REMARKS AT THE WHITE HOUSE FORUM ON COMBATTING HUMAN TRAFFICKING IN

SUPPLY CHAINS
Remarks
John Kerry
Secretary of State
White House
Washington, DC
January 29, 2015

SECRETARY KERRY: Good morning, everybody. And thank you very, very much. Tina,
thanks. I think its safe to say that when it comes to this fight against modern
slavery and thats exactly what it is Tina sets the gold standard, and I mean that.
And shes a hands-on manager with a full understanding of the role that technology
can play in helping to be able to combat human trafficking, enhance the tools that
we have to be able to create accountability, understand what is happening, track
the statistics and make sure that this is not a crime for which there is impunity.
There are too many crimes for which there are impunity.

And she has brought federal, state, and local partners together, along with
Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, who is sitting here, and others who have worked their
hearts out on this endeavor to shine a light on forced child labor. And its incumbent
on all of us, as she reminds us, to share our voices in the effort to strengthen the
protections in our federal contracting process. So, Tina, were grateful for your
commitment to this. Im obviously particularly grateful to President Obama for
charging all us with the responsibility and having set the goal to all of us to try to
achieve here.

Im very grateful to my good friend, Ben Cardin, for being here. Ben is served so
many years with him on the Foreign Relations Committee, and hes the conscience,
really, of the Senate when it comes to the Helsinki Forum and other efforts. Ben,
thanks being here and thanks for your leadership.

And Im grateful to every single one of you for taking the time to be here and being
part of this effort. This is one of those things that kind of exists people know it
exists. They know its wrong. And yet it continues, sort of a subculture, if you will,
underneath the radar in too many cases, above the radar in some. And we need to
put it all of it above the radar and hold all of it accountable.

For that, it will take all of the business leaders who are here, the federal contractors,
the anti-trafficking NGOs, and folks who just happen to come equipped with a
conscience, and that is important. President Obama summed up this mission: Our
fight against human trafficking is one of the great human rights causes of our time,
he said. And the United States will continue to lead it in partnership with you.

I particularly also want to thank Senator Corker. He isnt here at this moment, I
think, but he has agreed to take this issue up as one of the top priorities of the
Senate Foreign Relations Committee and in his role as the new chairman. We look
forward to working with him in that endeavor.

I just shared with all of you that this issue is somewhat personal to me, going back
to my time as a young prosecutor in Boston in the 1970s hate to give a date, but
(laughter) a lot of people did not consider violence against women to be a crime
back then, believe it or not. They saw it as cultural, not criminal. So we had to do a
lot educating and some prosecuting, needless to say. I am very proud that I
launched one of the very first, in the country, violence against women divisions
within the district attorneys office. In addition, I hired a young woman who later
became really nationally known, Amy Singer, for her advocacy. She became our
victim witness assistance leader in the office, carved out a tremendous path for how
we help people to avoid being twice victimized, once by the crime and then by the
system, and that is not a small challenge to meet. In addition, we created a priority
prosecution unit, where we took these cases and fast-tracked them as felonies and
moved them through the system with prosecution from date of arrest to date of
conviction in less than 90 days.

So if you focus on it, you can do things about it. I even tried a case that nobody in
the office believed we could try and win, which charged a john with prosecution of
rape of a prostitute. And people said, How can you possibly have the rape of a
prostitute? Well, you can. Against will is against will, and violence is violence. So
we were able to show that you can make a difference if leaders in government
commit themselves to the effort, and that is what President Obama is working so
hard to make certain we do.

And Im privileged Im happy that as Secretary of State I get to dovetail into this.
There are huge global implications, obviously, but there are also its criminal
justice, its got a lot of other hats that are worn here. But Im delighted to be part of
a team that makes it clear that were going to challenge this notion that money can
buy anything. Money may be able to buy a lot of things, but it should never, ever be
able to buy another human being. (Applause.)

So notwithstanding that clear proclamation from the Secretary of State of the United
States, the fact is that trafficking in adults and children is literally one of the largest
criminal enterprises on earth today. More than 20 million people are victims
globally, and profits for this crime exceed $150 billion a year. The United States is
the first to acknowledge that no government anywhere is doing enough. We include
ourselves. We can do more, and thats why we have a whole-of-government
initiative to pull everybody together and try to create accountability in our own
system.

Whether it comes in the form of a young child and there are unbelievable numbers
of children abused by this who are compelled to work in a brothel yes, lot of
people relate quickly and automatically to the sexual component of this. But its
much more than that. There are women and children enslaved as domestic workers,
or working for companies at sub-wages and subpar benefits and no benefits and
unbelievably abusive conditions and hours. There are fishermen on the sea today
who are pressed into labor and who arent paid, or mere subsistence. And the
victims of this crime are robbed across the board of their right to be able to live
lives as they choose for themselves.

So if you dig deeper, you begin to see that modern slavery does not exist in a
vacuum. Its connected to many of our other foreign policy concerns, from
environmental sustainability, to advancing the lives of women and girls, to
combatting transnational organized crime. Wherever we find poverty and lack of
opportunity, wherever rule of law is weak, wherever corruption is most ingrained,
and where minorities are abused, where populations cannot count on the
protections of government or rule of law, we find not just vulnerability to trafficking
but zones of impunity where traffickers can prey on their victims.

One of the greatest zones of impunity is in the supply chains. The sources of the
problem include individuals desperate for work; unscrupulous labor brokers who lie
to recruit those workers; companies greedy for profits, who turn a blind eye to
abuses; and customers looking to just save that extra dollar or two without regard
to what the implications of those savings may be. If governments want responsible
businesses to compete on a level playing field, then we need to address this
problem head on.

Now some of the worst abuses happen in places that we rarely think about within
the supply chains of electronic companies; logging and mining industries; onboard
fishing vessels, as I mentioned; in processing plants. And when you eat your dinner,
you rarely call to mind the abuses that may be happening in an illegal fishing
sector, where workers are especially vulnerable to labor trafficking and other forms
of exploitation. When you use your phone, when you go buy jewelry, you rarely

think about the mining sector where miners are often isolated in very remote areas
and physically unable to escape the abusive situations that they find themselves in
life-threatening almost always.

And when we purchase produce at a grocery store, you rarely think about the
farmworkers right here in the United States, who in some cases are paid
substandard wages and live in horrific conditions, with physical and verbal abuse,
sexual harassment, and discrimination. The magnitude and the enormity of this
challenge cannot be overstated. But so are the opportunities for change. So are the
opportunities for us to be able to have an impact, and thats what makes this forum
today so important.

Governments can lead the way in ensuring that suppliers and contractors are held
to the highest standards and adopt the highest standards. Companies can enforce
regulations against human trafficking throughout their supply chains, and that
includes the production of raw materials, labor brokers, contractors, and
subcontractors throughout the final product.

Companies must also expand their knowledge and understanding of how their
workers are recruited and they cannot just turn a blind eye to it. They cant Oh, I
didnt know. Its really easy to find out. They have to provide contracts to each of
their employees legal contracts that comply with U.S. and local laws and
international norms, and we have to make that the norm for companies all across
the world, and they must comply with their obligations and make available safe
grievance mechanisms so that employees can report abuses in the workplace
without fear of retribution.

So let me be clear: Governments have responsibilities too. The Obama

Administration has self-imposed on itself, because of the Presidents leadership, the
willingness to assume those responsibilities by ourselves. And we are taking steps
to root out human trafficking in the federal supply chains, including through an
executive order. The Presidents directive prohibits federal contractors and
subcontractors from deceiving employees about key terms and conditions of
employment, and it prohibits federal contracts from charging employees
recruitment fees and denying them access to identity documents.

Youve all heard the stories of wealthy people in one city or another who get illegal
folks working for them, and they take their passports. They dont give them identity
papers. They dont pay them money. They keep them enough so theyre literally
frozen and cant go anywhere. That actually happens, and it happens in some

places that would make you sick when you think of the nature of the folks who are
engaged in that and the opportunities they have versus those they exploit.

So we are making progress, but I want to emphasize: Laws, regulations, and

executive orders are necessary, but they are not sufficient. They will not do it alone.
Everybody has a responsibility here. Thats why I am especially proud to work with
the State Department and the work that it has done in undertaking with civil society
to prevent corporate and federal dollars from aiding and abetting this crime. Weve
teamed up with the NGO Verite in order to develop a range of tools and resources
for all businesses, not just federal contractors. And our Trafficking in Persons office
has asked Verite and its partners to investigate and map out the risk of trafficking in
global and federal supply chains.

As part of that effort, Verite has just published a report that zeroes in on the warning
signs for human trafficking in 11 key sectors. And the report is a resource not only
for federal contractors, but also for any corporation that wants to be part of the
solution, and that is how, in the end, were going to stop this crime, and that is the
way we are going to change things for the better, which is our obligation.

I have faith that we can win this fight. I really do. And when we do, let me tell you,
its not going to be the first time that we have come together to right a wrong in
this world. Well be marching in the footsteps of men like William Wilberforce, who
for more than 30 years fought for the abolition of slavery throughout the British
Empire. That was a tough task then, and we know from our own experience I know
from own experiences as a student in the 1960s how that fight had to carry on for a
long time, and it is not yet even finished, but we have made extraordinary progress.

Wilberforce knew that it means something to be on a moral mission, and his words
ought to continue to inspire us today. He said, having heard of all of this, much of
what Ive just said, You may choose to look the other way, but you can never again
say that you did not know. Human trafficking often happens in places which we
rarely think to look in. But today were just not looking the other way. We all know
about the ravages of modern slavery and were determined to live up to our
responsibilities to say no more, never again, and to realize the vision of a world that
is more caring, more accountable, and more just a world, ultimately, that will be
free from this kind of slavery.

So for these reasons and many more, I am especially pleased to present this years
Presidential Award for Extraordinary Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons to the
Coalition of Immokalee Workers. And I would ask if they would come up here, and

well read the citation and present them with the award. (Applause.) Come on up
here. Right here; right there.

If youd all you can remain standing or sit, but let me just read to you quickly:
Those of you know Floridas tomato sector already know about the risks of forced
labor, and some farm workers in Florida are in the fields for 12 hours a day, 7 days a
week. They live in deplorable conditions. They suffer beatings and sexual
harassment, and many are paid hardly anything for the tomatoes that they pick.

But thanks to the Coalition of Immokalee Workers Fair Food Program, the tomato
workers in the fields do not have to face these abuses. The Coalition of Immokalee
Workers have organized communities, stood by tomato workers for more than 20
years, and changed the face of this industry. Theyve pioneered a zero tolerance
policy that puts workers and social responsibility at the absolute center. Their
program ensures a price premium which buyers agree to pay directly to the farm
worker, and the coalition provides worker-to-worker training sessions on site around
the clock. They make certain that there are health and safety committees for on
every farm. And theyve already enlisted the major support of buyers from
McDonalds, Burger King, Subway, to Whole Foods, Trader Joes, Compass Group,
and Fresh Market.

And we also recognize the coalition for partnering with law enforcement to combat
human trafficking. Theyve helped uncover and investigate several farm slavery
operations across the southeastern United States. I hope everybody hears that:
farm slavery operations across the southeastern United States. Over the past 15
years, 9 major investigations and federal prosecutions have freed more than 1,200
Florida farmworkers from captivity and forced labor, with the coalition playing a key
part in the 7 of those operations. And the coalition has effectively eradicated human
trafficking in the farms that participate in their Fair Food Program.

That is an extraordinary accomplishment, and reminds all of us not just of the work
that we have to do, but that dedicated individuals, like those here with us today
from the coalition, can strike out against injustice, break down barriers, and make
the world of difference.

So its my honor to present the Coalition of Immokalee Workers with this award
which reads: For its extraordinary efforts to combat human trafficking by
pioneering the Fair Food Program, empowering agricultural workers, and leveraging
market forces and consumer awareness to promote supply chain transparency and
eradicate modern slavery on participating farms, we award this Presidential Award.
Thank you. (Applause.)

[This is a mobile copy of Remarks at the White House Forum on Combatting Human
Trafficking in Supply Chains]

Short URL: http://m.state.gov/md236950.htm