Coalition for 2010, and many other nongovernmental and religious organizations; and
Whereas in April 2010, the Durban Magistrates Court convicted two individuals accused of running a brothel and using Thai women as prostitutes of over a dozen offenses, including money laundering, racketeering, and contravention of the Sexual Offenses and Immigration Acts, thereby marking the first successful convictions for human trafficking in South Africa: Now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the House of Representatives--
(1) congratulates the Government of South Africa upon its first two successful convictions for human trafficking;
(2) recognizes the implementation of several elements of South Africa's anti-trafficking strategy and remains hopeful that full implementation of such anti-trafficking measures will proceed without delay;
(3) acknowledges the passage in South Africa of the Child Justice Act of 2008 (Act No. 75, 2008) and underscores the importance of rehabilitative care of minors under the age of 18;
(4) recognizes the Government of South Africa's notable efforts to combat trafficking leading up to, during, and following the 2010 Federation Internationale de Football Association (FIFA) World Cup;
(5) recognizes the shelters and rehabilitative care provided to human trafficking victims during the World Cup through such centers as the Thuthuzela Centres and encourages further shelter and care programs for victims beyond the event's conclusion;
(6) calls on the Government of South Africa to move quickly to adopt the Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons Bill in order to facilitate future prosecutions;
(7) calls on the Government of South Africa to increase awareness among all levels of relevant government officials as to their responsibilities under the trafficking provisions of the Sexual Offenses and Children's Acts;
(8) calls on the Government of South Africa to prioritize anti-trafficking law enforcement during the 2010 FIFA World Cup through expanded law enforcement presence, raids, and other measures in areas where trafficking for labor and sexual exploitation are likely to occur;
(9) calls on the Government of South Africa to adopt measures to protect vulnerable children, including those children unattended because of school closures and refugee children, as well as other potential victims, from sexual and labor exploitation; and
(10) urges the Government of South Africa to detain and prosecute tourists participating in commercial sexual exploitation of women and children during the 2010 FIFA World Cup.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) and the gentlewoman from Florida (Ms. Ros-
Lehtinen) each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from California.
General Leave
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may have 5 legislative days to revise and extend their remarks and to include extraneous material on the resolution under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the gentlewoman from California?
There was no objection.
Ms. WATSON. I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of this resolution. I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith) for introducing this resolution, congratulating South Africa for its first two successful convictions of human trafficking. These convictions demonstrate South Africa's commitment to protecting the vulnerable within its borders.
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While important progress has been made, the resolution also urges the government of South Africa to take further steps to prevent human trafficking by enacting a more comprehensive anti-human trafficking law, pursuing its Child Protection Strategy, prioritizing enforcement during the World Cup, educating all relevant government officials about the problem, and providing rehabilitative care for those who are freed from forced labor in the sex industry.
In May of 2004, South Africa was awarded the coveted World Cup Tournament, which is going on there today. Recognizing the nexus between major sporting events and crime, particularly prostitution, the South African government placed a high priority on public awareness and the anti-trafficking law. As the preparation for the soccer tournament got underway, the country's sex industry was simultaneously gearing up for the large influx of visitors and the trafficking of women, girls, men, and boys into city brothels to meet the expected demand.
Mr. Speaker, after ridding itself of the hateful apartheid system, South Africa has been on a relentless drive to modernize its laws and make sure they protect their citizens and punish offenders. In spite of the many achievements since throwing off the burden of apartheid, the country, like others, is plagued by many ills that confront the rest of the world, including human trafficking. Because of daunting economic problems throughout Africa and its own endemic rural and urban poverty, South African cities are an attractive place for bad characters, including human traffickers and drug dealers.
South Africa must confront both sides of the problem, as it is both a source and a destination for trafficking persons. People from impoverished areas throughout Africa are brought into the country to provide sexual services and all kinds of menial labor for little or no pay. Young boys are made to beg on the streets or work on farms while young girls are forced into domestic servitude or the illicit sex industry. At the same time, traffickers often target South Africans themselves, sending them off to Europe or the United States as laborers or domestic servants.
Mr. Speaker, the Government of South Africa has invested in law enforcement, community education, and international cooperation to stem the tide of trafficked persons. African countries collectively are taking the crime of trafficking seriously. Last week, the African Union announced that it is establishing an AU Commission initiative against trafficking. This new campaign, announced on the Day of the African Child, will help ensure that member states are adopting and properly implementing international protocols to eliminate trafficking.
To eradicate human trafficking--to find and free those who are living in shackles, to prevent vulnerable and marginalized people from falling captive to those who would commodify human life--is a challenge that must be shared by all governments. That is why I urge my colleagues to support this resolution and join me in recognizing the progress that South Africa is making.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I am so honored to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from New Jersey (Mr. Smith), the ranking member on the Subcommittee on Africa and Global Health and the author of this resolution.
Mr. SMITH of New Jersey. I thank my good friend, the ranking member, for yielding, and thank her for being one of the cosponsors of the resolution, along with Carolyn Maloney and Kay Granger and others in this body. This is a bipartisan resolution that we present on the floor today.
Mr. Speaker, while the World Cup is a joyous and unifying event watched the world over, it comes at a very high cost for many women and children trapped in sexual slavery in South Africa. Going on right now, the World Cup is drawing an estimated 2.7 million local spectators and up to 500,000 visitors to the country. It is an honor and an economic boon for South Africa, but it is also a threat to vulnerable women and children--a threat that the government of South Africa is and must continue to aggressively combat.
Major sporting events, Mr. Speaker, and conventions that attract large numbers of people in the United States or abroad have been proven to result in an increase in the demand for commercial sexual exploitation. Pimps and traffickers jump to respond to the demand by trafficking women and girls for prostitution to events such as the World Cup.
We have seen examples of this in stories coming out of South Africa in the media over the last several months. One taxi driver covered in a story proudly advertised his ``Red Light Tour'' which includes strip bar hopping and guidance to prostituted women less likely to be HIV-
positive. He, like so many in the sex industry, is hoping to cash in on sexual tourism accompanying the World Cup. Sindiswa was just 17 years old, and according to Time magazine, didn't make it to the games. Forced into prostitution at 16 after leaving her impoverished village on a bogus promise of a job, she died of AIDS complications in January of this year.
Mr. Speaker, according to the U.S. Department of State, where prostitution is legalized or tolerated there is a greater demand for human trafficking victims and nearly always an increase in the number of women and children trafficked into commercial sexual slavery.
In preparation for the World Cup, the Government of South Africa, to its credit, commissioned a comprehensive study of human trafficking within its borders and discovered that trafficking victims were brought in from all over the world--not just from neighboring countries where poverty and porous borders make women and children particularly vulnerable to exploitation. Law enforcement in Cape Town, for example, where some of the games are played, has been closely monitoring and tracking human trafficking. Over the last few months, Cape Town law enforcement noted a sudden increase in women arriving with falsified immigration documents from Asia, and they saw a sudden drop in the age of girls working the streets. I applaud Cape Town for its vigilance, as these were signs that criminal syndicates with the means and certainly the capacity were trafficking women and girls to the World Cup.
Mr. Speaker, as you may be aware, I offered the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, and its reauthorizations in 2003 and 2005. Our most recent TIP report, which is mandated by these laws, ranks South Africa as a Tier 2 country--a country that does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking but is making significant efforts to do so.
And so on behalf of my colleagues and I, we offer this resolution, H. Res. 1412, to congratulate South Africa for the steps it has taken--its first two major trafficking convictions and increased law enforcement activity, especially--in this all-important fight against human trafficking. We offer H. Res. 1412 today to underscore the urgent need for further action and trafficking funding prioritization by the Government of South Africa. Of course, that admonishment should go to each and every one of us, including the United States.
While South Africa does not yet have in place a comprehensive anti-
trafficking legislation, it does have legislation that offers increased protection to children. It is my sincere hope that all levels of relevant government officials will be aware of their responsibilities under the anti-trafficking provisions of the Sexual Offenses and Children's Acts and the Children's Amendment Act of 2007, and that these will be fully funded and implemented by the Government of South Africa. As we all know as lawmakers, if the law goes unenforced, it is, frankly, not worth the paper it is printed on. That goes for any parliament's or congress' law. They need to implement this--and do so faithfully.
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Mr. Speaker, law enforcement must be particularly vigilant in protecting children during the World Cup through an expanded law enforcement presence and raids in areas where exploitation is occurring. Trafficked women and children rescued during the games must be given special rehabilitative care in order to prevent the trauma that they have suffered from defining them and condemning them to a life of further exploitation and abuse. Aggressive prosecution of the traffickers is also a must, as organized crime will always gravitate towards whatever activity is most lucrative and least risky.
Moreover, as this resolution points out, it is our sincere hope that South Africa will follow up with prosecution of any soccer fans or other tourists caught exploiting women and children. The buyers of trafficking victims are responsible for this human misery, for without demand, these women and children would not be slaves.
I believe that the games are just the beginning for South Africa in its fight against human trafficking. We have seen tremendous investment of resources, will, and anti-trafficking momentum from nongovernmental organizations and faith-based organizations in the lead-up to the games. Cape Town Tourism, International Union of Superiors General and the Southern African Catholic Bishops' Conference of the Catholic Church, the Salvation Army, Red Card 2010 Campaign, and the Tshwane Countertrafficking Coalition for 2010 are just a few of those who have stepped up to combat this modern day slavery.
South African citizens have been widely warned about the dangers of human trafficking, and many have volunteered in the fight. Human trafficking is in the public eye now, and it is time for the Government of South Africa to purge it from its cities and anywhere else that it is found. I thank my good friend for yielding and urge Members to support the resolution.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I thank the gentleman from New Jersey, and we are blessed to have such a human rights activist on our committee and, indeed, in the entire House of Representatives. Thank you so much, Mr. Smith.
Mr. Speaker, the bill before us, House Resolution 1412, recognizes the efforts to date of the South African Government to fight human trafficking while urging sustained and expanded efforts for the future. According to the State Department's 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report:
``South Africa is a source, transit and destination country for men, women and children subjected to trafficking in persons, specifically forced labor and forced commercial sexual exploitation.'' Further, South Africa ``does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so.''
As the 2010 Trafficking Report recognizes and this resolution reaffirms, South Africa has, in fact, made notable progress in confronting human trafficking. The recent conviction by the Durban Municipal Court of two individuals on trafficking-related charges is particularly significant and merits recognition. Still, we have a long way to go, Mr. Speaker. Concerns over trafficking in South Africa have been heightened with the commencement of the FIFA 2010 World Cup games which are being held at newly erected stadiums throughout the country. The massive influx of workers to build these stadiums and other infrastructure, high rates of domestic unemployment, the arrival of millions of spectators and gaps in law enforcement capacity have provided an ideal operating environment for traffickers.
Criminal networks and street gangs are already known to operate child prostitution rings in the country's major cities where child sex tourism is on the rise. These same cities, including Durban, Cape Town and Johannesburg now boast major soccer stadiums capable of drawing between 40,000 to 95,000 spectators each. The confluence of criminality and opportunity created by the World Cup has presented major challenges for the South African Government. Unfortunately, these challenges will endure long after the cup has been awarded.
This resolution urges the South African Government to engage in an aggressive, sustained, and effective campaign to fight the scourge of trafficking. It urges the government to adopt the pending Prevention and Combating of Trafficking in Persons bill and enforce relevant elements of the Sexual Offenses and Child Justice Acts. It urges the government to adopt additional measures to protect vulnerable children and other potential victims from sexual and labor exploitation. It urges the government to prioritize anti-trafficking law enforcement, particularly during the World Cup games. And, lastly, it encourages the government to prosecute tourists engaging in commercial sexual exploitation. I strongly urge our colleagues to support this timely and important resolution.
With that, Mr. Speaker, I am very pleased to yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman from California (Mr. Royce), the ranking member on the Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Terrorism, Nonproliferation and Trade.
Mr. ROYCE. Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of this legislation. I would like to thank the gentleman from New Jersey, Mr. Chris Smith, for all that he has attempted to do to bring this resolution before us and also for bringing this issue into the international community. And Congresswoman Diane Watson, we appreciate your leadership on this as well.
I think for any of us who try to contemplate the impact of modern-day slavery--I was thinking, I was just talking to Congressman Smith about the movie ``Amazing Grace'' about William Wilberforce and the attempt in Britain so long ago to try to eliminate the slave trade. And when we think about the fact that in this century this type of slavery still exists, I think that when we consider the magnitude of it, the misery of the people, especially the children that are subjected to this, we think about this range of sexual servitude across this planet affecting some 12 million adults but also millions of children.
And this is what is happening every day. People are trafficked into this type of servitude. You think about the fact that many of these children are 6, 7 years old. And, sadly, as the State Department tells us in this report that was just released, the majority of transnational trafficking, the majority of these victims are being trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation. So that is the reality that the world faces today.
Now, importantly, this resolution commends the Government of South Africa for taking some steps because it has tried to combat this problem. It has brought to justice, it has successfully convicted its human traffickers here in a trial that has gotten some attention. So it is important to note such improvements.
But at the same time, it's important for us to realize how much remains to be done, how much the international community needs to work and come together to go after these criminal syndicates that are involved in this kind of activity.
And I only wish we could be celebrating the achievement of countries like Vietnam; but, unfortunately, we've read the report. Some countries are actually being downgraded in this report. In Vietnam, women and children are routinely misled by fraudulent job opportunities where they find themselves, instead, sold into brothels. Sadly, while some conditions are improving, other states, like Vietnam, are falling far, far behind.
And it is also our hope that the release of this report will do much in the international community, along with the help by NGOs that have come forward, in order to try to put a spotlight on this issue, in order to try to get every government involved and moving in the correct direction and prosecuting those who are involved in the criminal syndicates for trying to advance this kind of inhumanity across this planet.
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I again commend all of the cosponsors of this legislation, including my colleague, Ileana Ros-Lehtinen.
Ms. ROS-LEHTINEN. Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank Mr. Royce and thank Mr. Smith, the author of this resolution.
Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the gentlewoman from California (Ms. Watson) that the House suspend the rules and agree to the resolution, H. Res. 1412, as amended.
The question was taken.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
Ms. WATSON. Mr. Speaker, I object to the vote on the ground that a quorum is not present and make the point of order that a quorum is not present.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX and the Chair's prior announcement, further proceedings on this motion will be postponed.
The point of no quorum is considered withdrawn.
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