FAIR Fund Supports Call for Partnership at U.S. Department of State’s 2009 Trafficking in Persons Report Press Conference

June 16, 2009 – WASHINGTON, DC – At the ninth annual Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report press conference, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton and Ambassador-at-Large to Combat Human Trafficking Luis CdeBaca challenged governments, organizations and individuals to partner in the fight against the scourge of human trafficking. FAIR Fund, a 501(C)3 public charity that works in Washington, DC and internationally to engage youth, especially young women, in civil society in the areas of anti-human trafficking, domestic violence, and sexual assault prevention, applauds this call to action.

Executive Director Andrea Powell co-founded FAIR Fund in 2003. In six years, the nonprofit has reached over 15,000 young people in 13 countries, including 250 adolescent victims of trafficking. FAIR Fund’s programs rely upon partnerships with local nonprofits. In her opening remarks, Secretary Clinton expressed how the onset of the global financial crisis makes these partnerships to combat human trafficking vital. "Trafficking has a broad global impact as well, it weakens legitimate economies, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, shatters families and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress," said Secretary Clinton.

The TIP Report ranks 175 countries with a four-tier system to register improvement and decline in the government’s efforts to combat trafficking. Ambassador CdeBaca used the press conference to call on non-governmental organizations and governments to use the TIP report as a diagnostic tool for what works.

One such success in fighting trafficking is FAIR Fund’s JewelGirls program, which works with women and children most vulnerable to labor exploitation and commercial sexual exploitation through income generation and economic empowerment – a program especially relevant during this economic crisis. This program is now active in Serbia as well as the U.S., Russia, and Uganda.

Ambassador CdeBaca also addressed challenges that remain, citing that not all governments, "have yet to respond to the global call for victim protections or effective law enforcement efforts."

"Trafficking in human beings is the second largest form of organized crime. Traffickers are organized with a vast network of exploiters taking advantage of women, children, and men who are most vulnerable, often due to economic distress, lack of support, strife, or discrimination. The leaders of the anti-trafficking community must also be organized and build critical mass through partnerships and collaboration," said Executive Director Powell.

Contact: Ashley Arnold, Development Associate at (202) 265-1505

Video Courtesy CSPAN


Links

Trafficking In Persons Report