Washington, June 13 (IANS) The US has warned
India to act swiftly on what it called the "world's
largest human trafficking problem" involving
hundreds of thousands of victims of sexual exploitation
and millions of bonded labourers or face sanctions.
An annual US State Department report on human
trafficking released by Secretary of State Condoleezza
Rice Tuesday placed India for the fourth year
in a row on a "Tier 2 watch list"
for showing signs of failing to make improvements
in tackling this "modern-day slavery".
India was not downgraded to the worst Tier 3,
despite the fact that the world's "largest
democracy" has the "world's largest
problem of human trafficking," said Mark
Lagon, director of Office to Monitor and Combat
Human Trafficking in Persons briefing media
on the 236-page report.
The US, he said, needs to "engage in a
very serious dialogue with India" on the
South Asian nation's trafficking problem, since
the countries are "two serious democracies"
with a "developing alliance" in areas
ranging from counter-terrorism to civilian nuclear
cooperation.
The US-India relationship is such, said Lagon,
that the "level of communication between
our two governments" can "stand some
serious, frank talk about a problem like bonded
labour or sex trafficking".
"Tier 2 Watch list should be a warning.
Unfortunately, too many major countries on Tier
2 Watch List have ignored this warning, year
after year," he said naming China, Russia,
Mexico, and South Africa among 31 other countries
in this category.
"Tier 2 Watch list is not supposed to become
a parking lot for governments lacking the will
or interest to stop exploitation and enslavement
on their soil. We stand ready to cooperate with
these nations and support any efforts they make
to end this travesty within their borders,"
he added.
But Lagon suggested that a dialogue could lead
to a reassessment of India. "...what's
required is that in the context of our overall
diplomacy with them, talking about all sorts
of serious issues, great power of politics,
counter-terrorism, civilian nuclear cooperation
and so on, that this has to have high level
emphasis as well as a serious problem, but in
modesty.
"You know, the United States is not only
in a position to point fingers. We need to say
we had our legacy of slavery, we had our legacy
of segregation, we had our legacy of discrimination,"
he said explaining why India had not been downgraded
despite its poor record.
"Serious democracies have evolved, but
we need to ramp up that effort. With a serious
sense on the part of the Indian government that,
you know, reassessment is a distinct possibility,"
Lagon added.
While alleging that the Government of India
"does not fully comply with the minimum
standards for the elimination of trafficking",
the report acknowledged that "it is making
significant efforts to do so".
One of the "heroes" highlighted in
the report is Kailash Satyarthi of the Indian
NGO Bachpan Bachao Andolan (BBA) who prompted
the rescue of 92 Bengali children enslaved in
goldsmith and jewellery factories in New Delhi.
Sharing what he called an example that typifies
the confluence of officials' complicity in trafficking
and indifference in the face of heroism to end
modern-day slavery, Lagon related how these
children were forced to eat, sleep, and labour
in workshops, 10 to a room.
"Dangerous chemicals were used for making
gold ornaments in the same rooms that they were
kept 24 hours a day. Most of the children were
under the age of 14. According to the children,
many were physically and sexually abused.
"Just days after this rescue, which didn't
result in any arrests in India, the factory
owners, managers, and their thugs showed up
at BBA's shelter with iron rods, sticks, and
bricks. They tried to recapture the children.
Shelter staff were injured. When police finally
responded, no one was arrested.
"The connections and clout of these traffickers
were enough, apparently, to thwart justice,"
he said suggesting there is no national anti-trafficking
effort, no recognition of bonded labour on an
official level, and poor efforts against sex
trafficking In India.
The report also recalled the services of Vipula
Kadri, the founder and national director of
Save the Children India, an organisation that
works towards preventing the abuse and exploitation
of children.
It had brought together representatives from
government, law enforcement, civil society,
Bollywood celebrities, media, and private industry
to raise awareness about trafficking of women
and girls into commercial sexual exploitation
in India.
The report, mandated by the US Congress, places
24 countries in "Tier 1" - those doing
the best job of controlling human trafficking,
75 others including Pakistan and Thailand in
an intermediate Tier 2 and 16 countries in the
bottom Tier 3.
The report also catalogues US' own trafficking
problem, including women and girls who migrate
to the US and become prostitutes. An unknown
number of US citizens and legal residents are
also trafficked within the United States, primarily
for sexual servitude and forced labour, the
report says but does not assign it a tier rating.
