Issued
on: December 29, 2017
During
National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month, we recommit ourselves
to eradicating the evil of enslavement. Human trafficking is a modern
form of the oldest and most barbaric type of exploitation. It has no
place in our world. This month we do not simply reflect on this appalling
reality. We also pledge to do all in our power to end the horrific
practice of human trafficking that plagues innocent victims around the world.
Human
trafficking is a sickening crime at odds with our very humanity. An
estimated 25 million people are currently victims of human trafficking for both
sex and labor. Human traffickers prey on their victims by promising a
life of hope and greater opportunity, while delivering only enslavement.
Instead of delivering people to better lives, traffickers unjustifiably profit
from the labor and toil of their victims, who they force — through violence and
intimidation — to work in brothels and factories, on farms and fishing vessels,
in private homes, and in countless industries.
My
Administration continues to work to drive out the darkness human traffickers
cast upon our world. In February, I signed an Executive Order to
dismantle transnational criminal organizations, including those that perpetuate
the crime of human trafficking. My Interagency Task Force to Monitor and
Combat Trafficking in Persons has enhanced collaboration with other nations,
businesses, civil society organizations, and survivors of human
trafficking. The Department of Health and Human Services has established
a new national training and technical assistance center to strengthen our
healthcare industry’s anti-trafficking response. The Department of State
has contributed $25 million to the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery,
because of the critical need for cross-nation collaborative action to counter
human trafficking. The Department of Labor has released an innovative,
business-focused mobile app that supports private-sector efforts to eradicate
forced labor from global supply chains. And this month, I will sign into
law S. 1536, the Combating Human Trafficking in Commercial Vehicles Act and S.
1532, the No Human Trafficking on Our Roads Act. These bills will keep
those who commit trafficking offenses from operating commercial vehicles,
improve anti-human trafficking coordination within Federal agencies and across
State and local governments, and improve efforts to recognize, prevent, and
report human trafficking.
In
addition to these governmental actions, Americans must learn how to identify
and combat the evil of enslavement. This is especially important for
those who are most likely to encounter the perpetrators of slavery and their
victims, including healthcare providers, educators, law enforcement officials,
and social services professionals.
Through the Department of Homeland
Security’s Blue Campaign, all Americans can learn to recognize the signs of
human trafficking and how to report suspected instances. By taking steps
to become familiar with the telltale signs of traffickers or the signals of
their victims, Americans can save innocent lives.
Our
Nation is and will forever be a place that values and protects human life and
dignity. This month, let us redouble our efforts to ensure that modern
day slavery comes to its long overdue end.
NOW,
THEREFORE, I, DONALD J. TRUMP, President of the United States of America, by
virtue of the authority vested in me by the Constitution and the laws of the
United States, do hereby proclaim January 2018 as National Slavery and
Human Trafficking Prevention Month, culminating in the annual celebration of
National Freedom Day on February 1, 2018. I call upon industry
associations, law enforcement, private businesses, faith-based and other
organizations of civil society, schools, families, and all Americans to
recognize our vital roles in ending all forms of modern slavery and to observe
this month with appropriate programs and activities aimed at ending and
preventing all forms of human trafficking.
IN
WITNESS WHEREOF, I have hereunto set my hand this twenty-ninth day of December,
in the year of our Lord two thousand seventeen, and of the
Independence of the United States of America the two hundred and
forty-second.
DONALD
J. TRUMP
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