Last week in Little Rock, Ark., Attorney General Eric Holder on the problems of human trafficking in the U.S. Holder noted the problem — one of "crisis proportions" — takes place both outside and within our borders:
In communities nationwide, human trafficking victims often are hiding in plain sight: the young woman who traveled to America for the promise of a new life, but finds herself enslaved and sold for sex. The child who was born here, but ran away from home and, in desperation, accepted help from the wrong person. The migrant worker who is deprived of identification, transportation, health care, and access to money in order to ensure complete dependence on his employer. Or one of the many young girls regularly shuttled to truck stops along I-40 — who is filled with shame and empty of hope, living in fear of incarceration and in doubt of her ability to survive on her own.
Holder described the current administration's adoption of many far-reaching measures by numerous government agencies to eradicate trafficking wherever and however it occurs, and stated that the U.S. has a "'zero-tolerance, one-strike' approach" to the problem.
One of the measures highlighted by Holder was effective training for government officers to identify traffickers, trafficking schemes and victims — a task that can often-times prove difficult. In this regard, Holder pinpointed one area of government where human trafficking has arisen: U.S. government procurement or contracting.
In fact, for many years now, U.S. government contractors providing services to the U.S. military have of reportedly thousands of men and women from low-wage countries such as Nepal, India and the Philippines. These men and women work as cooks, janitors and cleaners on U.S. military bases in Iraq and Afghanistan on the U.S. taxpayers' dime.
Although trafficking and forced labor of these so-called Third Country Nationals (known as "TCNs") may well be difficult to identify because the abuse occurs overseas in war zones, media reports and official government documents obtained by the ACLU through a Freedom of Information Act request reveal that trafficking and forced labor of TCNs is a pervasive and ongoing problem; that U.S. government contractors are involved and yet, little or nothing is being done to address the problem.
The U.S. has failed to even investigate reports of TCN trafficking and abuse. According to on trafficking of the Department of Defense inspector general there was "one report of preliminary investigative activity of a contractor in Iraq" for labor trafficking violations in 2009. Although the inspector general referred the matter to the Justice Department, prosecutors "determined facts and circumstances did not warrant further action." mentions only one case during the 2010 time period, which it describes as "one [human trafficking]-related incident involving a Department of Defense contractor or sub-contractor employee. In that case, the employee was barred from the installation by the commander and fired by the contractor." report on trafficking notes, "during the reporting period, allegations were investigated and one employee was dismissed by a DOD contractor." However, "no prosecutions occurred and no contracts were terminated" for the reporting period, although "allegations against federal contractors engaged in commercial sex and labor exploitation continued to surface in the media."
There is now ample evidence of trafficking of TCNs by government contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan; training in identification of the perpetrators and their victims, while important, is not the problem, accountability is. It is simply not enough for Holder to proclaim a "zero-tolerance" policy against trafficking. The U.S. must put that stated policy into action by fully investigating credible reports of trafficking and abuse of TCNs by U.S. contractors in Iraq and Afghanistan, and, where appropriate, hold perpetrators accountable. Only then will "zero tolerance" mean what it says.
Learn more about human trafficking: Sign up for breaking news alerts, , and .
Learn More About the Issues on This Page
-
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Human Rights
Failed War on Drugs Policies Won't Stop the Overdose Crisis, But Harm Reduction Can Save LivesFailed War on Drugs Policies Won't Stop the Overdose Crisis, But Harm Reduction Can Save Lives
Research shows extensive benefits from syringe exchange and other harm reduction programs. But misguided efforts to ban common sense care continue. -
News & CommentaryDec 2024
Racial Justice
Human Rights
Why the Fight for Racial Justice is a Human Rights IssueWhy the Fight for Racial Justice is a Human Rights Issue
On International Human Rights Day, the ACLU is advocating for a long-sought after reparatory justice to end the continued abuses against Black and brown communities. -
Press ReleaseOct 2024
Human Rights
Free Speech
Universities Should Protect Students’ Right to Protest, End Crackdown on Peaceful ProtestsUniversities Should Protect Students’ Right to Protest, End Crackdown on Peaceful Protests
WASHINGTON – College and university presidents across the U.S. need to respect and protect the right to protest in support of Palestinian rights the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch said today in an open letter. For months the organizations have raised concerns about the potential use of unlawful force when university administrators call in law enforcement officers to break up demonstrations on campus. This new letter comes after reports of heavy-handed and excessive force by some campus police and local law enforcement against peaceful protests and encampments across the country. The groups provide recommendations for colleges and universities to ensure they protect the right to protest on their campuses. The organizations also urge university administrations to refrain from taking any further measures to suppress student protests on campus, including stopping the use of so-called less lethal weapons and ensuring that coercive police power is used only as a last resort, among other recommendations. “Universities are responsible for protecting both physical safety and free expression on campus,” said Jamil Dakwar, director at the ACLU’s Human Rights Program. “It’s deeply concerning to see universities needlessly expose students to police violence for peacefully expressing their political opinions. We’re urging schools once again to exercise restraint, practice de-escalation, and protect free speech and dissent on campus.” Preliminary analysis by Amnesty International’s Digital Verification Corps has identified at least 174 photos, videos, or social media posts from 20 universities of potential excessive use of force by law enforcement under international law that merits further investigation. This includes 17 universities where chemical irritants such as pepper spray appear to have been used against student protesters, and 11 universities where officers appear to have responded to protests armed with kinetic impact projectiles such as rubber bullets. The results of this use of force by law enforcement agencies have been devastating, including media-verified reports of severe injuries such as bleeding puncture wounds, head injuries, broken teeth, and suspected broken bones, most notably at the University of California Los Angeles, Columbia University, and the City College of New York. The Digital Verification Corps also documented at least 10 other universities where photos or videos capture potential injuries to students. It found that half of the incidents involving injuries under investigation appear to be the result of chemical irritants. “The information we have gathered on excessive use of force against student protesters is extremely worrisome and we are still in the beginning of our investigation,” said Justin Mazzola, researcher with Amnesty International USA. “With the continuation of the Israeli military’s assault on Gaza and the risk of US complicity through the sending of weapons, campus protests in favor of stopping the violence and destruction will continue. Universities have a responsibility to protect academic freedom and the rights to freedom of expression, and to peacefully protest, and we will be watching to ensure they do.” The ACLU, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch are not alone in their concern. The Inter-American Commission on Human Rights, the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights, and several UN experts, including the UN special rapporteur on the right to education, have criticized the violent crackdown on peaceful demonstrators by law enforcement and disciplinary measures against students exercising their rights to peaceful assembly and freedom of expression. All higher education institutions, even private colleges and universities, where the First Amendment is not applicable, have a responsibility to respect the right to freedom of peaceful assembly under international law. “Instead of resorting to police action that both shuts down free speech and heightens the risk of injuries, universities need to do more to protect student speech from violence and intimidation, and actively ensure that peaceful student expression continues without interference,” said Tanya Greene, director of the US program at Human Rights Watch. As the letter explains, the ACLU, Amnesty International USA, and Human Rights Watch are conducting research and analysis of how campus administrators are responding to student protests. They urge universities to fulfill their human rights responsibilities by facilitating protests and ensuring that all students' rights to freedom of expression and peaceful assembly, regardless of viewpoint, is respected. A comprehensive joint report on this issue is slated to be released by the ACLU and Amnesty International USA in the coming months. The open letter is available here: /documents/letter-to-universities-student-protesters -
News & CommentaryOct 2024
Immigrants' Rights
Human Rights
Three Ways the Media Introduces Bias to the Immigration DebateThree Ways the Media Introduces Bias to the Immigration Debate
Ahead of the election, we examined how political ads and news media stories depict the immigration debate as more negative than it may be.