Senator slams India for being complicit in human trafficking

A top American Senator has slammed India for allegedly being complicit in trafficking and questioned the recent decision of the State Department for placing India in Tier-2 list and not below that.

"The (annual Trafficking in Persons) report highlights some progress (by India), but official complicity in trafficking is widespread, victim protection is inadequate and inconsistent," said Senator Bob Corker, Chairman of the powerful Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

"The Indian government has not repealed its policy restricting travel of Indians identified as trafficking victims by the US. I mean, that's appalling," he said during a Congressional hearing this week on the report.

Welcoming the new leadership of India, he said, "We have great hopes for the way our relationship is going to evolve and their country and their country is going to evolve. They have an estimated 12 million slaves in their country - more than, by far, any country in the world."

"How in the world are they a tier-2 countryIJ How can that beIJ" Corker asked.

Ambassador Susan Coppedge, Director, Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, at Department of State, said India certainly has a significant human trafficking problem, and it extends across forced labor, bonded labor, sex trafficking of adults and children. The numbers are staggering.

"We continue to press the Indian government, through the report and through our diplomatic efforts, to make changes in their system to further address laws and also victim services and protection services," she said.

Not satisfied, Corker asked how India can possibly be a tier-2 company if such conditions exist in the country.

"So again, this is one that feels very much, somewhat like our civil nuke deal back seven or eight years ago where we broke rules to enter into an agreement that probably at the time was not appropriate, to be honest -- this feels very much like that in this report. I just want you to tell me why a country with the kind of record they have is a tier two country," Corker said.

Coppedge justified putting India on tier two and not any other ranking as New Delhi has taken several steps to address the problem of human trafficking.

"One of the things the government of India has done is provide repatriation paper, essentially, to those who are freed from bonded labor to certify that they are no longer indebted or in service to the person they were indebted to through the bonded labor," she explained.