2004-6-20
This is Robert Cohen with the VOA Special English Development
Report.
Two separate reports offer new evidence for the problems facing
children.
Last week the American State Department released its
two-thousand-four Trafficking in Persons Report. This rates efforts
by one-hundred-forty countries to fight slavery. Information comes
from American embassies, human rights groups and non-governmental
organizations.
The report divides the countries into three groups. The first two
are countries believed to be working hard against trafficking or
trying to improve. But the third group is nations believed to be
making little or no effort. They could lose some American assistance
or face other restrictions.
Ten nations are in this group. Burma, North Korea, Cuba and Sudan
were also listed last year. This year the State Department added
Bangladesh, Equatorial Guinea and Sierra Leone. It also added
Venezuela, Guyana and Ecuador.
Forty-two nations are on a special "watch list" of countries at
risk of being given the lowest rating. One of them is Japan. The
report says Japan could do much more to protect thousands of victims
of sexual slavery linked to organized crime groups. Japan says it
will do more.
Worldwide, the report estimates
that each year as many as eight-hundred-thousand people are taken
across national borders for trafficking. It also notes that some
groups place the number far higher. Most victims are women and girls
forced into sexual slavery. Men are often forced into labor. Boys
generally become child soldiers.
Secretary of State Colin Powell says some countries have improved
over the past year, including Turkey. It moved up from the lowest
group to the watch list. Mister Powell said President Bush has
promised fifty-million dollars more to fight international
trafficking. This is above the seventy-million dollars budgeted for
the past year.
On June twelfth the International Labor Organization released a
report for World Day Against Child Labor. The United Nations agency
says at least ten-million children are being forced to work as house
cleaners. In most cases, they earn little or no money. They are
trapped. The report says that often the children are beaten or
forced to have sex. Most of the victims are girls, some as young as
ten.
This VOA Special English Development Report was written by Jill
Moss. This is Robert Cohen.