Mass graves highly thought to be those of migrant workers were found in Malaysia days after an amendment to the Trade Promotion Authority prohibiting human trafficking, child and slave labor, passed through the U.S. Senate Finance Committee.
An amendment introduced by New Jersey Senator Bob Menendez (D) took aim at potential trade partner Malaysia, known for their horrific labor rights and human trafficking record, in an effort to bolster what some suspect as weak or nonexistent labor standards part of the Trans-Pacific Partnership negotiations. After strong opposition by the Obama administration and concerted efforts to water down the proposed restrictions were successful, the amendment passed the U.S. Senate Finance Committee by a vote of 16-10 on Friday, May 22nd. President Obama contends that countries such as Malaysia will be forced to improve labor standards and human rights abuses if included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, but opponents disagree saying that instead the worst international actors are being rewarded for their horrendous behavior. Inclusion of the amendment as initially written by Sen. Menendez would have prohibited Malaysia and Thailand from being a part of the trade deal at all, which forced the Obama Administration to reach out to human rights organizations in an effort to tone down the language. A compromise was reached that allowed for Tier 3 members to be part of the deal, but only if they made commitments to address the issues and follow though on them, much like what is already required by the State Department. Sen. Menendez criticized this argument in his statement before the Finance Committee by saying, “It is clear that years of engagement with Malaysia on this issue — even with the ‘carrot’ of the TPP negotiations — has not been enough to generate action from the Malaysian government,”
Now there are reports coming out of Malaysia confirming the discovery of 139 migrant burial sites along with 23 worker camps. According to Malaysian National Police Chief Khalid Abu Bakar, one grave site could hold up to 300 deceased workers with each of the other 138 sites capable of containing around 20 each.
The U.S. State Department issues a yearly report called the Trafficking in Persons Report (TIP) that assess nations on their respective human rights records and anti-trafficking efforts. The report is viewed widely as one of the the most influential and comprehensive reports of its kind, and is used by non-governmental organizations and foreign governments the world over in developing legal protections for exploited individuals. The TIP identifies patterns in human trafficking, sex trafficking, child and forced labor and according to Secretary of State John Kerry, "...offers a roadmap for the road ahead as we confront the scourge of trafficking." The TIP report was brought into existence by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act which was initially passed in 2000 and is reauthorized periodically as needed. States are categorized into three categories with Tier 1 states being in full compliance with the Act. Tier 2 states are found not to be in in full compliance with the "absolute numbers of victims...significantly increasing", as well as failing to provide evidence that efforts are being made to combat this increase. Tier 2 states can also make a commitment to address human trafficking and human rights violations, but must receive a determination from the State Department that they are following through, otherwise they'll end up where Malaysia and Thailand are, which is Tier 3. Tier 3 states are those who are not in compliance and are making no efforts to do so. Both Malaysia and Thailand were downgraded and are currently categorized as Tier 3 for failure to make good on their commitments made in 2013 when they were still on the Tier 2 Watch List. Thailand has been courted by Obama to join the TPP for years, but has resisted. According to the US Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking, Malaysian workers are often subjected to forced labor and debt bondage by their employers in order to pay off smuggling debts incurred upon entry into the country, but is most notorious for its commercial sex trade that disproportionally targets women and children. Thailand suffers from a similar fate with estimated tens of thousands of victims, most of those being prisoners of the sex trade or working in such industries as domestic service, low-end garment production, commercial fishing and other fishing related industries. And of course in order for such a vibrant human trafficking trade to occur, government corruption is assumed to be involved at all levels. While Obama has stressed that he would not accept a final deal on TPP that did not increase worker protections and labor standards, he had little to say about Malaysia or Thailands inclusion before the Melendez amendment was introduced. To avoid having the entire bill torpedoed, Obama decided to negotiate the inclusion of human rights violators and known human traffickers into a trade bill touted to be "the most progressive trade deal in history."
