Human trafficking report in US underlines forced labour, trafficking of boys

United States Secretary of State Antony Blinken on Thursday (June 16) presented a report on what he described as 'concerning trends' in human trafficking. The report has elicited denunciation of the scourge of human trafficking, forced labour and growing problem of boys and young men caught up in the trade.

Blinken blasted the rise in forced labour as worldwide supply chains were disrupted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Exploitative employers use a host of tactics to take advantage of lower-paid and more vulnerable workers," he said.

Add WION as a Preferred Source

According to State Department anti-trafficking official Cindy Dyer, "Traffickers have leveraged pandemic-related economic hardships, increased global youth unemployment and international travel restrictionsto manipulate victims."

After Blinken's presentation, Dyer said such schemes have become "a multibillion-dollar industry" in recent years. During his speech, Blinken also drew attention to rise in labour trafficking using online scams.

The annual 188-country State Department report reveals how traffickers in Myanmar, Malaysia, Ghana and Turkey, among other countries, deceived adults and children around the world with fake job offers posted online.

Countries that Washington says are actively engaged in trafficking have been listed in the report. They include Afghanistan, China, Cuba, Eritrea, North Korea, Russia, Iran, Syria, Turkmenistan and Sudan.

Countries which appear on such list can potentially be punished with US sanctions or any US aid to these countries can be revoked.

According to Dyer, China is "engaging in a policy or pattern of trafficking."

"The PRC is actually taking efforts to try to make it more difficult for us to determine if their supply chain is clean for us to determine if forced labor is occurring," she said, using an acronym for China's official name.

"We are aggressively monitoring this," she added, just days before Blinken is set to depart on a rescheduled visit to Beijing.

Trafficking of young boys

Blinken emphasised that trafficking of young boys has seen sharp increase in recent years.

"The percentage of boys identified as victims of human trafficking rose fivefoldbetween 2004 and 2020," Blinken said, citing a UN report -- a higher proportion than among girls, women or men.

"For years, there's been a widely held (perception) -- but incorrectly -- that trafficking affects exclusively female victims. This false perception has had some quite frankly devastating, intangible consequences" as fewer resources are allocated to support boys caught up in human trafficking, he said.

In addition, "many boys frequently are less likely to seek services and self-identify," according to Dyer. "And what's even more troubling is that when they do, services are not always available for them."

(With inputs from agencies)

You can now write for wionews.com and be a part of the community. Share your stories and opinions with us here.

WATCH WION LIVE HERE