Homework with the Trafficking in Persons Report

The Trafficking in Persons Report, or TIP Report, is an annual report issued by the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons. The TIP Report ranks governments based on their perceived efforts to acknowledge and combat human trafficking. Thursday, June 20th, the 2019 edition was issued.

The report categorizes countries of the world with regard to their adherence to the standards of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA) of 2000. Each country is tiered according to compliance:

• Tier 1 (those governments who fully comply with the TVPA’s minimum standards)
• Tier 2 (while not fully complying, governments with significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards)
• Tier 2 watch list (not fully complying along with a significant absolute number of trafficking victims, or a failure to increase efforts, or a determination that the country is in fact committed to making significant progress in the coming year)
• Tier 3 (those governments who do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not making significant efforts to do so)
• Special cases (countries where a civil or humanitarian crisis makes gaining information difficult).

Remember that tier 1, which includes the United States, is simply compliance with the minimum standards. A tier 3 designation means that the U.S. can restrict assistance or withdraw support for the country at global funding organizations like the International Monetary Fund. Some regard the tier 2 watch list with suspicion as some determinations have suggested a reward to governments allied with the U.S. who otherwise would be in tier 3.

The report intends to offer “homework” to governments based on their tier. The image below lists the countries of the tier 2 watch list, tier 3, and special case categories. The report includes a country by country analysis of human trafficking.

I don’t want companies to avoid sourcing from these countries: I prefer companies to promote improved standards and conditions in those countries. Even if the governmental authorities do not adhere to a recognized global minimum, companies have a responsibility to act responsibly, to act in accord with the protection of human rights. A company, working in those countries, must take extra steps to reduce human trafficking and to care for the victims of trafficking in their supply chains.

The resolutions that SGI members introduced at Kraft Heinz, Macy’s, TJX, and Wendy’s aimed to do just that. We asked those companies to do a human rights impact assessment, to look through their supply chains at the most vulnerable workers. They then would mitigate the human rights abuses  and remedy those workers whose rights were violated. Over time, those learnings are compiled and integrated into the ongoing processes of the company to insure greater adherence to human rights in their supply chain.

Now for some personal homework. I would recommend printing off the image above. Perhaps, you may want to laminate it to carry it with you.

When going to bed this evening, take a look at the countries of origin for the clothing you have worn. I’d be willing to bet that much of your clothing comes from a country listed above. Many of the electronic items that we use daily have supply chains woven through these countries. I bring that to your attention, kind reader, not to shame you or make you feel guilty, but, in the hopes, that we might see– along with the companies who provide us those products– that we have real power to change the situation in those countries.