S'pore on US watch list

[Dodomeki]

Jun 15, 2010
S'pore on US watch list

<!-- by line --> <!-- end by line -->
<!--background story, collapse if none--> Other 'blacklisted' Asian nations:

*THE State Department added a number of Asian nations to its watch list - Afghanistan, Brunei, Laos, Maldives, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam.

*Bangladesh, China, India, Micronesia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka remained on the list, unchanged from a year earlier.

*North Korea, Myanmar and Papua New Guinea remained at the bottom level of countries that do not even meet the minimum standards on human trafficking.

*The State Department recognised improvements in Pakistan, which was taken off the watch list, and Malaysia, which was on the list but removed from the lowest category of countries that do not meet minimum standards.

*Pakistan 'has dramatically increased the number of convictions and prosecutions for human trafficking, undertaking creative efforts to prevent bonded labour,' Luis CdeBaca, the US envoy on human trafficking, told reporters.

*Malaysian authorities 'have acknowledged and begun to tackle their serious human trafficking problem, including intensified engagement with foreign governments,' Mr CdeBaca said.

*From other regions, Cuba, Iran and Saudi Arabia remained in the rock-bottom category and the Dominican Republic was newly added.

*Representative Christopher Smith, a Republican who authored the law that requires the human trafficking report, said that more countries should have been assigned the lowest rank.

*'If we are willing to hold the Dominican Republic to account, as we should, it's outrageous that China, Vietnam and India get a free pass,' Mr Smith said.

*Taiwan was upgraded and listed as fully compliant in efforts against human trafficking after starting new services for victims, Mr CdeBaca said.

*Australia, New Zealand and South Korea were also listed as fully compliant.

*For the first time, the United States included itself in the report. It ranked itself in compliance. -- AFP

<!-- end left side bar -->

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (above), called human trafficking a 'terrible crime' as she presented the State Department's annual report. -- PHOTO: AFP

<!-- story content : start --> WASHINGTON - THE United States has put Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam on a human trafficking watch list, accusing them of failing to prevent women from being forced into prostitution. The move opens the way for the United States to cut off some civilian assistance, although it usually functions as a symbolic means to pressure countries to take action.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who has made women's and children's rights a signature issue, called human trafficking a 'terrible crime' as she presented the State Department's annual report on Monday. 'All of us have a responsibility to bring this practice to an end,' she said. The report estimated that 12.3 million people were the victims of trafficking in 2009-2010, although it said there has been progress in the past decade.

Explaining the downgrade for Singapore, the report said that some women from China, the Philippines and Thailand are tricked into coming to the city-state with promises of legitimate employment and coerced into the sex trade. The report said that while Singapore launched 'some significant new steps' against trafficking, there were no 'quantifiable indicators' that the government was identifying more victims or prosecuting more culprits.

The State Department said that Thailand was a source, destination and transit point for trafficking, with ethnic minorities and citizens of neighbouring countries at particular risk of sexual abuse or forced labour. Senator Jim Webb, who heads the Foreign Relations subcommittee on East Asia, had made an unusually open appeal not to place Thailand on the watch list.

Mr Webb visited Bangkok this month and said US embassy staff disagreed with the intended downgrade as it could curb assistance for democracy and human rights programmes in the wake of the kingdom's political violence. The downgrade occurs 'at a time when this type of aide is desperately needed to bolster political reforms in Thailand and to promote political stability,' Mr Webb said last week in a letter to Clinton. -- AFP

 

[Dodomeki]

U.S. Human Trafficking Report Cites Progress, Persistent Challenges


U.S. Human Trafficking Report Cites Progress, Persistent Challenges

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton unveils the 2010 U.S. report on human trafficking in Washington.

June 14, 2010

WASHINGTON -- The United States has released its 2010 report on human trafficking in the world, citing both progress and persistent challenges in the fight against modern-day slavery. The survey offers assessments of 177 countries along with recommendations for combating forced labor, involuntary domestic servitude, sex slavery, and other forms of bondage resulting from human trafficking.

"Behind these statistics on the pages are the struggles of real human beings -- the tears of families who may never see their children again, the despair and indignity of those suffering under the worst forms of exploitation," said U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, who unveiled the report in Washington today. "And through this report, we bear witness to their experience and commit ourselves to abolishing this horrible crime," she added.

The report classifies countries into tiers based on data compiled from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, other branches of the U.S. government, international NGOs, and foreign governments. Tier 1 countries, such as Poland and Croatia, seriously punish traffickers, actively protect victims, vigorously investigate potential cases, and meet other minimum standards prescribed by the United States.

At the other end of the spectrum are tier 3 countries, such as Saudi Arabia and Iran, which do not meet minimum standards and are not seen as making concerted efforts to do so. Nineteen countries in this year's report suffered downgraded placements, including Afghanistan, which remains a source, transit, and destination country for the trafficking of men, women, and children.

Forced begging organized by mafia groups is a growing problem, and women from Tajikistan and Iran are brought into the country as sex slaves. The report found that offenders were not adequately prosecuted and that victims of sex trafficking continued to be punished for adultery or prostitution.

Macedonia, Pakistan, and Kazakhstan were also downgraded in this year's report.

'Sea Change' In Bosnia

But 22 countries earned improved ratings this year, including Bosnia and Herzegovina, which had long held a place on the survey's lowest tier. It is now ranked a tier 1 country.

"This is something that we've seen on the part of the Bosnian government -- clear progress, especially over the last year: significantly reducing its use of suspended sentences, imposing stronger penalties for convicted traffickers, partnering with nongovernmental organizations on victim protection, and employing proactive procedures to go out and identify and help victims," said U.S. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, who oversees Washington's efforts to monitor and combat human trafficking. "It is a sea change if you look at the trafficking issue over the course of the last decade that Bosnia would be ranked within the first tier," he added.

CdeBaca also said that around the world, more people are working to stop human trafficking than ever before.

Among them is Uzbekistan's Natalia Abdullayeva, one of the report's "heroes," who has worked since 2003 to prevent trafficking in the country's northwest by handing out anti-trafficking flyers on buses headed for Kazakhstan, a key destination.

Persisting Problems

But while the report acknowledged progress made in the decade since the United States and the United Nations first enacted comprehensive anti-trafficking legislation, persisting problems abound.

In Uzbekistan, adults and children are often forced to pick cotton during the harvest season.

Iran remains in the report's lowest tier with "extensive" trafficking within, to, and from the country. The report notes that the majority of victims are forced laborers in the construction and agricultural sectors, although the country's unwillingness to share its human rights information impedes data collection.

The Iranian government has also objected to the principle that victims of trafficking should not be punished for crimes committed as a result of being trafficked.

Human trafficking also remains a sharp problem in Russia, where men from the country's Far East are subjected to debt bondage and women forced into sex slavery are trafficked as far as South Africa and Australia. The report acknowledges Russia's progress in battling child sex tourism, but says the government has not developed a comprehensive strategy for dealing with trafficking in all its forms.

Georgia and Lithuania, on the report's top tier, have the best trafficking records in the post-Soviet sphere. To make further progress, Clinton called for a broader recognition of responsibility.

"Traffickers must be brought to justice. And we can't just blame international organized crime and rely on law enforcement to pursue them," she said. "It is everyone's responsibility: businesses that knowingly profit [from] or exhibit reckless disregard about their supply chains, governments that turn a blind eye or do not devote serious resources to addressing the problem. All of us have to speak out and act forcefully."

In that vein, she said, the United States has included itself in the report for the first time. It is ranked in the top tier.

But with more than 12 million victims of forced labor, forced prostitution, or other slavery-like conditions in the world today, the report acknowledges that "no country has yet attained a truly comprehensive response to this massive, ever increasing, ever changing crime."

Written by Richard Solash.

 

[ahleebabasingaporethief]

WATCH LIST?

They have been watching THE SCUMS backsides for the longest of times.

What ever happened to MONEY LAUNDERING?

Of course cannot charge MEI MEI human traffickers lah. 99.9% are GrassLOOTERS companies or related to GrassLOOTERS; so how to charge?

Also PRC mei meis also know what they are in for lah? No demand (from mei meis) means no supply of work permits (from GrassLOOTERS) lah.
​

<input id="gwProxy" type="hidden"><!--Session data--><input onclick="jsCall();" id="jsProxy" type="hidden">

 

[Watchman]

USA has 1600 military drones awaiting orders into Afghanistan

Singapore should blacklist USA as a war mongering
country that plunger and pillage countries .
Forcing it's own children into war zones killing them .
Parents left with no next of kin to hand over property .
State acquire them .

Using GMO produce end up generations being sterile .
​

 

[Papsmearer]

Hahaha, this is the result of world class higher paid Ministers. Every singaporean should be ashamed of this report.

 

[johnny333]

I for one am not really surprise with what is going on. We know all about the familee business in money laundering, arms sales, shelter for any crook or warlord with $$$, ...

When the neighbourhood turns bad, its time to consider moving out :(
As an honest worker bee I don't want to be associated with the criminals in the P**

 

[Watchman]

Singapore is one of his favourites

-R. Mugabe

 

[johnny333]

Singapore is one of his favourites

-R. Mugabe

I wonder if he's bought property in Spore like so many other 3rd world crooks

 

[hairylee]

I for one am not really surprise with what is going on. We know all about the familee business in money laundering, arms sales, shelter for any crook or warlord with $$$, ...

When the neighbourhood turns bad, its time to consider moving out :(
As an honest worker bee I don't want to be associated with the criminals in the P**

Just look at the way they launder money with Thaksin.
On the surface it is truely a pure business deal.

 

[streetsmart73]

I wonder if he's bought property in Spore like so many other 3rd world crooks

hi there


1. bro, you maybe surprise to know there are more than this foreign element buying stuffs in sheepishland.
2. here, money talks mah!

 

[Received_by_Kings]

money laundering, arms sales, shelter for any crook or warlord with $$$

Even if that is the case according to you then it must be that money is the root of all evil as they say. Maybe in the older days it'd be beads and trinkets hahaha.

Anyway, as I visualise I think I can now understand a little better as to why anybody be he a businessman or a gang boss would want his children or his childrens' children to live clean, legitimate lives of albeit blissful ignorance that's provided by their wealth and even power.

Probably the tricks of the trade are often too hard to be spoken to them. This should be the immeasurable depth of a father's love for his offspring.

 

[Cestbon]

This news will not be in SPH/Mediacock.

 

[Einfield]

This is vice, not human trafficking.
They are free to walk the stree.

Those dupe to come for legit jobs and end up being held against their will in a whore house is human trafficking.

 

[Einfield]

Even God can't stop the oldest trade of Human kind so don't bother trying.
On the other hand, you can do your part if that makes you feel better.

 

[longbow]

Maybe that is why there was major clamp down on street walkers and free lancers a few months back.

Usually before a report comes out, info is pass to the Gov as form of pressure to make changes. Trouble is that we are trying to increase buzz and prostitution comes hand in hand with casino, buzz, social escorts and high prices offered for young virgins.

They should try and regulate prostitution by setting up Geylang 2 and at the same time clamp down on syndicates and free lancers.

 

[Papsmearer]

I for one am not really surprise with what is going on. We know all about the familee business in money laundering, arms sales, shelter for any crook or warlord with $$$, ...

When the neighbourhood turns bad, its time to consider moving out :(
As an honest worker bee I don't want to be associated with the criminals in the P**

Old Goat cannot say they have the cleanest, most law abiding govt. and have this type of report come out.