Combating Human Trafficking

BASICJanuary 2013

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NoteThe following provides guidance on preventing the trafficking of

persons. It incorporates Executive Order 13627:

Strengthening Protections Against Trafficking in Persons in

Federal Contracts dated September 25, 2012.

This is not a policy document.

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It’s Worse Than You Realize

• TIP is the 2nd largest criminal activity in the world, following illegal drugs, just in front of illegal arms

• An estimated 600,000 to 800,000 men, women, and children are trafficked across international borders each year.

• These numbers are on the rise.

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Traffickers use force, fraud or coercion to compel another person into commercial sex or forced labor

Trafficking does not necessarily involve transporting victims, but can include recruiting, harboring, providing or obtaining victims

Children involved in commercial sex are always considered victims

It’s Worse Than You Realize

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Know the Law! Combating Trafficking in Persons

• Definitions• Legal Framework

o Contract provisions o Consequences of non-compliance for

employees and subcontractorso USG Remedies for violations of law

Copy of 52.222-50 provided to alltraining participants

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What is it?

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Legal Framework (Summarized)

FAR 52.222-50• Prohibits contractors from engaging in trafficking, prostitution, and

using forced labor.• Contractors must notify employees that the items listed above are

prohibited• Take disciplinary actions on employees who violate the provisions• Is the clause that must be included in all awards and sub-awards

2 CFR § 175.10• Prohibits those working under grants and cooperative agreements

from engaging in trafficking, buying sex, and using forced labor.

USAID ADS 303• Requires non-governmental organizations to have a policy

explicitly opposing prostitution and sex trafficking.• USAID may terminate contracts if contractors violate this policy.

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• Anti-trafficking laws apply to all IRD staff, subcontractors, and projects worldwide

Legal Framework

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IRD’s Approach

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Language in Code Of Business Ethics and Conduct

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Risk Management • High risk indicators include

Objective Subjective

Vulnerable populations Lack of transparency (i.e. secretive)

Recruitment contractors Lack of oversight (i.e. extreme delegation)

Language Differences Permissive culture

Subcontractors, multiple layers

Restricted communications –

functions, physical

Tier 2 and Tier 3 countries

Labor – construction, guards

Housing provided• Develop a compliance plan for the risk

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Education, Awareness, Ethics All staff, regardless of functional areas, must know

•The law•Indicators for high risk projects •Red flags •Reporting requirements•How to report•Consequences for non-compliance

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Education, Awareness, Ethics

• Personal documents – no or limited access

• Wages - actual wages paid are less than promised

• Safety – signs of physical abuse, emotional stress

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Education, Awareness, Ethics

• Freedom – restricted communications, access, locked accommodations

• Working and living conditions – unsafe, unsanitary, substandard

• Documentation from subcontractors - incomplete, contains discrepancies, difficult to obtain, not immediately available

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• TIP relies on people not paying attention, intentional or otherwise

• Heightened consciousness

• Situational Awareness- be alert to risk indicators and red flags

Education, Awareness, Ethics

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Education, Awareness, Ethics IRD’s Code of Business Ethics and Conduct

• Know how to recognize actual or potential issues - observe- ask questions

• Avoid group think, rationalization, denial

• Obligation to report and whistleblower protection

Always remember that traffickers have access to arms and they are dangerous. If you suspect that someone is involved in trafficking, do not confront them.

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Trafficking in Persons is Dependent on:

• Fraud – misrepresenting payments, deception

• Corruption – bribing officials, transport providers

• Violations of regulations, policies, or procedures

• Falsification – records for cost and pricing, time sheets, invoicing, travel documentation, approval for subcontractors and vetting/due diligence, and other records

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New RequirementsEnhancements to Combating Trafficking in Persons - Executive Order 13627 Dated 9/25/2012

• Requires that for work exceeding $500,000 that is performed abroad, federal contractors and subcontractors must maintain compliance plans appropriate for the nature and scope of the activities performed.

• Such plans must include: an employee awareness program, a process for employees to report trafficking violations without fear of retaliation, and recruitment and housing plans.

• Contractors and subcontractors must also annually certify that neither it nor any of its contractors has engaged in trafficking-related activities.

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Scenario #1

• You are visiting an IRD subcontractor’s office for construction project.

• A subcontractor employee arrives holding a stack of passports, opens the safe, and puts in the passports.

• You ask about it and are told that the staff routinely lose their passports, so they are now stored in the safe.

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What should you do?

1. Nothing2. Report your concerns to IRD’s Contracts and

Grants Officer3. Discuss directly with the construction workers4. Demand to see the passports

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Scenario #2• You notice that the cleaning staff for the

IRD project office doesn’t speak English or the local language

• They always are in the office, even when you work 10 or more hours/day

• When you greet them or say thank you, they don’t look at you and hurry away

• On several occasions, you notice bruises

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What should you do?

1. Fire the cleaning crew as they are now a liability

2. Accuse your local HR staff of improper working conditions

3. Force the local staff to talk with you4. None of the above.

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Scenario #3• You are reviewing the vouchers of a

subcontractor that provides guard services

• The documentation shows payments of $10/day for the guards

• At happy hour, a coworker mentions that the guards receive $3.00 a day.

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What should you do?

1. Report via the hotline.2. Discuss the issue with your Contracts and Grants

officer.3. Nothing4. 1 & 2

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Scenario #4• A recruiting agency in India was looking for welders to work at a

company in Colombia for $10.00 an hour.

• The agency charged each prospective worker a non-refundable $2,500.00 application fee.

• En route to Colombia the workers were given contracts to sign. The contracts obligated the workers to work for the next six months for less than $3.00 per hour. They were told to sign the contracts or they would be sent back home.

• The workers felt that they could not back out because they had invested all their savings, and were already on their way to the Colombia.

• Once they arrived, they were confined to the factory grounds and the owner of the company kept their passports.

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In the previous scenario, what are the warning signs that Trafficking in Persons may be taking place?1. A non-refundable application fee2. Contracts were presented after the workers had already

left for Colombia3. Confinement to factory grounds4. Confiscation of passports5. All of the above6. There are no warning signs for Trafficking in Persons in this

case.

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Scenario #5• Maria, 15 years old lives in a rural village in Rondondo. Her family is

very poor. She works long, difficult hours on the family farm. Her life is extremely unhappy. She dreams of wealth and love.

• One day, she is approached by a stranger named Julio, who suggest that with her good looks, she could work in the city and make lots of money. She feels guilty leaving her family, but decides that she can help her family more by sending money to them from her job.

• Before long, she is working as a prostitute. This was not the life she had expected, but Julio is not unkind, he promises they will marry, and he sometimes he allows her to send money home to her family.

• One day the police arrive to arrest Julio. When she sees this, she begs the police not to take him away and tells them she loves Julio.

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Since Maria acted on her own free will, is being paid, and loves Julio, what is the main issue?

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By law, its not “TIP” if an international boundary is not crossed.

1. True2. False

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“Coyotes” who are paid to smuggle workers illegally across borders are Trafficking in Persons.

1. True2. False

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If foreign workers are willing to take the jobs that no one else wants and they are paid, it is not TIP.

1. True 2. False

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Additional ResourcesDepartment of State - TIP 101 Online, interactive training

Department of Defense – TIP interactive training

USAID – TIP resources

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How to Report

IRD Hotline (Confidential and Anonymous)Email: hotline@ird-dc.org

IRD Office of Compliance E-mail: compliance@ird-dc.org

IRD General Counsel – Jason Matechek

IRD Internal Auditor – Sara Reekoye

IRD Director of Contracts and Grants – Olga Wall

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