Res. No. 1097
Resolution calling upon the United States Congress to pass H.R. 2759, the Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act.
By Council Members Ferreras, Palma, Brewer, Chin, James, Koppell, Koslowitz, Lander, Mendez, Rose, Williams, Dromm and Mark-Viverito
Whereas, The United Nations (U.N.) defines human trafficking as the recruitment, transportation, transfer, or harboring of persons by means of threat or force; and
Whereas, Adults and children are forced into human trafficking through many methods including coercion, abduction, and deception; and
Whereas, Human trafficking has been referred to as the modern day version of slavery; and
Whereas, The purpose of human trafficking is to exploit another human being for monetary purposes; and
Whereas, The International Labor Organization (I.L.O.), a U.N. agency which seeks to promote social justice, estimates that at least 12.3 million people worldwide have been forced into slave labor as of 2005; and
Whereas, Siddharth Kara, a Fellow with the Carr Center Program on Human Trafficking and Modern Slavery at the Harvard Kennedy School, estimates the number to be even higher; according to his calculations, between 24 million and 32 million worldwide were forced into slave labor as of 2006; and
Whereas, Girls Educational and Mentoring Services (GEMS), a New York City based organization that serves young women who have experienced trafficking and commercial sexual exploitation, estimates that in the United States (U.S.) 100,000 children are bought and sold for commercial sex and approximately 300,000 children are at risk of such exploitation each year; and
Whereas, The I.L.O. has identified 128 items from 70 countries around the world that were made through forced and child labor, many of which are sold in the U.S.; and
Whereas, It is conceivable that many Americans unknowingly purchase goods that were made by victims of human trafficking; and
Whereas, These findings are significant and it is apparent that proactive measures must be taken to combat forced labor; and
Whereas, On August 3, 2011, U.S. Representative Carolyn Maloney (D-NY) introduced the Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act; and
Whereas, The Act would prevent goods produced through forced labor, slavery, human trafficking and child labor from entering American commerce; and
Whereas, This legislation requires companies with more than $100 million in worldwide receipts to be transparent about their anti-trafficking policies, including measures taken to identify and address instances of trafficking, slavery and child labor in their supply chains; and
Whereas, This legislation would also require companies to include certain disclosures in their annual reports to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission; and
Whereas, The federal government must ensure that products made by exploited persons do not enter the U.S. and must take appropriate steps to eradicate human exploitation; now, therefore, be it
Resolved, That the Council of the City of New York calls upon the United States Congress to pass H.R. 2759, The Business Transparency on Trafficking and Slavery Act.
LS # 2759
JHU/JP
10/25/11