Malaysia's Failure to Act on Human Trafficking Shouldn't Be Rewarded with Trade Benefits

In a strongly worded letter, 160 members of Congress have urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry not to upgrade Malaysia's ranking in the U.S. State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons" report.

Currently, Malaysia is listed as a Tier 3 country by the State Dept., indicating that it has done little or nothing to fight human trafficking. Keeping a Tier 3 rating would mean Malaysia couldn't participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership.

The report is due out any day now, and many members of Congress, including Reps. Rosa DeLauro (D-CT 3rd District); Peter Defazio (D-OR 4th District); Eliot Engle (D-NY 16th District) and Marcy Kaptur (D-OH 9th District) are alarmed at media reports that the State Department will upgrade Malaysia to Tier 2 status.

"The TIP Report has become the global gold standard in assessing how well governments meet the challenge of human trafficking," the Congress members say in their July 17 letter. "Around the world, the report is regarded for its honesty and thoroughness. Governments understand that this report tells hard truths about the reality of human trafficking, and the State Department should not shy away from telling those hard truths to good friends. As a result, lawmakers and activists focused on trafficking in persons, including forced labor and other abusive practices, credit the TIP Report for making a real difference in this critical struggle."

Set up by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, the law includes specific criteria as to how countries are ranked. Countries included on the Tier 2 Watch List but that do little or nothing to fight human trafficking are supposed to be downgraded to Tier 3; Malaysia was downgraded in 2014.

"This lack of effort is what brought Malaysia down to Tier 3 last year," the letter continued. "And we've seen no reason during the reporting period for this TIP Report that would justify moving Malaysia to the Watch List. If anything, the situation in Malaysia has grown worse."

Upgrading Malaysia will destroy the credibility of this critical report that is doing such good in the world, they said.

"We request that the Department carefully consider the rank Malaysia has earned...before finalizing this year's Trafficking in Persons Report."