Senators blasted the State Department on Thursday for a report on human trafficking that they say used politics, not facts, to upgrade countries that still fail to stop modern-day slavery within their borders.
The report, which ranks countries on their commitment to eradicating human trafficking, upgraded some countries that still have major trafficking problems, such as Malaysia and Cuba, leading some lawmakers to believe the administration’s political agenda played a role in the rankings, hurting the credibility of the 2015 report.
“The 2015 report causes me concern,” Sen. Ben Cardin of Maryland, the top Democrat on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said at a committee hearing. “I want to get answers today about the 2015 report. There are upgrades in this report that are hard to understand.”
But the State Department defended the Trafficking in Persons Report, saying that the complex ranking system looks at a country’s commitment to comply with minimum standards to prosecute criminals, protect victims and stop trafficking compared to the previous year, not just the seriousness of the problem in the country.
“It asks us to look at a huge variety of factors and it asks us to weigh and balance a huge variety of factors,” said Sarah Sewell, undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights. “Not all of the indicators go in the same direction.”
Cardin said the intent of Congress was that countries would be rated solely based on conditions in the countries and asked Sewell for ways to strengthen the law so those who have the most in-depth knowledge of those conditions have the most influence over rankings.
Six countries, including Malaysia, Cuba and Saudi Arabia, were upgraded in the 2015 report from the tier three to tier two watchlist. Sewell said countries on the tier two watchlist are making efforts to comply with minimum standards, but may still have a high number of victims or may have promised to implement more effective protections next year.
Committee Chairman Bob Corker, R-Tenn., said Sewell’s defense of the report would fall flat with those who have personally been affected by modern day slavery.
“I don’t think that any person in Malaysia that has loved ones who have been sold into sex slavery would be very comforted by what you just said, but I realize you have to do what you do,” he said.
“I listen to all your criteria, but I’m sorry, it just doesn’t hit me at a place that causes me to believe there is integrity in this upgrade,” Corker continued.
