. Earth Science News .
TRADE WARS
US lawmaker presses China, India over human trafficking

by Staff Writers
Washington (AFP) Sept 30, 2010
A leading US lawmaker on Thursday urged President Barack Obama's administration to ratchet up pressure on China and India over sex-trafficking and modern day slavery that flourishes in both countries.

Congressman Christopher Smith, who led the charge for the landmark 2000 law Trafficking Victims Protection Act, said the two Asian giants were among the world's worst offenders in their disregard for forced bondage and sexual exploitation.

At a hearing of the House Committee on Foreign Affairs, Smith urged the State Department's office dedicated to combating human trafficking to undertake a "comprehensive reassessment" of China and India.

He cited in particular Beijing's failure to prevent rampant trafficking of North Korean refugees.

The countries risk being downgraded in the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons" blacklist, and could face sanctions including withholding non-humanitarian, non-trade related US aid, he said.

Smith said the problem with trafficking in China has become particularly acute because of the country's "one child" law that has led to a shortage of marriageable women and created "a colossal market for bride selling."

Chinese demographers forecast that by 2020 some 40 million Chinese men will not be able to find women to marry, Smith said, calling the one child policy "barbaric."

US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has made women's and children's rights a signature issue, in June called human trafficking a "terrible crime" as she unveiled a US report on the subject.

China and India were listed on the report's "tier two watch list," for countries making "significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with minimum standards" on trafficking.

Lawmakers said however that they risk being regulated to the report's bottom rung, alongside long-time violators North Korea and Burma.

As Congress prepares to take up a reauthorization bill to update the 2000 law for the next decade, the committee's chair Howard Berman said huge challenges remain to combat the 32-billion-dollar-a-year industry that sees humans "reduced to machines for production or pleasure."

Of the world's estimated 27 million modern day slaves, two thirds are in India chiefly in bonded labor, the committee heard in testimony. Smith slammed New Dehli's action on the issue as "not even remotely commensurate with the size of its current problem."

The number of prosecutions for sex industry traffickers have risen nominally in some Indian states, said advocate Beryl Ann D'Souza, who heads anti-human trafficking efforts in India for the Dalit Freedom Network.

Even with laws on the books, D'Souza said the sub-continent's approach needs comprehensive overhaul, as only seven percent of India's police force have received any type of anti-trafficking training.



Share This Article With Planet Earth
del.icio.usdel.icio.us DiggDigg RedditReddit
YahooMyWebYahooMyWeb GoogleGoogle FacebookFacebook



Related Links
Global Trade News



Memory Foam Mattress Review
Newsletters :: SpaceDaily :: SpaceWar :: TerraDaily :: Energy Daily
XML Feeds :: Space News :: Earth News :: War News :: Solar Energy News


TRADE WARS
Regulators making progress on reform law
Washington (UPI) Sep 30, 2010
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke and other regulators told the U.S. Congress they are making progress on implementing financial reform. Appearing at Thursday's Senate Banking Committee's hearing, Bernanke read from prepared remarks, "The Dodd-Frank Act is an important step forward for financial regulation in the United States and it is essential that the act be carried out expediti ... read more







TRADE WARS
Landslides in Mexico take deadly toll

Flood victims sleep by roadsides in northern Nigeria

Seven dead, 100 missing in Mexico landslide, rescue delayed

Depression soars among Gulf residents after oil spill

TRADE WARS
Hylas Gets Green Light For Spaceport Trip

Poll: Children embracing e-books

Northrop Grumman Space Cryocoolers Achieve 100 Years Of On-Orbit Performance

NASA's NPP Climate Satellite Passes Pre-Environmental Review

TRADE WARS
'River crisis' worsens threat of water scarcity - study

Dolphins escape as nets are cut during Japan's annual hunt

Iceland mackerel quota 'completely justified': ministry

Groundwater Depletion Rate Accelerating Worldwide

TRADE WARS
Putin says Arctic must remain 'zone of peace'

Iceland calls for end to 'Cold War' tension over Arctic

Russia, Canada trade rival Arctic claims

Glaciers Help High-Latitude Mountains Grow Taller

TRADE WARS
Sinochem struggles to mount rival Potash bid: report

FAO sounds off on impending beef crisis

One fifth of world's plants threatened by extinction: study

Abbiategrasso, a 'slow' town in Milan's backyard

TRADE WARS
Pinpointing Where Volcanic Eruptions Could Strike

Nigerian flood victims face food shortages, disease outbreak

Quake kills one in south Iran

Deadly downpours drench Central America, Caribbean

TRADE WARS
Coups in Africa hinder development: S.Leone's new army chief

Uganda wildlife soared over past decade: authority

French troops sent to Niamey after kidnappings: sources

Mauritanian troops battle Al-Qaeda-linked fighters in Mali

TRADE WARS
Suicide rate rises among China's elderly: state media

China marks 30 years of one-child policy

Critics urge pressure as China one-child policy hits 30

Outside View: Please fence me in


The content herein, unless otherwise known to be public domain, are Copyright 1995-2010 - SpaceDaily. AFP and UPI Wire Stories are copyright Agence France-Presse and United Press International. ESA Portal Reports are copyright European Space Agency. All NASA sourced material is public domain. Additional copyrights may apply in whole or part to other bona fide parties. Advertising does not imply endorsement,agreement or approval of any opinions, statements or information provided by SpaceDaily on any Web page published or hosted by SpaceDaily. Privacy Statement