“Modern slavery – be it bonded labor, involuntary servitude, or sexual slavery – is a crime and cannot be tolerated in any culture, community, or country … [It] is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights.” – Hillary Rodham Clinton, Secretary of State
The Department of State’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, directed by Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, leads the United States' global engagement against human trafficking, an umbrella term used to describe the activities involved when someone obtains or holds a person in compelled service. At the heart of this phenomenon are the myriad forms of enslavement as outlined in the United States' Trafficking Victims Protection Act. Major forms of human trafficking include: forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage, involuntary domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, and child sex trafficking. The Office has responsibility for bilateral and multilateral diplomacy, targeted foreign assistance, and public engagement on this issue of modern slavery and partners with foreign governments and civil society to develop and implement effective counter-trafficking strategies.
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