§7103a — Title 22 Foreign Relations and Intercourse | U.S. Code

Summary

Requires the State Department to build and keep partnerships among the U.S. government, certain foreign governments, local civil groups, and private organizations to fight human trafficking. A State Department official must work with other U.S. agencies to team up with foundations, colleges, companies, community groups, and NGOs. These partnerships must help make sure Americans do not buy goods made with forced labor and that partner groups do not support trafficking for sexual exploitation. The Secretary of State may also set up a fund to help foreign governments with urgent needs for preventing trafficking, protecting victims, and prosecuting traffickers. Allows the U.S. to give help to countries that sign a multi-year child protection compact with the United States. The help supports programs to stop violence and exploitation of children and to reduce child trafficking by building lasting justice, prevention, and protection systems. Each compact must list goals, who will do what, planned programs and funding, how progress will be measured, a multi-year budget and oversight plan, how gains will be kept after the compact ends, and how child protection data will be tracked. Aid can be grants, agreements, or contracts to governments, local units, NGOs, or private groups with relevant experience. The Secretary of State, with other agencies, will pick countries based on written criteria and measurable indicators, including a high level of trafficking and clear government commitment to fight it. The Secretary can suspend or stop aid if a country acts against U.S. national security, fails to meet eligibility rules, or breaks its compact duties, and can resume aid only after the problems are fixed.

Title 22, §7103a

Foreign Relations and Intercourse — Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)The purpose of this section is to promote collaboration and cooperation—

(1)between the United States Government and governments listed on the annual Trafficking in Persons Report;

(2)between foreign governments and civil society actors; and

(3)between the United States Government and private sector entities.

(b)The Director of the office established pursuant to section 7103(e)(1) of this title, in coordination and cooperation with other officials at the Department of State, officials at the Department of Labor, and other relevant officials of the United States Government, shall promote, build, and sustain partnerships between the United States Government and private entities, including foundations, universities, corporations, community-based organizations, and other nongovernmental organizations, to ensure that—

(1)United States citizens do not use any item, product, or material produced or extracted with the use and labor from victims of severe forms of trafficking; and

(2)such entities do not contribute to trafficking in persons involving sexual exploitation.

(c)The Secretary of State, acting through the Director established pursuant to section 7103(e)(1) of this title, is authorized to establish a fund to assist foreign governments in meeting unexpected, urgent needs in prevention of trafficking in persons, protection of victims, and prosecution of trafficking offenders.

(d)(1)The Secretary of State, in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development, the Secretary of Labor, and the heads of other relevant agencies, is authorized to provide assistance under this section for each country that enters into a child protection compact with the United States to support policies and programs that—

(A)prevent and respond to violence, exploitation, and abuse against children; and

(B)measurably reduce the trafficking of minors by building sustainable and effective systems of justice, prevention, and protection.

(2)A child protection compact under this subsection shall establish a multi-year plan for achieving shared objectives in furtherance of the purposes of this chapter. The compact should take into account, if applicable, the national child protection strategies and national action plans for human trafficking of a country, and shall describe—

(A)the specific objectives the foreign government and the United States Government expect to achieve during the term of the compact;

(B)the responsibilities of the foreign government and the United States Government in the achievement of such objectives;

(C)the particular programs or initiatives to be undertaken in the achievement of such objectives and the amount of funding to be allocated to each program or initiative by both countries;

(D)regular outcome indicators to monitor and measure progress toward achieving such objectives;

(E)a multi-year financial plan, including the estimated amount of contributions by the United States Government and the foreign government, and proposed mechanisms to implement the plan and provide oversight;

(F)how a country strategy will be developed to sustain progress made toward achieving such objectives after expiration of the compact; and

(G)how child protection data will be collected, tracked, and managed to provide strengthened case management and policy planning.

(3)Assistance under this subsection may be provided in the form of grants, cooperative agreements, or contracts to or with national governments, regional or local governmental units, or non-governmental organizations or private entities with expertise in the protection of victims of severe forms of trafficking in persons.

(4)The Secretary of State, in consultation with the agencies set forth in paragraph (1) and relevant officers of the Department of Justice, shall select countries with which to enter into child protection compacts. The selection of countries under this paragraph shall be based on—

(A)the selection criteria set forth in paragraph (5); and

(B)objective, documented, and quantifiable indicators, to the maximum extent possible.

(5)A country shall be selected under paragraph (4) on the basis of criteria developed by the Secretary of State in consultation with the Administrator of the United States Agency for International Development and the Secretary of Labor. Such criteria shall include—

(A)a documented high prevalence of trafficking in persons within the country; and

(B)demonstrated political motivation and sustained commitment by the government of such country to undertake meaningful measures to address severe forms of trafficking in persons, including prevention, protection of victims, and the enactment and enforcement of anti-trafficking laws against perpetrators.

(6)(A)The Secretary may suspend or terminate assistance provided under this subsection in whole or in part for a country or entity if the Secretary determines that—

(i)the country or entity is engaged in activities that are contrary to the national security interests of the United States;

(ii)the country or entity has engaged in a pattern of actions inconsistent with the criteria used to determine the eligibility of the country or entity, as the case may be; or

(iii)the country or entity has failed to adhere to its responsibilities under the Compact.

(B)The Secretary may reinstate assistance for a country or entity suspended or terminated under this paragraph only if the Secretary determines that the country or entity has demonstrated a commitment to correcting each condition for which assistance was suspended or terminated under subparagraph (A).

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Editorial Notes

References in Text

This chapter, referred to in subsec. (d)(2), was in the original “this Act”, meaning the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000, as indicated by the directory language of section 1202 of Pub. L. 113–4 which added this section. The Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 is div. A of Pub. L. 106–386, Oct. 28, 2000, 114 Stat. 1466, which is classified principally to this chapter. For complete classification of div. A to the Code, see

Short Title

note set out under section 7101 of this title and Tables.

§7103a Creating, building, and strengthening partnerships against significant trafficking in persons