June 30, 2005

Combating Trafficking in Persons: Awareness and Action

Remarks by Ambassador Klosson
Arab Ahmet Cultural Center

Ladies and Gentlemen thank you for coming. Welcome to this important seminar on trafficking in persons.

A year ago, I would not have thought this meeting possible. At that time, when we raised the issue, we found people largely in denial with respect to trafficking in the north. Despite the dozens of nightclubs lining the roads to Guzelyurt (Morphou) and Gazimagusa ( Famagusta), there was a reluctance to talk about what was really going on in those clubs and elsewhere. Of course, there are still plenty of people who will not discuss such matters, but I believe attitudes are changing here. The fact that you are here today is one piece of evidence. The fact that Turkish Cypriot media have dedicated more resources to covering stories on trafficking this past year is another. The fact that when the U.S. Embassy -- with the support of KAYAD -- brought Barbara Carlin, a Department of Justice expert on trafficking in persons, to speak in Nicosia last February, we could not find enough chairs to seat the unexpectedly large audience is a third indication. Turkish Cypriot authorities, I can say, are also beginning to take this issue very seriously as well. We now regularly discuss the problem with the authorities. All agree that exploitation of women must stop.

People here often ask why is the United States Embassy so concerned with trafficking in persons? Why do we spend time researching this problem in Cyprus? Why does the State Department write -- sometimes even “how dare” the State Department write – an annual Report on Trafficking in Persons? Why do we care about the fate of women working in bars, nightclubs and cabarets on this island?

My first response: Trafficking in human beings is not simply a Cypriot problem or an American problem. It’s a global problem. Between 600,000 and 800,000 men, women and children, according to State Department estimates, are trafficked every year across international borders from Europe, Africa, Asia and the Americas. (I might add that of those, 80 percent are women and girls and 50 percent are under the age of 21.)

Trafficking is not the exclusive domain of the developing world. We have a trafficking problem in the United States as well. In several weeks, the United States Department of Justice will release its annual report, which assesses United States efforts to stop trafficking on our soil. Yes, trafficking in human beings is a global scourge, and the solution demands we all cooperate on a global scale. That is why the State Department has an annual report, that is why the American Embassy in Nicosia is active on this issue and that is why we are here today.

My second point: It is entirely appropriate, necessary and right that the United States actively work to combat the spread of trafficking. I firmly believe that we all have a responsibility to work to eliminate what is in essence modern-day slavery. Our work is part of an international effort, undergirded by international conventions and carried out by NGOs, national governments, and international organizations. That is why American Embassies in every country that has a trafficking problem are working with local authorities and groups to combat it.

I regularly hear disturbing and unsympathetic comments about the women who work in cabarets in Cyprus and who find themselves in these most horrific of circumstances. I put it to you today: These are attitudes we must work to change. There is ample evidence that there are indeed women who were misled about the nature of their work in the nightclubs. You will also hear stories of women who knew that they would work in the sex industry, but nevertheless became victims of trafficking the moment they were forced to work exorbitant hours and given little or no compensation, the moment they were threatened, beaten or raped.

The U.S. Department of State, as you know, issues a report every year on the state of trafficking around the world. This year, for the first time, there was a section of the report about trafficking in the area administered by Turkish Cypriots. A great deal of responsibility rests on your shoulders to take steps to address this problem. Attitudes must change, as I said, but that is only part of the equation. Let the Trafficking in Persons Report serve both as a wake-up call as well as a call to action. Action must address what we call the “three P’s” : Prevention, Protection and Prosecution. Preventing exploitation from occurring in the first place; protecting those identified as victims; and prosecuting those who trafficked and exploited them.

Before I close, I want to take this opportunity to express my admiration for those of you who have dedicated yourselves to combating trafficking. This is a difficult and sometimes dangerous job, but your dedication is so important. Thank you.