William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008/Title I

by United States Congress

TITLE I—COMBATING INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS

SEC. 101. INTERAGENCY TASK FORCE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING.

Section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(b)) is amended by inserting `the Secretary of Education,' after `the Secretary of Homeland Security,'.

SEC. 102. OFFICE TO MONITOR AND COMBAT TRAFFICKING.

Section 105(e) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7103(e)) is amended--

(1) in the subsection heading, by striking `Support for the Task Force' and inserting `Office To Monitor and Combat Trafficking';

(2) by striking `The Secretary of State is authorized to' and inserting the following:

`(1) IN GENERAL- The Secretary of State shall'; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(2) COORDINATION OF CERTAIN ACTIVITIES-

`(A) PARTNERSHIPS- The Director, in coordination and cooperation with other officials at the Department of State involved in corporate responsibility, the Deputy Under Secretary for International Affairs of the Department of Labor, and other relevant officials of the United States Government, shall promote, build, and sustain partnerships between the United States Government and private entities (including foundations, universities, corporations, community-based organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations) to ensure that--

`(i) United States citizens do not use any item, product, or material produced or extracted with the use of labor from victims of severe forms of trafficking; and

`(ii) such entities do not contribute to trafficking in persons involving sexual exploitation.

`(B) UNITED STATES ASSISTANCE- The Director shall be responsible for--

`(i) all policy, funding, and programming decisions regarding funds made available for trafficking in persons programs that are centrally controlled by the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking; and

`(ii) coordinating any trafficking in persons programs of the Department of State or the United States Agency for International Development that are not centrally controlled by the Director.'.

SEC. 103. PREVENTION AND PROSECUTION OF TRAFFICKING IN FOREIGN COUNTRIES.

(a) Prevention- Section 106 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7104) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(i) Additional Measures To Prevent and Deter Trafficking- The President shall establish and carry out programs to prevent and deter trafficking in persons, including--

`(1) technical assistance and other support to improve the capacity of foreign governments to investigate, identify, and carry out inspections of private entities, including labor recruitment centers, at which trafficking victims may be exploited, particularly exploitation involving forced and child labor;

`(2) technical assistance and other support for foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations to provide immigrant populations with information, in the native languages of the major immigrant groups of such populations, regarding the rights of such populations in the foreign country and local in-country nongovernmental organization-operated hotlines;

`(3) technical assistance to provide legal frameworks and other programs to foreign governments and nongovernmental organizations to ensure that--

`(A) foreign migrant workers are provided the same protection as nationals of the foreign country;

`(B) labor recruitment firms are regulated; and

`(C) workers providing domestic services in households are provided protection under labor rights laws; and

`(4) assistance to foreign governments to register vulnerable populations as citizens or nationals of the country to reduce the ability of traffickers to exploit such populations.'.

(b) Prosecution- Section 134(a)(2) of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2152d(a)(2)) is amended by adding at the end before the semicolon the following: `, including investigation of individuals and entities that may be involved in trafficking in persons involving sexual exploitation'.

SEC. 104. ASSISTANCE FOR VICTIMS OF TRAFFICKING IN OTHER COUNTRIES.

Section 107(a) of Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7105(a)) is amended--

(1) in paragraph (1)--

(A) in the second sentence, by inserting before the period at the end the following: `, and shall be carried out in a manner which takes into account the cross-border, regional, and transnational aspects of trafficking in persons'; and

(B) by adding at the end the following:

`(F) In cooperation and coordination with relevant organizations, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, the International Organization for Migration, and private nongovernmental organizations that contract with, or receive grants from, the United States Government to assist refugees and internally displaced persons, support for--

`(i) increased protections for refugees and internally displaced persons, including outreach and education efforts to prevent such refugees and internally displaced persons from being exploited by traffickers; and

`(ii) performance of best interest determinations for unaccompanied and separated children who come to the attention of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees, its partner organizations, or any organization that contracts with the Department of State in order to identify child trafficking victims and to assist their safe integration, reintegration, and resettlement.'; and

(2) in paragraph (2), by adding at the end the following: `In carrying out this paragraph, the Secretary and the Administrator shall take all appropriate steps to ensure that cooperative efforts among foreign countries are undertaken on a regional basis.'.

SEC. 105. INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING PROGRAMS.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 107 the following:

`SEC. 107A. INCREASING EFFECTIVENESS OF ANTI-TRAFFICKING PROGRAMS.

`(a) Awarding of Grants, Cooperative Agreements, and Contracts- In administering funds made available to carry out this Act within and outside the United States--

`(1) solicitations of grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts for such programs shall be made publicly available;

`(2) grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts shall be subject to full and open competition, in accordance with applicable laws; and

`(3) the internal department or agency review process for such grants, cooperative agreements, and contracts shall not be subject to ad hoc or intermittent review or influence by individuals or organizations outside the United States Government except as provided under paragraphs (1) and (2).

`(b) Eligibility-

`(1) IN GENERAL- An applicant desiring a grant, contract, or cooperative agreement under this Act shall certify that, to the extent practicable, persons or entities providing legal services, social services, health services, or other assistance have completed, or will complete, training in connection with trafficking in persons.

`(2) DISCLOSURE- If appropriate, applicants should indicate collaboration with nongovernmental organizations, including organizations with expertise in trafficking in persons.

`(c) Evaluation of Anti-Trafficking Programs-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The President shall establish a system to evaluate the effectiveness and efficiency of the assistance provided under anti-trafficking programs established under this Act on a program-by-program basis in order to maximize the long-term sustainable development impact of such assistance.

`(2) REQUIREMENTS- In carrying out paragraph (1), the President shall--

`(A) establish performance goals for the assistance described in paragraph (1), expressed in an objective and quantifiable form, to the extent practicable;

`(B) ensure that performance indicators are used for programs authorized under this Act to measure and assess the achievement of the performance goals described in subparagraph (A);

`(C) provide a basis for recommendations for adjustments to the assistance described in paragraph (1) to enhance the impact of such assistance; and

`(D) ensure that evaluations are conducted by subject matter experts in and outside the United States Government, to the extent practicable.

`(d) Targeted Use of Anti-Trafficking Programs- In providing assistance under this division, the President should take into account the priorities and country assessments contained in the most recent report submitted by the Secretary of State to Congress pursuant to section 110(b).

`(e) Consistency With Other Programs- The President shall ensure that the design, monitoring, and evaluation of United States assistance programs for emergency relief, development, and poverty alleviation under part I and chapter 4 of part II of the Foreign Assistance Act of 1961 (22 U.S.C. 2151 et seq. and 2346 et seq.) and other similar United States assistance programs are consistent with United States policies and other United States programs relating to combating trafficking in persons.

`(f) Authorization of Appropriations- For each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011, not more than 5 percent of the amounts made available to carry out this division may be used to carry out this section, including--

`(1) evaluations of promising anti-trafficking programs and projects funded by the disbursing agency pursuant to this Act; and

`(2) evaluations of emerging problems or global trends.'.

SEC. 106. MINIMUM STANDARDS FOR THE ELIMINATION OF TRAFFICKING.

Section 108 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7106) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a), by striking `a significant number of'; and

(2) in subsection (b)--

(A) in paragraph (1), by striking the period at the end of the first sentence and inserting the following: `, including, as appropriate, requiring incarceration of individuals convicted of such acts. For purposes of the preceding sentence, suspended or significantly-reduced sentences for convictions of principal actors in cases of severe forms of trafficking in persons shall be considered, on a case-by-case basis, whether to be considered an indicator of serious and sustained efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons.';

(B) in paragraph (2), by inserting before the period at the end the following: `, including by providing training to law enforcement and immigration officials regarding the identification and treatment of trafficking victims using approaches that focus on the needs of the victims';

(C) in paragraph (3), by striking `measures to reduce the demand for commercial sex acts and for participation in international sex tourism by nationals of the country' and inserting `measures to establish the identity of local populations, including birth registration, citizenship, and nationality'; and

(D) by adding at the end the following:

`(11) Whether the government of the country has made serious and sustained efforts to reduce the demand for--

`(A) commercial sex acts; and

`(B) participation in international sex tourism by nationals of the country.'.

SEC. 107. ACTIONS AGAINST GOVERNMENTS FAILING TO MEET MINIMUM STANDARDS.

(a) Countries on Special Watch List Relating to Trafficking in Persons for 2 Consecutive Years- Section 110(b)(3) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(3)) is amended by adding at the end the following:

`(D) COUNTRIES ON SPECIAL WATCH LIST FOR 2 CONSECUTIVE YEARS-

`(i) IN GENERAL- Except as provided under clause (ii), a country that is included on the special watch list described in subparagraph (A) for 2 consecutive years after the date of the enactment of this subparagraph, shall be included on the list of countries described in paragraph (1)(C).

`(ii) EXERCISE OF WAIVER AUTHORITY- The President may waive the application of clause (i) for up to 2 years if the President determines, and reports credible evidence to the Committee on Foreign Relations of the Senate and the Committee on Foreign Affairs of the House of Representatives, that such a waiver is justified because--

`(I) the country has a written plan to begin making significant efforts to bring itself into compliance with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking;

`(II) the plan, if implemented, would constitute making such significant efforts; and

`(III) the country is devoting sufficient resources to implement the plan.'.

(b) Clarification of Measures Against Certain Foreign Countries- Section 110(d)(1)(A)(ii) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(d)(1)(A)) is amended by inserting `such assistance to the government of the country for the subsequent fiscal year and will not provide' after `will not provide'.

(c) Translation of Trafficking in Persons Report- The Secretary of State shall--

(1) timely translate the annual report submitted under section 110(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)) into the principal languages of as many countries as possible, with particular emphasis on the languages of the countries on the lists described in subparagraphs (B) and (C) of section 110(b)(1) of such Act; and

(2) ensure that the translations described in paragraph (1) are made available to the public through postings on the Internet website of the Department of State and other appropriate websites.

SEC. 108. RESEARCH ON DOMESTIC AND INTERNATIONAL TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

(a) Integrated Database- Section 112A of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7109a) is amended--

(1) in subsection (a), by amending paragraph (5) to read as follows:

`(5) An effective mechanism for quantifying the number of victims of trafficking on a national, regional, and international basis, which shall include, not later than 2 years after the date of the enactment of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008, the establishment and maintenance of an integrated database within the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center.'; and

(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

`(b) Role of Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center-

`(1) IN GENERAL- The research initiatives described in paragraphs (4) and (5) of subsection (a) shall be carried out by the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center, established under section 7202 of the 9/11 Commission Implementation Act of 2004 (8 U.S.C. 1777).

`(2) DATABASE- The database described in subsection (a)(5) shall be established by combining all applicable data collected by each Federal department and agency represented on the Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, consistent with the protection of sources and methods, and, to the maximum extent practicable, applicable data from relevant international organizations, to--

`(A) improve the coordination of the collection of data related to trafficking in persons by each agency of the United States Government that collects such data;

`(B) promote uniformity of such data collection and standards and systems related to such collection;

`(C) undertake a meta-analysis of patterns of trafficking in persons, slavery, and slave-like conditions to develop and analyze global trends in human trafficking;

`(D) identify emerging issues in human trafficking and establishing integrated methods to combat them; and

`(E) identify research priorities to respond to global patterns and emerging issues.

`(3) CONSULTATION- The database established in accordance with paragraph (2) shall be maintained in consultation with the Director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons of the Department of State.

`(4) AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS- There are authorized to be appropriated $2,000,000 to the Human Smuggling and Trafficking Center for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011 to carry out the activities described in this subsection.'.

(b) Report- Section 110(b)(1) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7107(b)(1)) is amended--

(1) in subparagraph (C), by striking `and' at the end;

(2) in subparagraph (D), by striking the period at the end and inserting a semicolon; and

(3) by adding at the end the following:

`(E) reporting and analysis on the emergence or shifting of global patterns in human trafficking, including data on the number of victims trafficked to, through, or from major source and destination countries, disaggregated by nationality, gender, and age, to the extent possible; and

`(F) emerging issues in human trafficking.'.

SEC. 109. PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7101 et seq.) is amended by inserting after section 112A the following:

`SEC. 112B. PRESIDENTIAL AWARD FOR EXTRAORDINARY EFFORTS TO COMBAT TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS.

`(a) Establishment of Award- The President is authorized to establish an award, to be known as the `Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts To Combat Trafficking in Persons', for extraordinary efforts to combat trafficking in persons. To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary of State shall present the award annually to not more than 5 individuals or organizations, including--

`(1) individuals who are United States citizens or foreign nationals; and

`(2) United States or foreign nongovernmental organizations.

`(b) Selection- The President shall establish procedures for selecting recipients of the award authorized under subsection (a).

`(c) Ceremony- The Secretary of State shall host an annual ceremony for recipients of the award authorized under subsection (a) as soon as practicable after the date on which the Secretary submits to Congress the report required under section 110(b)(1). The Secretary of State may pay the travel costs of each recipient and a guest of each recipient who attends the ceremony.

`(d) Authorization of Appropriations- There are authorized to be appropriated, for each of the fiscal years 2008 through 2011, such sums as may be necessary to carry out this section.'.

SEC. 110. REPORT ON ACTIVITIES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF LABOR TO MONITOR AND COMBAT FORCED LABOR AND CHILD LABOR.

(a) Final Report; Public Availability of List- Not later than January 15, 2010, the Secretary of Labor shall--

(1) submit to the appropriate congressional committees a final report that--

(A) describes the implementation of section 105(b) of the Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2005 (22 U.S.C. 7103(b)); and

(B) includes an initial list of goods described in paragraph (2)(C) of such section; and

(2) make the list of goods described in paragraph (1)(B) available to the public.

(b) Appropriate Congressional Committees Defined- In this section, the term `appropriate congressional committees' has the meaning given the term in section 103 of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 (22 U.S.C. 7102).

SEC. 111. SENSE OF CONGRESS REGARDING MULTILATERAL FRAMEWORK BETWEEN LABOR EXPORTING AND LABOR IMPORTING COUNTRIES.

It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of State, in conjunction with the International Labour Organization, the United Nations Office of Drug and Crime Prevention, and other relevant international and nongovernmental organizations, should seek to establish a multilateral framework between labor exporting and labor importing countries to ensure that workers migrating between such countries are protected from trafficking in persons.