Foreign Policy Update – USA Gov Policy

From the U.S. State Department

National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

January is National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Every year since 2010, the President has dedicated the month to raising awareness about the different forms of human trafficking, also known as modern slavery, and educating people about this crime and how to spot it. In January, the Department of State raises awareness of human trafficking domestically and abroad through U.S. embassies and consulates. We also celebrate the efforts of anti-trafficking organizations, communities of faith, state and local law enforcement, survivor advocates, businesses, and private citizens all around the world to promote this important cause. Everyone can play a part in ending human trafficking.

The History Behind the Month

The significance of January originates from the Emancipation Proclamation, which President Abraham Lincoln issued on January 1, 1863, declaring 3.1 million slaves free. In 1865, Congress passed and the states ratified the 13th Amendment to the Constitution, officially outlawing slavery and involuntary servitude in the United States.

More than 20 years ago, the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000 enshrined the United States’ commitment to combating modern slavery domestically and internationally. With this bipartisan law, the United States reaffirmed the fundamental promise of “forever free” enshrined within the Emancipation Proclamation.

In 2010, by presidential proclamation, January was declared National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month. Since then, eleven presidential proclamations have followed. These proclamations not only raise the profile of the issue, they are also snapshots of global trends and challenges, and significant U.S. anti-trafficking policy achievements. Some highlights include:

In 2012, the issuance of the Executive Order ‘Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in Federal Contracts‘;
In 2016, the first convening of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking;
In 2017, the State Department’s launch of its largest anti-trafficking program, the Program to End Modern Slavery; and
In 2020, the launch of a whole-of-government website on human trafficking implementing part of the Executive Order on Combating Human Trafficking and Online Child Exploitation.

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Through National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we as a nation reaffirm President Lincoln’s promise of freedom, and that “neither slavery nor involuntary servitude shall exist in the United States.” We are reminded that on the first day of the year, and every day following, we must each recommit to do our part to end human trafficking.

Human Trafficking

Trafficking in persons, also known as modern slavery or human trafficking, includes both forced labor and sex trafficking. Human trafficking represents a threat to international peace and security. It undermines the rule of law, robs millions of their dignity and freedom, enriches transnational criminals and terrorists, and threatens public safety and national security everywhere.

By some estimates, as many as 24.9 million people — adults and children — are trapped in a form of human trafficking around the world, including in the United States. Instability caused by natural disasters, conflict, or a pandemic can increase opportunities for traffickers to exploit others. During the COVID-19 pandemic, traffickers are continuing to harm people, finding ways to innovate and even capitalize on the chaos.

Like the United States, many countries around the world have worked to implement the “3P” paradigm of prosecuting traffickers, protecting victims, and preventing the crime through the passage and implementation of national anti-trafficking laws. Today, there are 178 parties to the UN Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons. Only 15 of the 188 countries and territories assessed in the Department of State’s 2020 Trafficking in Persons Report have yet to adhere to this international standard to ensure their laws criminalize all forms of human trafficking, and take concerted steps to prevent human trafficking, protect all victims, and cooperate internationally to combat this global crime.

Despite the nearly worldwide adoption of international and domestic norms to address and prevent human trafficking, we continue to witness traffickers exploit men, women, transgender individuals, and children in the United States and around the world. But everyone has the power to help make a difference. Every National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month proclamation ends with the same call to action, that “all Americans…recognize the vital role we can play in ending all forms of slavery.”

Quick Analysis

Why the Electoral College is Vital

Proposals for radical alterations in the way Americans vote are dangerous concepts that would have dramatic consequences for the nation and its Constitution. Some, such as ranked choice voting, are an unblushing bid to prop up fringe, leftist candidates. Others. if adopted, would essentially disunite the nation and overturn its Constitution. As they consistently have after each election loss, Democrat spokespeople have flooded the airwaves with complaints about the Electoral College. Why, they ask, can’t we have a “popular vote,” and let it be done with. Since the Electoral College process is part of the original design of the U.S. Constitution, it would be necessary to pass a Constitutional amendment to change this system. The National Archives notes that over the past 200 years more than 700 proposals have been introduced in Congress to reform or eliminate the Electoral College. There have been more proposals for Constitutional amendments on changing the Electoral College than on any other subject. The answer is as simple as the name of the country: The United States of America. The incredibly successful nation created almost two and a half centuries ago was a union of separate states. Fresh off of dealing with a monarch, it was intentionally set up that way to both prevent the possibility of having an all-powerful dictator, and to prevent larger states from bullying smaller ones. Abolishing the electoral college would essentially disenfranchise smaller states from having any say in the presidency. Indeed, even less populated areas of large states would lose influence. A collection of large cities, (New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Houston, Phoenix, Philadelphia, San Antonio, San Diego, Dallas, Austin, Jacksonville, etc.) would decide the outcome in who gets the White House. Considering how badly many of those urban centers are run, that would not bode well for the future of the country! Beyond the practical policy implications, it would alienate the populations of those not living in California, Texas, New York, Florida, Pennsylvania, Illinois, who would, for the most part, be reduced to bystanders in the race for the only nationally-elected position. A Heritage study analyzed the concept of a “National Popular Vote” (NPV) this way: “The National Popular Vote (NPV) plan is the latest in a long line of schemes designed to replace the Electoral College. Imbued with the ideals of this nation’s Founders, the Electoral College has proved itself to be both effective in providing orderly elections for President and resilient in allowing a stable transfer of power of the leadership of the world’s greatest democracy. Therefore, while it would be a mistake to replace the Electoral College, replacing this system with the NPV would be a disaster. The NPV would devalue the minority interests that the Founders sought to protect, create electoral administrative problems, encourage voter fraud, and radicalize the U.S. political system. It also would likely violate the U.S. Constitution’s Compact Clause while directly contravening the Founders’ view of federalism and a representative republic. In an age of perceived political dysfunction, effective policies already in place—especially successful policies established by this nation’s Founders, such as the Electoral College—should be preserved.” Trent England, writing for the National Conference of State Legislatures outlined key reasons for the institution: “At the Constitutional Convention, the primary concern of delegates opposed to direct election was that big states would dominate presidential politics. By using a two-step election process, the Electoral College prevents one region, or a handful of major metropolitan areas, from controlling the White House. Support must be geographically distributed around the country in order to win enough states to capture an electoral vote majority. This was particularly important after the Civil War. The nation remained divided, and Democrats became dominant in the south. A combination of intense popularity with some voters and violent suppression of others allowed Democrats to receive the most popular votes in 1876 and 1888 even though they lost the Electoral College and thus those elections.” Eliminating the Electoral College would be a disaster for the United States/