In an effort to stem the increase in human trafficking near U.S. military bases around the world, the Department of Defense has declared a zero tolerance policy for national forces participating in prostitution and human trafficking.
“In recent years, researchers, the press, and concerned individuals have documented that in certain locations, such as South Korea and Southeastern Europe, women and girls are being forced into prostitution for a clientele consisting largely of military service members, government contractors and international peacekeepers,” Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.) said on Tuesday at a Capitol Hill forum on Pentagon anti-trafficking efforts.
The DOD said it will provide employee training and implement new provisions to the Uniform Code of Military Justice that will punish the patronizing of prostitutes by national forces, which include military personal as well as peacekeepers, contractors and aid workers.
In the spring of 2002, Fox News produced an investigative report that showed U.S. troops in South Korea patronizing bars and other establishments where women from the Philippines and the former Soviet states were trafficked and forced to prostitute themselves.
“We are dealing here, broadly speaking, with what is emerging as a primary human rights issue of the 21st century,” State Department representative John R. Miller said in a House Armed Services Committee on Tuesday.
Surveys have shown that an estimated 800,000 men, women and children are trafficked across international boarders each year, Miller said. When internal trafficking is taken into consideration, he added, the number of victims jumps into the millions.
Miller added that it is not only a human rights challenge, but also a health challenge and a major source of revenue for organized crime. He also described the practice as a national security challenge.
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