The US State Department gave Malaysia, Cuba and Saudi Arabia upgrades from the lowest tier in its annual report on modern slavery, raising questions about whether the rankings are swayed by political considerations.
However, our track record in combating such activities and the strong determination shown by the government and its agencies, especially the Home Ministry, has convinced many countries that we are moving on the right track.
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Our participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that’s an Obama administration priority, was contingent on an improved ranking. Last week, the US and Cuba opened embassies in each other’s countries as part of a normalization of relations after a decades-long freeze.
According to a statement by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday, Malaysia has since many years been cited in the report for forced labor in factories and fields, domestic servitude, child sex trafficking and debt bondage, in which workers are never able pay debts incurred when they contracted with traffickers to find them jobs.
A US Senate amendment to a law giving President Barack Obama expanded authority to negotiate trade deals banned countries with a Tier Three ranking from becoming part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an integral part of the administration’s effort to 're-balance' its policy toward Asia.
Malaysia is part of the planned trade pact.
Thailand, which isn’t part of the trade negotiations, has a similar trafficking track record and a long-standing Tier Three record. It wasn’t upgraded.
Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and 18 Senate colleagues, wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry this month opposing an upgrade.
In a statement at the time, Menendez said giving Malaysia an improved ranking would be a 'cynical maneuver' to get around the clear intent of Congress, with no regard for the effect on a key document of our country’s human rights policy.
However, it was turned down.
Perhaps Sarah Margon, director of the Washington office of Human Rights Watch, should study more about our effort and achievement thus far.
The usual critic, she said Malaysia’s record 'over the past year is far from sufficient to justify this upgrade, which is also a real blow to the credibility' of the annual report. The State Dept has rubbished that!
In the report, the State Department said 'Malaysia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so'.
South Sudan, Burundi, Belize, Belarus and Comoros were downgraded to the lowest rank, Tier 3, where Thailand remained for a second year, alongside countries with some of the world’s worst trafficking records, including Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe.
However, our track record in combating such activities and the strong determination shown by the government and its agencies, especially the Home Ministry, has convinced many countries that we are moving on the right track.
Our participation in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a trade deal that’s an Obama administration priority, was contingent on an improved ranking. Last week, the US and Cuba opened embassies in each other’s countries as part of a normalization of relations after a decades-long freeze.
According to a statement by Home Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday, Malaysia has since many years been cited in the report for forced labor in factories and fields, domestic servitude, child sex trafficking and debt bondage, in which workers are never able pay debts incurred when they contracted with traffickers to find them jobs.
A US Senate amendment to a law giving President Barack Obama expanded authority to negotiate trade deals banned countries with a Tier Three ranking from becoming part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, an integral part of the administration’s effort to 're-balance' its policy toward Asia.
Malaysia is part of the planned trade pact.
Thailand, which isn’t part of the trade negotiations, has a similar trafficking track record and a long-standing Tier Three record. It wasn’t upgraded.
Senator Robert Menendez, a New Jersey Democrat, and 18 Senate colleagues, wrote to Secretary of State John Kerry this month opposing an upgrade.
In a statement at the time, Menendez said giving Malaysia an improved ranking would be a 'cynical maneuver' to get around the clear intent of Congress, with no regard for the effect on a key document of our country’s human rights policy.
However, it was turned down.
Perhaps Sarah Margon, director of the Washington office of Human Rights Watch, should study more about our effort and achievement thus far.
The usual critic, she said Malaysia’s record 'over the past year is far from sufficient to justify this upgrade, which is also a real blow to the credibility' of the annual report. The State Dept has rubbished that!
In the report, the State Department said 'Malaysia does not fully comply with the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking; however, it is making significant efforts to do so'.
South Sudan, Burundi, Belize, Belarus and Comoros were downgraded to the lowest rank, Tier 3, where Thailand remained for a second year, alongside countries with some of the world’s worst trafficking records, including Iran, North Korea and Zimbabwe.
The Trafficking in Persons Report is one of several annual assessments issued by the department on human rights-related topics, but it’s unusual in that it ranks nations, which can ruffle diplomatic feathers.
It is based on the actions governments take, rather than on the scale of the problem in their countries. Globally, more than 20 million people are believed to be affected in industries such as mining, construction, the sex trade, and domestic service.
Obama now has 90 days to determine whether to apply sanctions against tier 3 governments. The president can block various types of aid and could withdraw US support for loans from the World Bank and International Monetary Fund.
But the US often chooses not to, based on its national security interests, as it did last year for both Thailand and Malaysia, which Washington views as important partners in its strategic outreach to Asia.