The US Department of State has released a new list of nations where humans are bought and sold. According to the Annual Trafficking in Persons report, more than 800,000 people, particularly women and children, are illegally smuggled across borders every year. Most of them are forced into prostitution, sweatshops, domestic labor, farming and child armies
The US Department of State has warned the countries in the list of worst offenders to take enough steps to combat the human trafficking otherwise they could face sanctions.
On the question of the ranking of India in the list of worst offenders, there was a heated discussion between Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte.
The report says that Negroponte wanted to put India’s name in the list as a Tier 3 country that means India as worst offender of human trafficking.
On the other hand, Rice overruled his decision about alienating the Indian government.
At the same time, she agreed to conduct a six-month special evaluation of India to see if there is any improvement or not. India has been listed in the Tier 2 watch list for the fourth consecutive year.
The US Department of State has given a piece of warning to India to take steps to restrict the practice of human trafficking in the country that involves forced labor and commercial sexual exploitation. The US administration calls human trafficking as modern-day slavery.
Mark P. Lagon, Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons said that the Tier 2 Watch list should be like a warning but the countries on Tier 2 Watch List such as India, China, Russia, Mexico, and South Africa have taken no notice of the warning among other countries in this category.
He also charged the Government of India by saying that India does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking. But, the government is taking steps in this direction to restrict the human trafficking.
Two Indian activists, Kailash Satyarthi and Vipula Kadri, also found their names in the report as one of the “Heroes” in the movement against human exploitation in India. Satyarthi has freed more than 75,000 children and rehabilitated them with vocational training and education.
Vipula Kadri, the founder and National Director of Save the Children India, is the man who has also worked hard to restrict the child abuse and exploitation in the country. Rahul Chhabra, spokesman for the Indian Embassy in Washington has said that the Indian government is now reviewing the report.
