Speeches & Articles

Remarks of U.S. Consul General Henry V. Jardine
At the Anti-Trafficking Workshop in Patna

February, 16 2006

PATNA -- Distinguished Guests, Ladies and Gentlemen, thank you all for your participation at this workshop to discuss this critical problem of trafficking.  As our Secretary of State, Condoleeza Rice, has noted, “For millions of people entrapped each year in vicious schemes of labor and sex trafficking, freedom is denied.  These trafficking victims are deprived of their most basic human rights and fall into modern-day slavery.”  The U.S. Department of State estimates up to 4 million people annually are victims of trafficking.  India too experiences this pernicious human trade.  A 2003 United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) report, done in conjunction with the National Human Rights Commission NHRC) and the Institute of Social Sciences (ISS), noted that India is one of the worst affected countries in the world for trafficking of women and children.   According to this report, between 70,000 to 1 million women and children are drawn into prostitution in India.  However, other reports give higher numbers.   Further narrowing the scope, within India, Bihar is one of the primary source, destination, and transit area for trafficking victims, as reflected in the detailed UNIFEM-NHRC-ISS report.

Realizing the scale of the trafficking problem in India, the United States Government has worked closely with the Government of India, the various state governments and non-government organizations (NGOs) to find solutions.  We share information and expertise between our officials; help in sponsoring individuals to travel to the U.S. to network with offices addressing this problem; support research, like the UNIFEM report I have cited; the State Department also does an annual Trafficking Report to highlight the issue; we bring speakers and other experts from the U.S. to offer suggestions and approaches in prosecuting, drafting laws and victim rehabilitation.  The engagement, as you can see, is quite extensive and across a range of areas. 

We also try to fund various organizations that are as equally committed to combating trafficking.  Our Office of Global Trafficking in Persons (G/TIP) funds $50 million in anti-trafficking programs worldwide.  Here in India, the United States Government has committed nearly $8 million in fighting trafficking of persons and just last week, we announced our funding of $2 million to support the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).  The UNODC will initiate programs over a two-year period to provide training to law enforcement officers on human trafficking and strengthen their capacity to investigate and prosecute traffickers.  This constitutes the largest U.S. grant of its kind. 

In addition, we at the Consulate are very focused on this issue and try to maintain close contact with the various organizations and individuals who are working so hard to fight trafficking in India’s Eastern region.  We host and support numerous programs, facilitate exchanges, report on trafficking trends and cultivate contacts.  We have been fortunate in this fiscal year that the Department of State has recognized the importance of this region to the anti-trafficking effort and has provided over $800,000 worth of grants to various NGOs. 

Specifically in Bihar, we are supporting the NGO Bal Sakha to establish shelters to rescued children and to provide legal training to local partners and government officials.  Another NGO, Bhoomika Vihar, will receive assistance to improve anti-trafficking awareness, counseling and information centers along the border areas.  They will also sensitize local government officials to the problem of trafficking.  For the victims, Bhoomika Vihar will provide shelter and legal assistance.  And, of course, Jan Jagran – organizer of today’s program – is also a recipient.

So as you can see, the U.S. Government, our Mission in India and the Consulate General are all actively engaged in this fight against trafficking.  However, given the persistence of trafficking in women and children, clearly there is more that we all can do.  A few areas in which more effort has to be made, include:

• Increasing general awareness about the threat of trafficking; especially among potential victims in the poor, rural source points.
• Sensitizing police and government officials and encourage enforcement of existing laws.
• Providing training to officials on how to effectively prosecute traffickers.
• Establishing shelters for victims, with counseling and training to facilitate rehabilitation and reintegration into society.
• Promoting social development in source areas to provide alternatives for the potential victims, who may be tempted by offers of employment and marriages.

I provide these few suggestions, recognizing this issue is highly complex and there are no easy prescriptions to address the fundamental dynamics that engender the problem of trafficking.

In my remarks, I hope I have been able to capture how extensive is the trafficking of persons, internationally and here in India.  I also wanted to reflect on the scope of the United States Government’s efforts to combat this problem and what we at the Consulate are doing as well.  I offered a few insights of how we all can make progress in the anti-trafficking fight.  However, I realize that there are no easy answers on how to stop trafficking.  I thank all the participants in this anti-trafficking workshop on your great contribution to this fight and can assure you of the U.S. Government’s continued support in the worldwide effort to eliminate the modern slavery of trafficking.

Thank you.