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For 20 years, the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP Report) has demonstrated the
United States’ conviction that human trafficking is a global threat necessitating a global
response. Traffickers are denying nearly 25 million people their fundamental right to
freedom, forcing them to live enslaved and toil for their exploiter’s profit. This report
arms governments with the data they need to increase the prosecution of traffickers,
provide victim-centered and trauma-informed protection for victims of trafficking, and
prevent this crime altogether.
As this 20th anniversary report is released, we and our allies and partners find ourselves
confronting a crisis that has reached previously unimagined proportions. While urgency
has always marked the fight against human trafficking, the implications of the COVID-19
pandemic have magnified the need for all stakeholders to work together in the fight more than ever. We know that
human traffickers prey upon the most vulnerable and look for opportunities to exploit them. Instability and lack of
access to critical services caused by the pandemic mean that the number of people vulnerable to exploitation by
traffickers is rapidly growing.
To turn the tide, action must accompany words. Among other steps, governments must end state-sponsored forced
labor; they must increase prosecutions of human traffickers; and they should expand their efforts to identify and care
for trafficking victims, while ensuring they are not punished for crimes traffickers compelled them to commit.
The opportunity for impact in the days ahead is great. I am so proud of all who lead us forward in this work, especially
our TIP Report Heroes who model the courageous leadership we need for the road ahead. I am grateful for the
Trump Administration’s unending commitment to this cause, and for my colleagues at the State Department who
have delivered this impressive report under extraordinary circumstances.
We are leading by example as we encourage governments, survivors, NGOs, industry leaders, communities of faith,
and advocates in every country to remain steadfast in the protection of human dignity and the pursuit of freedom.
Let’s all continue this fight together.