Ending forced labor is both the right thing and the smart thing to do. It will benefit millions of individuals directly and benefit the economy as a whole.

WASHINGTON, DC, UNITED STATES, November 22, 2024 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) today provided key recommendations for how the incoming administration of President-elect Donald J. Trump can combat forced labor, human trafficking and modern slavery during his second term in office.

“Forced labor/human trafficking is a national security, global trade, economic growth, public health and criminal justice issue – as well as a violation of fundamental human rights. It is one of the world’s largest human rights challenges and criminal industries, affecting 28 million people worldwide. It is an illegal business practice that undercuts legitimate companies and incentivizes violent, exploitative labor practices. It is an unfair trade practice that threatens the stability of global commerce,” ATEST says.

“What’s needed from the Trump administration is a coordinated and strategic approach that places emphasis, resources, and political will on preventing people from ever becoming trafficked in sectors such as agriculture, manufacturing, mining, construction, fishing, domestic work, retail, tech and hospitality – as well as ending forced commercial sexual exploitation,” ATEST says.

Read the recommendations for action: Presidential Priorities | Budget Recommendations

The recommendations include: Enforcing tariffs to protect American businesses from imports of products made by forced labor; Ensuring that no federal tax dollars are spent on trafficking-tainted products; Expanding the use of data-driven decision making in anti-trafficking programs; Integrating trafficking survivors into anti-trafficking project teams; and Preventing exploitation before it starts by addressing the root causes of human trafficking.

The recommendations focus on eight priority agencies: The Executive Office of the President; the Departments of Labor, Health and Human Services, State, Justice, Homeland Security, Education; and the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Next year, the first year of the incoming administration, is the 25th anniversary of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act and the U.N. Palermo Protocol. These groundbreaking achievements in 2000 form the cornerstones of anti-trafficking programs inside the U.S. and around the world. The Trump Administration can mark this anniversary by reaffirming America’s commitment to ending all forms of forced labor and human trafficking through strategic policy improvements and investments in a whole-of-government approach.

About ATEST: The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) is a U.S.-based nonpartisan coalition that advocates for solutions to prevent and end all forms of human trafficking and forced labor around the world. ATEST promotes lasting solutions to prevent labor and sex trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable, ensure justice for victims and empower survivors with tools for recovery. The collective experience of ATEST member organizations implementing programs in more than 30 U.S. cities and 100 countries gives the alliance unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise. ATEST has prepared transition information for every incoming administration since 2008, including President Trump’s first term. ATEST memos are the most comprehensive set of anti-trafficking recommendations prepared by civil society organizations in the U.S.

Terry FitzPatrick
Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST)
+1 571-282-9913
terry.fitzpatrick@ATEST-US.org

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