WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement on the State Department’s 2018 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The annual report evaluates countries on enforcing laws against forced labor, sexual servitude and other forms of human trafficking, as well as support of victims. On Wednesday, Corker met with individuals honored as “Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes” by the State Department this year for their work to stop trafficking.
“Modern slavery and human trafficking remain a scourge on mankind affecting more than 27 million people around the world,” said Corker. “The TIP Report provides a valuable assessment of foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate trafficking within their borders. I had the privilege of meeting with some of the extraordinary individuals who are leading the fight against trafficking, and I thank the administration for its sincere commitment to addressing this global challenge. Maintaining the integrity of the report is essential for holding governments accountable, so I look forward to carefully reviewing this year’s report as part of our committee’s oversight role.”
In 2015, Corker proposed a bold, bipartisan initiative to end modern slavery worldwide that became law in 2016 and now operates as the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery (GFEMS). GFEMS is designed to leverage limited foreign aid dollars and galvanize tremendous support and investment from the public sector, philanthropic organizations and the private sector to fund projects and organizations around the world working to end modern slavery where it is most prevalent. With support from the administration, the U.S. made a $25 million contribution to the fund in 2017, which was soon after matched by the United Kingdom.
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