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21 October 2004

U.S. Labor Dept. Awards $18.65 Million to Fight Human Trafficking

Grants will fund services for victims, those at risk, governments

The U.S. Department of Labor has awarded $18.65 million in grants to combat human trafficking around the world, Labor Secretary Elaine Chao announced.

The amount includes $3.75 million to implement anti-trafficking projects in Brazil, Cambodia, Moldova and Sierra Leone, and $14.9 million to fight child-labor trafficking in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific, according to an October 20 Labor Department press release.

The grants will fund projects that provide employment services to adults who have been trafficked into forced labor and to women at risk of being trafficked. Projects also will support communities by improving schools and providing education, shelter and counseling to children who have been trafficked or who are at risk, and income-generating opportunities for their parents, the release said.

Grant funds will be used to work with national and local governments to improve law enforcement, map trafficking routes and implement public awareness campaigns, according to the release.

Trafficking of humans targets mostly women and children, Chao said.

The grant recipients are Catholic Relief Services, Winrock International and The Hagar Project.

Following is the text of the department's press release:

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U.S. Department of labor
October 20, 2004

U.S. Labor Department Awards $18.65 Million in Grants in FY 2004
To Battle Adult and Child Trafficking Around the World

WASHINGTON -- U.S. Labor Secretary Elaine L. Chao today announced $18.65 million in grants to combat human trafficking around the world. The overall amount includes $3.75 million awarded to three non-government organizations to implement anti-trafficking projects in Brazil, Cambodia, Moldova, and Sierra Leone, and $14.9 million to combat trafficking of children for exploitative labor in Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, Asia and the Pacific.

"Trafficking in human beings is an evil that targets mostly women and children, whose suffering can scarcely be imagine," said Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "President Bush and this department are committed to preventing trafficking, protecting victims and prosecuting traffickers. These projects will help save the lives of men, women and children around the world."

The projects to prevent human trafficking are being funded as part of President Bush's international Combating Trafficking in Persons initiative. In Brazil, Catholic Relief Services will provide employment services and income-generating activities for adults, mostly agricultural workers, who have been trafficked into forced labor. In addition, it will work with the national and local governments to improve law enforcement, map trafficking routes, and implement public awareness campaigns and adult education programs. Catholic Relief Services will also work in Moldova to enhance legitimate employment opportunities and related services.

In Cambodia, the department will work with The Hagar Project to develop alternative livelihoods as well as an employment program targeted at former trafficking victims and at-risk women.

In Sierra Leone, Winrock International will support community and faith-based organizations in combating child trafficking by improving schools and providing shelter, counseling, education and skills training.

An additional $14.9 million to combat trafficking of children will support projects in the Dominican Republic, South America, Indonesia and in the sub-region of West and Central Africa. These efforts will provide direct assistance to children who either have been trafficked or who are at risk of being trafficked. Among the services to be provided are education and training opportunities for children and income generating opportunities for their parents as a means of reducing the risk that children will be trafficked. These projects will also seek to build local capacity in the targeted countries for confronting the problem of trafficking, one of the worst forms of child labor as identified by ILO Convention 182.

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(Distributed by the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://usinfo.state.gov)