Modern Slavery News Round-up

Texas: 100 people found in suspected human trafficking stash house
A house overflowing with more than 100 people presumed to be in the US illegally was uncovered just outside Houston on Wednesday, a police spokesman said. The people were primarily from Guatemala, Mexico, Honduras and El Salvador, he said. Two of the people, a pregnant woman and a man, have been taken to a hospital for unknown treatment, he added. Although Palmore said it was too early to say whether this was part of a human trafficking operation, he said it appeared that way.

Wichita men held for human trafficking
Prosecutors said 21 year-old Polo Miller is charged with 2 counts of aggravated human trafficking and 2 counts of commercial sexual exploitation of a child. 20 year-old Alexander Lane is charged with 2 counts of aggravated human trafficking. Both men made their first court appearance Thursday.

Iowa lawmakers wrangle with human trafficking bill
Lawmakers in Iowa are taking action to crack down on sex trafficking involving minors across the state. Legislation on the topic has won unanimous support in both chambers. Most recently, a measure that Rep. Greg Heartsill, a Republican from Melcher-Dallas, calls a "hybrid" of House and Senate versions overwhelmingly passed Wednesday in the House, 97-0. Democratic lawmakers worry that changes made to the bill, like the removal of reporting requirements and a victim support fund, take away from making the victim the priority.

Bern officals crack Thai human trafficking ring
The Bern cantonal prosecutor’s office says it has charged a 52-year-old Swiss-Thai woman for human trafficking and exploiting 25 sex trade workers from Thailand. The victims, including young women and transexuals, were working in brothels financed by the woman and operated by other people of Thai origin in the canton of Aargau, Bern and Lucerne, the office said on Friday.

Nation's top human trafficking route runs through Houston
A congressional hearing took place at Texas Southern University on Thursday to discuss the issue. The federal government considered the Houston area to be one of the biggest hubs in the country for human trafficking. In fact, the 1-10 corridor has been labeled as the number one trafficking route in the country.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Great Britain: 'Modern slavery' bill to tighten laws on human trafficking
Home secretary, Theresa May, aims to toughen legislation and counter 'shockingly low' prosecution rates. The home secretary said that prosecution rates for human trafficking were still "shockingly low" across Europe and that an overhaul of the law was needed as there was still some uncertainty over which agencies should be tackling the problem. The bill, which will be introduced before the current session of parliament ends next spring, will consolidate and toughen existing anti-trafficking legislation.

Texas: Bill would target domestic human trafficking
Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, said the Justice for Victims of Trafficking Act, co-sponsored with Rep. Ted Poe, R-Humble, will add to existing federal efforts to combat what he called the “scourge of human trafficking.” “We have to make human trafficking unprofitable, and we have to make the consequences such that people simply don't want to risk it,” he said. The bill would create a special fund that would finance human trafficking deterrence and victims' support programs through fines and penalties assessed on those convicted of child pornography, sexual exploitation, human trafficking and human smuggling offenses. Currently, about $20 million to $30 million in federal money goes to domestic trafficking prevention and deterrence — far less than that dedicated to international trafficking deterrence programs, Cornyn said. His bill would boost federal funding for domestic human trafficking victim support programs by an estimated $10 million to $20 million.

Black Mauritanians suffer 'slavery-like' conditions, says UN Black Mauritanians are still subject to slavery-like practices, including sexual violence and discrimination, a UN human rights expert has said. The UN special rapporteur on racism, Mutuma Ruteere, told the Guardian that generations of people, particularly women and girls, were still living with families in a "slavery-like" relationship, and were being forced into sex with male relatives, in some cases with their fathers.

Mauritania: Modern-Day Slave Finds Freedom in the Desert
At SOS Esclaves offices in Nouakchott, Mauritania's capital, Matallah Ould Mbarak Alsalem prepares tea. Matallah is a handyman and cleaner at SOS Esclaves, an NGO dedicated to the fight against slavery and coming to the aid of slaves and former slaves. He is one himself. Born in a desert region of north-eastern Mauritania, his mother was a Hratine, a slave, and by convention so was he. The Hratine, the main slave caste, are descendants of black African ethnic groups subjugated for the most part by white Arab Berbers. Estimates indicate that 10-20 percent of Mauretania's 3.5 million people are slaves, though exact numbers are hard to come by.

Cindy McCain: Address human trafficking before 2015 Super Bowl
McCain is calling on Arizona leaders to enact harsher penalties for human traffickers before the Super Bowl lands in Glendale in 2015 because the sports event is one of the largest drivers of the sex-trade industry. The annual football game is among the most-watched sports events in the world and draws tens of thousands of people to its host city. State attorneys general in Texas and Indiana, where recent Super Bowls were held, and other experts, have said the event creates an ideal setting for traffickers because they easily can go unnoticed in the influx of people, according to media reports. New Jersey, which will host the 2014 Super Bowl, recently passed a new law toughening penalties for traffickers.

ILO Initiative Protects Women from Modern-Day Slavery Over 100,000 girls and women in South Asia are set to benefit from a new initiative by the International Labor Organization and the UK Department for International Development, which aims to prevent trafficking within the region and to the Middle East. The Work in Freedom program, funded by UK aid, will focus on trafficking in domestic labor and the garment sector through known labor trafficking routes from Bangladesh, India and Nepal, to Jordan, the United Arab Emirates, Lebanon and India.

Modern Slavery News Round-Up

Human Trafficking Ring Leaders Arrested in Austin
Police say they arrested the "main pimps" from two human trafficking rings that authorities said forced women into prostitution and moved them around the nation. Two men and a woman who were working in two interconnected rings were arrested Thursday night in Austin. Police found four victims - two from Houston and two from Florida - who were being forced into prostitution, Austin police Lt. Jerry Gonzalez said. Two women - whom Round Rock police took to the hospital because of injuries - told officials that they had been kidnapped in Houston and taken to Austin for the purpose of prostitution and robbing potential "Johns" arrest records said.

In California, an Effort to Fight Human Trafficking
This November, California voters will decide on a ballot initiative that would strengthen penalties for those involved in the sex trafficking of women and children. The CASE Act - or Californians Against Sexual Exploitation - would make those cases easier to prosecute. And if it passes, those convicted of the crime would have to register as sex offenders, which they're not currently required to do. Los Angeles is a major hub for child sex trafficking in the state, though the LAPD does not give out numbers on how widespread the problem is because it is such an under-reported crime. 

Host Nations for Migrant Workers Inefficient in Fight Against Human Trafficking- Binay
Vice President Jejomar Binay on Tuesday said that host countries for migrant workers failed to protect migrant workers' deploring they lacked a strong legal framework to support labor and recruitment policy under international human rights standards. "Human trafficking and human smuggling or illegal recruitment flourish in part because destination countries do not complement the efforts of labor-sending countries at combating these twin evils in labor migration," Binay said in a speech he delivered at the 23rd Conference of the Presidents of Law Associations in Asia (POLA) held in Pasay City.

Republican and Democratic Conventions could spur sex trafficking experts?
The tens of thousands of people expected to attend the 2012 national political conventions may spur sex trafficking in the host cities. Advocates say the start of the Republican National Convention [last] Monday and the Democratic National Convention in Charlotte [this week] could create a corresponding increase in the number of workers who may be compelled involuntarily to perform commercial sexual acts, the Charlotte Observer reported.