State Department Raises Malaysia's Status on Human Rights, Despite Country's Horrific Record

Despite acknowledging that Malaysia continues to violate international human trafficking laws, the U.S. State Department upgraded the country from the ranks of the world's worst human rights offenders, making the country eligible to participate in the proposed Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

Just last week, a bipartisan group of 160 members of Congress strongly urged U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry  not to upgrade Malaysia. But in its latest "Trafficking in Persons Report,"  the U.S. State Department's annual assessment of countries' efforts to combat human trafficking, Malaysia was upgraded from the lowest Tier 3 category to Tier 2 status. The action came despite the facts on the ground and views of experts that Malaysia has not made progress on this issue.

"A bad trade deal for the American people is made all the worse when its pursuit tramples on our country's basic values and makes a mockery of the supposed independence of the State Department's annual Trafficking in Persons report," said CWA President Chris Shelton. "Malaysia's upgraded ranking contradicts the claims of TPP supporters that this deal will uphold and advance human and labor rights and environmental standards among trading partners. We should not reward countries like Malaysia with inclusion in trade deals."

The State Department had demoted Malaysia to Tier 3 status in 2014 for being a destination "for men, women, and children subjected to forced labor and women and children subjected to sex trafficking." Since that designation, things appear to have gotten worse in Malaysia, not better, for workers who fall into this category.

A few months ago, authorities discovered a mass grave of 139 Rohingya Muslims. Fleeing discrimination in Burma, they ended up being sold into slavery upon escape.