Presidents Barack Obama and Raul Castro surprised the world in December with the announcement that the two countries had decided to cease hostilities.
Advertisement
Members of Congress who protested against the plan to upgrade Malaysia reacted angrily and accused Obama’s administration of putting politics ahead of facts.
Zahid added the key amendment to ATIPSOM 2007 was to improve the caring aspect given to human trafficking victims namely giving them the freedom to stay outside shelters as well as secure jobs.
It said the country also needs to boost its support system for victims by adding more protection services “that address the specific needs of trafficking victims, with a particular focus on male victims”. “It is a modern-day human rights challenge of enormous proportions”.
Sarah Sewall, undersecretary of state for Civilian Security, Democracy and Human Rights, said the upgrade of Malaysia was justified because the government is working harder to crack down on traffickers.
Seoul’s Foreign Ministry has stated 50,000 North Korean nationals are sent to work sites where they endure severe human rights violations and wage exploitation.
But Phil Robertson of Human Rights Watch said convictions for trafficking were lower than last year and, pointing to the mass graves, said trafficking and abuse of migrants were still done “with impunity”.
“Upgrades for Malaysia and Cuba are a clear politicization of the report, and a stamp of approval for countries who have failed to take the basic actions to merit this upgrade”, Democratic Sen. Nations in the lowest tier, where Cuba and Malaysia were last year, face the threat of diplomatic repercussions at the discretion of the U.S. president, explained Time. On the contrary, a Tier 1 ranking indicates that a government has acknowledged the existence of human trafficking, made efforts to address the problem, and complies with the TVPA’s minimum standards.
She said that “allowing political interests to influence how governments are held accountable for this horrendous crime calls into question both the [Trafficking in Persons] Report’s integrity and the United States’ commitment to preventing human trafficking”. “It’s a battle against evil”, Kerry said Monday.
The indictment of Ms. Khobragade by a grand jury in New York in January 2014 stemmed from charges linked to human trafficking under the U.S. TVPA.
In a statement issued Monday, the U.S. Embassy in Bangkok emphasized that Thailand’s ranking was based on its actions up to end of March this year, while acknowledging that some efforts to tackle the problem had been made since.
The U.S. State Department puts countries that do the most to fight human trafficking in Tier 1, and the least in Tier 3.
In the report, the US State Department mentioned that while Malaysia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, its efforts has been significant.
The Trade Promotion Authority, also known as fast track, passed in May with a provision denying expedited congressional consideration of any trade deal with a country listed in Tier 3, Roll Call reports.
The U.S. remains concerned about Cuba in part because of its “failure to recognize forced labor as a problem or to act to combat it”, she said.
Advertisement
Of the downgrades, Belarus earned an automatic demotion to Tier 3 after two years on the Watch List, as did Comoros, an island off the coast of Eastern Africa, where the report says children are particularly at risk of forced labor.
