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AMBASSADOR DYER: Good morning, everyone.

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And welcome.

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My name is Cindy Dyer.

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I’m the Ambassador-At-Large for the Office
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons

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here at the Department of State.

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And I have the honor of kicking off today’s
ceremony.

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Thank you all so much for joining us.

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I know it has been a few years since we could
gather such a crowd in person for this ceremony,

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and it is such a pleasure to see so many friends
and colleagues.

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I’m especially excited that three of my
predecessors are here, Ambassadors Luis CdeBaca,

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Susan Coppedge, and John Richmond.

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Today’s program will consist of the following.

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First, Secretary Blinken will offer remarks
on this year’s report.

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Then we will honor eight outstanding Trafficking
In Persons Report Heroes for their extraordinary

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dedication to combatting human trafficking.

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We will also hear briefly from one of the
heroes who will speak on behalf of this year’s

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honorees.

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Finally, I will offer my own closing remarks.

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After the ceremony, we hope you will find
some time to visit state.gov to access this

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year’s report online.

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We are so grateful to you, Secretary Blinken,
for joining us today to release the 2023 Trafficking

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in Persons Report.

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Thank you for your continuous work elevating
the issue of human trafficking in your meetings

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around the world and here at home, as well
as chairing the President’s Interagency

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Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
in Persons.

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We are proud to serve under your leadership
as we all work together to advance efforts

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to combat human trafficking.

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Ladies and gentlemen, the Secretary of State
Antony Blinken.

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(Applause.)

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SECRETARY BLINKEN: Thank you.

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Thank you.

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Good morning, everyone.

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And just to reiterate what Cindy said, it
is so wonderful to see you all here at the

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State Department.

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Today, the State Department is releasing the
2023 Trafficking in Persons Report.

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This report provides a comprehensive, objective
assessment of 188 countries and territories

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– including the United States.

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Its purpose is to showcase successful efforts
to prevent trafficking, to identify areas

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where countries are falling short and have
more work to do, and ultimately – ultimately

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– to eliminate trafficking altogether.

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The United States is committed to combatting
human trafficking because it represents an

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attack on human rights and freedoms.

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It violates the universal right of every person
to have autonomy over their own life and actions.

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Today, more than 27 million people around
the world are denied that right.

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Trafficking harms our societies: weakening
the rule of law, corrupting supply chains,

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exploiting workers, fueling violence.

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And it disproportionately impacts traditionally
marginalized groups: women, LGBTQI+ individuals,

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persons with disabilities, ethnic and religious
minorities.

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In his first year in office, President Biden
released an updated National Action Plan to

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ensure that our policy response is keeping
pace with what is an evolving challenge.

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Earlier this year, as the ambassador noted,
I chaired a meeting of the President’s Interagency

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Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking
in Persons, where we reviewed steps that we’ve

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taken to implement the plan: prohibiting the
importation of goods made with forced labor;

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imposing financial sanctions on those that
knowingly profit from that labor; integrating

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racial equity into our antitrafficking work;
strengthening our efforts to counter online

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sexual exploitation and abuse of children.

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The TIP Report is a central part of the United
States Government’s antitrafficking work,

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and it reflects the efforts of so many people
in this room today – and countless others

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both in Washington and around the world.

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And that starts with the leadership of Ambassador
Dyer and her team at the Office to Monitor

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and Combat Trafficking in Persons, as well
as colleagues that we have in our embassies

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around the world, whose work to interview
survivors, to gather information, to conduct

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factchecking is at the very foundation of
the report.

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Bipartisan efforts in Congress, where there
is an ironclad commitment and strong partnership

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to end trafficking – including Representative
Chris Smith, who’s been a longtime champion

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and who’s here with us today, and I thank
you for your presence and thank you for your

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leadership over so many years.

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And members of the U.S. Advisory Council on
Human Trafficking and the Human Trafficking

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Expert Consultant Network – their insights,
their ideas are indispensable to shaping and

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evaluating our policy and programs.

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And maybe most significantly, most importantly,
we’re grateful to the survivors whose courage,

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whose resilience, and whose perspectives inspire
and inform all of our work.

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Finally, a very warm welcome to our eight
TIP Report Heroes who are with us today – you’ll

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hear a little bit more about them shortly
– journalists, activists, prosecutors, lawmakers,

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each of whom shares a commitment to stopping
trafficking in all of its forms.

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This year’s report shows a picture of steady
progress around the world, with dozens of

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countries making significant strides in preventing
trafficking, in protecting survivors, in prosecuting

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those who carry out this crime.

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In Seychelles, the national government offered
enhanced training to airport staff and police

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officers to better spot trafficking.

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The government also instituted new policies
to screen vulnerable populations, like migrants

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at transit points, for trafficking indicators.

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That’s helped them identify more victims
than ever before and convict a record number

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of traffickers.

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Hong Kong launched a new hotline to help trafficking
victims report fraudulent overseas employment

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scams and to get help.

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In its first month, that hotline received
hundreds of calls, leading to several investigations.

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In Denmark, authorities led a renewed focus
on – and committed additional resources

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to – combatting human trafficking, identifying
more victims, prosecuting and convicting more

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traffickers.

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So that’s the good news, and these are just
examples of it.

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The report also highlights a number of concerning
trends.

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The first is the continued expansion of forced
labor.

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As the pandemic disrupted supply chains around
the world and spiked demand in certain industries,

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like PPE production, exploitative employers
used a host of tactics to take advantage of

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lower-paid and more vulnerable workers.

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The second is the rise in labor trafficking
using online scams, which have proliferated

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as more of the world gains access to the internet.

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The pandemic supercharged this trend.

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Traffickers capitalized on widespread unemployment
to recruit victims with fake job listings

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and then forced them to run international
scams.

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Third, the report exposes the risks facing
an often-overlooked segment of trafficking

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victims: boys and young men.

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According to a recent report by the United
Nations Office on Drugs and Crime, between

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2004 and 2020 the percentage of boys identified
as victims of human trafficking rose five-fold.

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Now for years, there’s been a widely held
– but incorrect – belief that trafficking

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affects exclusively female victims.

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This false perception has had some, quite
frankly, devastating and tangible consequences,

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with far few support services typically allocated
to male victims of trafficking.

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The reality is that any person, regardless
of sex, regardless of gender identity, can

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be targeted by human traffickers.

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And so governments, civil society, the private
sector – all of us have to develop resources

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for all populations, including male victims.

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When President Biden released his National
Plan to Combat Human Trafficking, he said,

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and I quote, “We can accomplish far more
working in partnership than we [can] working

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alone.”

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That’s true for the work between governments,
between the federal and local officials, and

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with and between civil society and the private
sector.

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We see that in North Macedonia, where the
government partnered with social workers,

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with NGO staff, with psychologists, with law
enforcement to launch mobile teams that identify

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the majority of trafficking victims in the
country.

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This program has been so effective that several
other countries in the Balkans either plan

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to, or already have, implemented the very
same model.

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We see it in the work of the Issara Institute.

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That’s an NGO that’s worked hand-in-hand
with private sector to help hundreds of thousands

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of workers learn about their rights and seek
remediation when labor abuses occur.

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We see it in Argentina, where leaders from
the federal government regularly meet with

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representatives from across the country’s
24 jurisdictions, to coordinate their efforts

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and raise one another’s ambition, including
by committing to offer long-term housing to

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survivors of trafficking.

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For an issue that’s as complex and as constantly
evolving as this one, we simply need all hands

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on deck.

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We need law enforcement working to prosecute
traffickers.

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We need social workers providing trauma-informed
care to the victims.

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We need advocates holding governments accountable.

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We need communities coming together to support
the survivors.

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In many ways, this room reflects that need
and reflects that community.

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We are so grateful to you for the partnership
that you’ve shown, sharing expertise, sharing

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ideas, building and strengthening networks
with us.

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And what I want to share with you today is
simply this: the United States is committed

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to standing with you, and once and for all,
ending human trafficking.

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Thank you all very much.

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Cindy, back to you.

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(Applause.)

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AMBASSADOR DYER: Thank you so much, Mr. Secretary,
for those inspiring words.

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I am now delighted to turn our attention to
celebrating the 2023 TIP Report Heroes.

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Please join me as we recognize and honor this
year’s eight TIP Report Heroes:

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First, Pureza Lopes Loyola from Brazil – (applause)
– in recognition of her unwavering advocacy

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on behalf of herself, her son, and others
who have experienced forced labor, including

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through firsthand documentation of evidence
and testimony to illustrate the severity and

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proliferation of exploitative conditions in
rural Brazil, which spurred a national movement

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and prompted the Brazilian Government to establish
mobile labor inspection units to increase

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identification of victims.

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(Applause.)

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And second, Mech Dara from Cambodia in recognition
– (applause) – of his courageous reporting

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on human trafficking for the purpose of forced
criminality in Cambodia, which led to greater

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public awareness of and improvement in the
Cambodian Government’s anti-trafficking

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response.

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(Applause.)

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Mrs. Iman Al-Sailawi and Mr. Basim Abdulrazzaq
Jebur from Iraq – (applause) – in recognition

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of their leadership and innovation in establishing
FATE, Iraq’s first NGO dedicated to ending

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human trafficking, which has helped release
and support hundreds of individuals, including

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children and foreign nationals, from dangerous
work conditions, forced labor, and sexual

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exploitation.

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(Applause.)

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Evon Benson-Idahosa from Nigeria – (applause)
– in recognition of her continued commitment

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to empower and elevate the voices of survivors
of sex trafficking through her organization’s

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transformative programs that address root
causes of human trafficking, and her advocacy

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work with various levels of the Nigerian Government
to improve anti-trafficking policy and legislation.

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(Applause.)

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Zaheer Ahmed from Pakistan – (applause)
– in recognition of his pivotal leadership

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in the application and modernization of anti-trafficking
and anti-smuggling laws in Pakistan, the formulation

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and implementation of a national action plan
to combat these crimes, and the improvement

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of coordination and cooperation efforts between
law enforcement and civil society organizations.

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(Applause.)

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Paola Hittscher from Peru – (applause) – in
recognition of her powerful use of innovative

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partnerships with the Peruvian navy, national
police, and civil society to advance the investigation

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and prosecution of human trafficking cases
in the Loreto region of Peru despite a challenging

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environment of limited funding, security concerns,
and limited state presence.

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(Applause.)

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Eumelis Moya Goitte from Venezuela – (applause)
– in recognition of her courageous work

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to investigate and document human trafficking
crimes affecting marginalized indigenous communities

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that are hard to reach and frequently living
under the control of illegal armed groups,

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drawing international attention to human trafficking
crimes in Venezuela’s mining sector, and

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providing support for international recommendations
to prevent human trafficking of vulnerable

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populations.

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(Applause.)

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Thank you.

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And now we will hear from one of the 2023
TIP Report Heroes.

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Please join me in welcoming R. Evon Benson-Idahosa
from Nigeria.

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(Applause.)

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MS BENSON-IDAHOSA: Thank you.

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Thank you, Secretary Blinken, Ambassador Dyer.

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I’m honored to stand before you as a representative
of so many who do this work of justice, of

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reconciliation, most without recognition but
with the same tenacity and compassion that

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each of us being recognized today do.

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Each of these heroes – Pureza, Mech, Iman
and Basim, Zaheer, Paola, and Eumelis – exemplify

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courage in the moment in history where more
than 27 million people are victimized by the

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evil that is human trafficking.

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Thank you to each of you, and to all of you
who fortify our arms, for leading the change.

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I also stand before you on behalf of millions
of African women whose bodies have been legislated

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upon, weaponized, but especially on behalf
of Faith, a young Nigerian woman whose last

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words to me in September of 2016 were, “Auntie,
I’m dying.”

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Those three words still echo in my mind and
serve as the impetus for why we at Pathfinders,

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the NGO I founded to protect survivors and
prevent the sex trafficking of Nigerian women

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at home and abroad, continue to do this work.

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You see, Faith was trafficked from our hometown
in Benin City to Libya, and then to Europe,

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where she involuntarily serviced the underbelly
of the European sex industry until her body

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was literally consumed to death.

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No one should ever be utilized as a product
for consumption.

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Faith’s story represents the reality of
thousands of victims annually who are waiting

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for those of us with access and power and
privilege to muster the social and economic

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courage to do for others what we do for ourselves.

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As visionaries who see the world as it should
be, not as it is, the new face of our response

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requires a fundamental shift in consciousness
that prioritizes reconciliation and promotes

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an integrated, intersectional, and interdependent
methodology.

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You see, I’m not naive to ignore the geopolitical
factors – the self-interest, the economic

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realities – that have culminated in global
divides that separate developing from the

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developed, that use the word “global”
to demarcate North from South, and both in

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love and in war other them and hypocritically
center us.

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Nor do I profess to have all the answers to
the hard, inconvenient truths that allow for

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the proliferation of trafficking, that destabilize
governments in the pursuit of national interest,

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that strongarm countries into a legacy of
imperialism.

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But what I do know is that we can all bear
witness to the import of human trafficking

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on our collective suffering and the erosion
of our conscience, universal aspirations,

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and inherent rights and dignity.

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And so today I offer considerations that are
visible in plain sight, considerations that

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reframe these complex narratives and underscore
the reality that one’s interests, rights,

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and dignities are best preserved when those
of others are equally preserved.

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Both postures are not diametrically opposed.

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To world leaders who have the power to disrupt
trafficking, systemic failures of national

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and international governments that prioritize
profit over people, arbitrary rules over good

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conscience, can no longer be countenanced.

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We cannot in good conscience foster a world
where vulnerabilities are abused and – or

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systemically condoned and exploited.

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World leaders must consistently reach across
the borders and political divides, not to

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embrace those for whom seats at the table
have been intentionally curated, but to invite

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and make room for those who have consistently
been missing from it.

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Those who are the most impacted by the problems
that human trafficking and its related geopolitical

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underbelly have created – i.e. survivors
and local communities – are whose voices

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must now be consistently centered.

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The new face of this movement must democratize
and shift power, reconcile, if you will, that

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power back to those who are seemingly powerless
so that they too can take responsibility to

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birth innovative solutions.

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World leaders must envisage partnerships that
are laced with compassion and empathy, with

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the understanding that structural transformation
demands a tenacious commitment to our collective

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long-term vision.

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To survivors and stakeholders who work tirelessly
to restore dignity to those from whom it has

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been violently obliterated, we must enlarge
our work from speaking truth to power to also

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speaking truth to the seemingly powerless
– our local communities.

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We must unapologetically take up our space
as global leaders who, because of our lived

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experience and expertise, not only deserve
a seat at the table but understand that we

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can create additional, more inclusive tables
that diversify and center our voices.

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And finally, on a micro level – (applause)
– and finally, on a micro level, we must

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each commit to doing the small daily actions
that exemplify love – offering a cup of

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water to the thirsty, taking only that which
you need, abandoning intellectual dishonesty

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that denies our own complicity in injustice,
choosing kindness over indifference and the

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collective good over individual advancement.

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That is how we reconcile the world.

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It is how we choose a world that extols the
values that we contend guard our collective

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conscience and, as Dr. Martin Luther King
Jr. once said, “embody an audacious faith

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in the future of mankind.”

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E se.

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Thank you for listening.

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(Applause.)

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AMBASSADOR DYER: Now that’s a hard act to
follow.

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Next year, I’m going to speak first.

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(Laughter.)

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Thank you, Evon, for sharing that important
message on behalf of all of this year’s

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heroes.

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Let’s give this amazing group of leaders
another round of applause.

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(Applause.)

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It is such an honor to celebrate your important
work.

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We are thrilled to be partnering again with
our colleagues in the Bureau of Educational

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and Cultural Affairs to provide an International
Visitors Leadership Program, an IVLP for short,

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for several of our TIP Report Heroes.

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Through the IVLP, our TIP Report Heroes will
have the opportunity to meaningfully engage

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with Americans here in Washington, D.C., Boston,
and Miami, who are also working to eliminate

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human trafficking and support survivors.

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So we are excited to not just honor you today,
but to work together to share best practices

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and engage.

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Today we are releasing the 2023 Trafficking
in Persons Report.

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The TIP Report is an essential tool in the
world’s fight against human trafficking.

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It not only serves as a central reference
point for the status of anti-trafficking efforts

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in each country, including the United States,
but it also highlights the best practices

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and helps disseminate them.

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This year we chose to highlight the importance
of partnerships in addressing human trafficking.

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I know firsthand the power of partnerships.

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Starting out as a local prosecutor in Dallas,
Texas, I could see how our response to trafficking

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situations would be immensely improved if
we all had relevant actors – all the relevant

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actors together in the same room, preferably
with chips and hot sauce.

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(Laughter.)

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So I joined Dallas County’s very first interagency
task force on human trafficking.

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I have carried that lesson throughout my career,
partnering with NGOs to provide guidance as

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grassroots activists around the world worked
to implement or strengthen anti-trafficking

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legislation in their various communities.

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Over the last 30 years, I have seen the immense
benefits of elevating the voices and perspectives

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of survivors.

25:58.980 --> 26:05.480
Survivors can play an important role in shaping
policies and programs to ensure that they

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are survivor-centered and responsive to the
needs and experience of survivors.

26:10.659 --> 26:16.260
By partnering with survivors, we can promote
anti-trafficking efforts grounded in the realities

26:16.260 --> 26:20.659
of those who have been most directly impacted
by this issue.

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The need for partnerships starts within our
own governments.

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We need all our various agencies to collaborate
to make our work more effective and impactful.

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This year’s report highlights the progress
made in one country, the Comoros, when they

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established a national committee to enhance
interministerial coordination on anti-trafficking

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efforts.

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Through this interagency cooperation, they
were able to identify more victims, investigate

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more trafficking crimes, and refer all victims
to services.

26:56.370 --> 27:02.840
Strong partnerships between countries can
also address the vulnerability of migrants,

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refugees, and international job seekers to
human traffickers.

27:07.809 --> 27:15.000
We saw this in Europe when EU governments
banded together to proactively protect Ukrainian

27:15.000 --> 27:21.919
refugees to prevent trafficking among them
as they fled from Russia’s illegal, full-scale

27:21.919 --> 27:23.299
invasion.

27:23.299 --> 27:28.370
And in Southeast Asia, Indonesia and the Philippines
have worked together to assist trafficking

27:28.370 --> 27:35.470
victims lured by cybercrime syndicates into
cyber-scam operations.

27:35.470 --> 27:40.779
Partnerships are also critical because they
allow us to harness the diverse expertise

27:40.779 --> 27:45.760
of different organizations to tackle trafficking
in novel ways.

27:45.760 --> 27:51.779
At its core, human trafficking is a financially
motivated crime.

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This report highlights how one partnership
between PayPal and Polaris in the United States

27:58.289 --> 28:05.230
interrupts traffickers’ cash flows and enables
parallel prosecutions for financial crimes.

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Deeper partnerships between financial institutions
and law enforcement can better identify the

28:11.720 --> 28:18.039
financial trail of human traffickers, allowing
law enforcement to collect more evidence to

28:18.039 --> 28:24.320
aid prosecutions and lessen the burden on
survivors having to testify.

28:24.320 --> 28:30.029
Finance Against Slavery And Trafficking, or
FAST, developed by UN University and financed

28:30.029 --> 28:33.700
by Australia, is another great partnership.

28:33.700 --> 28:40.169
FAST is leveraging the use of technology to
provide a free e-learning training tool for

28:40.169 --> 28:46.000
Southeast Asian government officials working
on financial regulation, intelligence, and

28:46.000 --> 28:53.029
investigation to understand human trafficking,
how it is connected to the financial sector,

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and what they can do to identify and interrupt
it.

28:57.789 --> 29:04.240
And we know traffickers are always looking
to exploit new vulnerabilities, from conflicts

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to climate change to the digital world, so
we need to continually be building partnerships

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with new stakeholders.

29:13.570 --> 29:20.160
New partnerships between NGOs, governments,
law enforcement, survivors, and technology

29:20.160 --> 29:25.100
companies can help counter some of these new
vulnerabilities.

29:25.100 --> 29:33.500
The OSCE and Thomson Reuters used social media
and Uber for their Be Safe campaign, reaching

29:33.500 --> 29:40.880
hundreds of thousands of Ukrainian refugees
about the warning signs of human trafficking.

29:40.880 --> 29:46.830
Another great partnership, the Tech Against
Trafficking initiative harnesses the expertise

29:46.830 --> 29:54.500
of companies and other stakeholders to accelerate
technology solutions to combat human trafficking.

29:54.500 --> 30:01.400
Through the Accelerator program, tech companies
provide mentorship, education, and greater

30:01.400 --> 30:09.159
network access to assist anti-trafficking
NGOs to pilot or scale up initiatives, such

30:09.159 --> 30:16.730
as generating synthetic data to better share
and analyze case information responsibly while

30:16.730 --> 30:19.809
protecting victim privacy.

30:19.809 --> 30:22.840
Survivors are some of our most important partners.

30:22.840 --> 30:30.450
Their lived experience can inform our programs
and policies, ensuring we maintain a trauma-informed

30:30.450 --> 30:33.010
and victim-centered approach.

30:33.010 --> 30:39.110
More countries than ever are seeing the benefits
of partnering with survivors to enhance their

30:39.110 --> 30:41.110
anti-trafficking work.

30:41.110 --> 30:48.039
Israel last year established an advisory committee,
including two survivors, to help address forced

30:48.039 --> 30:55.130
labor issues, while Australia and Canada committed
to survivor engagement in their national action

30:55.130 --> 30:56.710
plans.

30:56.710 --> 31:03.230
Here at home, the U.S. Government continues
to pursue partnerships to advance our anti-trafficking

31:03.230 --> 31:04.230
work.

31:04.230 --> 31:10.510
We are enhancing intergovernmental cooperation
with the President’s Interagency Task Force

31:10.510 --> 31:17.289
to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons,
regularly bringing together 20 agencies to

31:17.289 --> 31:22.080
review and refine our federal anti-trafficking
strategies.

31:22.080 --> 31:29.110
We are incorporating recommendations of survivors
into our policymaking and programs at the

31:29.110 --> 31:36.910
highest levels, and working further to integrate
survivors into all that we do, including through

31:36.910 --> 31:41.269
the work of the U.S. Advisory Council on Human
Trafficking.

31:41.269 --> 31:47.450
We are partnering with neighboring countries
to reduce the risk of migrants falling prey

31:47.450 --> 31:52.700
to human traffickers, and we are championing
partnerships with technology companies and

31:52.700 --> 31:58.860
financial institutions to better prosecute
traffickers, protect victims, and prevent

31:58.860 --> 32:01.260
trafficking in the first place.

32:01.260 --> 32:05.700
As we close, I want to draw our attention
back to the individuals.

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Behind these pages of statistics and trends
and tier rankings are millions of adults and

32:12.600 --> 32:18.870
children who are in trafficking situations
and depend on our collective efforts.

32:18.870 --> 32:24.240
We owe it to them to work together to hold
perpetrators accountable, to partner with

32:24.240 --> 32:31.310
survivors, to make sure our responses are
trauma-informed and victim-centered, and ultimately,

32:31.310 --> 32:37.019
to address the underlying factors that make
people vulnerable to trafficking.

32:37.019 --> 32:43.159
The report offers many recommendations and
best practices that are critical steps our

32:43.159 --> 32:48.929
government and governments around the world
can take to build a world free of human trafficking.

32:48.929 --> 32:54.590
I’m going to take a page out of a Evon’s
book, who quoted the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther

32:54.590 --> 33:00.200
King, who also once said, “The ultimate
tragedy is not the oppression and cruelty

33:00.200 --> 33:04.740
by the bad people, but the silence over that
by the good people.”

33:04.740 --> 33:12.370
It is so humbling and inspiring to be in a
room full to the brim with good people who

33:12.370 --> 33:14.529
refuse to be silent.

33:14.529 --> 33:20.529
Thank you so much for your steadfast service
to others and for joining us today.

33:20.529 --> 33:26.370
Please remember to go to state.gov to check
out this year’s full report online.

33:26.370 --> 33:31.230
The cards and bookmarks you have received
at today’s event have a QR code you can

33:31.230 --> 33:32.679
scan to reach the website.

33:32.679 --> 33:33.679
Thank you for coming.

33:33.679 --> 33:35.484
Thank you all.

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(Applause.)