Swedish Minister for Justice Thomas Bodstroem has criticised the German authorities for not taking human trafficking seriously enough during the football world cup. “I think they should do more against human trafficking, but they don’t think it’s a big problem,” he said in the Swedish daily newspaper Svenska Dagbladet yesterday. The Swedish development agency Sida will be working with the International Organisation for Migration on a campaign raising awareness about human trafficking during the world cup. In addition to this, the Swedish government has pledged to appoint a special ambassador to combat the trafficking of human beings. “The ambassador will co-ordinate the work that is being done within the foreign ministry, for example in the field of human rights and development aid,” ministry spokesman Kerstin Olsson told AFP. Foreign Minister Jan Eliasson also commented that
“The fact that trafficking in human beings is taking place in Sweden, in the Baltic Sea countries or in the world as a whole is an unacceptable phenomenon,” 

A church pastor is facing human trafficking charges in the state of Texas, USA. Reverend James Clark from the town of Lubbock is accused of luring a 21 year old Kenyan woman to the US, promising to fund her education. When she arrived in the US, however, it is alledged that the pastor made it clear that she would have to pay for her stay by providing him with sexual services. She had, in effect, become his sex slave. The victim said; “I only had sex with him because I was afraid he would have me deported if I did not have sex with him.” lt is alledged that Clark also threatened her with deportation if she did not have sex with his friends. lnvestigator Kevin Davis said that it was after the first week in college that she had been told it was time to pay back the loan for her travel and education. She had understood before that the money was part of a missional effort. It is alleged that prostitution was the only way that she could pay back the loan. The woman was rescued when she confided what was happening to her college counsellor. Texas police warned that this might not be an isolated case. If convicted, Clark could face up to twenty years in prison and a fine of US$10,000. This case would seem to be of a kind where no large criminal gang is involved, but that the pressure to migrate can be such that individuals can traffic young women into sexual exploitation.

Saudi Arabia has reacted strongly against US criticism of their record on dealing with human trafficking. The US State Department Trafficking in Persons Report 2006, published this month, listed Saudi Arabia as one of twelve countries which could face sanctions if they did not do more to fight the problem. Prince Turki al-Faisal, Saudi ambassador to the US, said “We think that we have moved forward quite a considerable distance. We were hoping there would be a reflection of that movement in this report,” The ambassador also commented that the report should also mention the mistreatment of illegal workers in the US.
The report states that Saudi Arabia is a destination country for workers from Bangladesh, India, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Indonesia who may find themselves in conditions of involuntary servitude. Domestic workers are particularly vulnerable, having little or no way of communicating their plight. Saudi Arabia is also a destination country for Nigerian, Yemeni, Pakistani, Afghan, Somali, Malian, and Sudanese children trafficked for forced begging and involuntary servitude as street vendors. Nigerian women were trafficked into Saudi Arabia for commercial sexual exploitation.
Despite making some improvements the Saudi government continued to deny the extent of the problem and too few resources were given to the protection and care of victims and the investigation of the crime. The victims were often imprisoned and deported.

Israel has been criticised in the latest US State Department Trafficking in Persons report for not doing enough to fight human trafficking. Although progress has been made in stopping traffickers forcing women into prostitution, there is still much to do to protect foreign workers from being placed in a situation of involuntary servitude. In particular Israel is criticised for not passing a 2003 bill on human trafficking which would have expanded the scope of the law to cover all forms of trafficking, not just into sexual exploitation. It is estimated by NGOs in Israel, that there are between 16,000 and 20,000 foreign workers who faced involuntary servitude in the country. There are also 1,000-3,000 women who were brought to Israel for sexual exploitation. Sources within the Israeli government have been quoted as saying that the report will be studied and used to improve their response to human trafficking. 

A couple in Wisconsin, USA, have been convicted of keeping a trafficked woman in a situation of domestic slavery for almost 20 years. Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim were found to have used threats of serious harm and physical restraint to keep the 40 year old Filipino woman as their domestic servant from 1985 to 2004. The woman was only rescued after a phone call to the US Immigration and Customs Enforcement national hotline (1-866-DHS-2ICE (press 1)). The family had kept the woman’s wages “on account” and had refused her freedom to leave.
Wan J. Kim, assistant attorney general said;
 ”Preying on this woman’s hope for a better life, this couple instead forced her into a life of involuntary servitude,”
“The Justice Department takes these crimes seriously and is committed to prosecuting those involved in the systematic abuse and degradation of others,”
Jefferson Sr. and Elnora Calimlim each face a maximum sentence of 65 years in prison, mandatory restitution, and $1.25 million in fines. Jefferson Calimlim Jr. faces up to five years in prison, restitution, and $250,000 in fines. As it was used to enslave the victim, the government is also seeking forfeiture of the Calimlims’ house as an “instrumentality of the crime,”
Trafficking into domestic slavery is one of the most difficult crimes to fight as it is hidden and there are few opportunities for the victim to call attention to their plight. Often people employing domestic servants do not apply the same standards they would for other occupations, tolerating child labour and using methods to remove direct payments to employees. It is important that domestic service is brought more into the mainstream of the labour market with the option of domestic workers joining a union.