American Civil Liberties Union

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE<?xml:namespace prefix = o ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:office" />

Contact: (202) 675-2312, media@dcaclu.org

Washington, DC – The American Civil Liberties Union hailed today’s Senate Judiciary Committee markup of the William Wilberforce Trafficking Victims Protection Reauthorization Act of 2008 (TVPRA) as an important step in ending the persistent exploitation and enslavement of domestic workers by foreign diplomats. The provisions in the TVPRA will help put in place important mechanisms that can prevent exploitation by providing domestic workers with critical information, creating a monitoring system, training consular officers who issue visas and requiring an employment contract between the worker and employer.

“We commend the leadership of Senators Biden, Brownback and Durbin, and their efforts to improve the plight of domestic workers, predominantly women, enslaved and trafficked by foreign diplomats within the <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 ns = "urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" />United States,” said Caroline Fredrickson, director of the ACLU Washington Legislative Office. “The GAO report released yesterday on the government’s efforts to address the abuse of domestic workers by diplomats clearly demonstrated a need for increased congressional action and oversight. The legislation will send a clear signal that the United States will not tolerate this kind of exploitation or enslavement. We urge the Senate to continue its efforts not only to protect this vulnerable population but also to hold accountable the individuals, cloaked by diplomatic immunity, who act with impunity and disregard for our laws.”

As the TVPRA moves through the legislative process, the ACLU looks forward to working with members of Congress to strengthen the protections for domestic workers in the bill and remove those provisions that may unwittingly punish the victims.

Additionally, the ACLU applauds the decision to keep the TVPRA free of language conflating prostitution with trafficking. “Doing otherwise would be to stray away from the fundamental goal of this legislation – to eliminate the enslavement and exploitation of individuals,” said ACLU Legislative Counsel Vania Leveille.

For more information, visit /domesticworkers.

The July 2008 GAO report, “U.S. Government’s Efforts to to Address Alleged Abuse of Household Workers by Foreign Diplomats with Immunity Could Be Strengthened” is available at: http://www.gao.gov/new.items/d08892.pdf

# # #