State Dept. Adds Diplomatic Restrictions to Prevent Trafficking

Human traffickers can be anyone: organized criminals, business owners, parents, and even state officials. In fact, the U.S. has seen several cases of diplomats trafficking domestic workers from their home country into the U.S. over the last decade. These cases are incredibly difficult to identify and prosecute because of the power of some diplomats and the diplomatic immunity which the U.S. State Department affords them. But this week, the State Department agreed to add additional regulations to help prevent state officials from bringing in servants from their home countries and making them slaves.

Amongst the new restrictions is the decision that diplomats below the rank of minister will no longer be able to bring domestic servants into the United States without being able to show they can afford to pay them a prevailing wage. Anyone who has ever applied for a non-subprime mortgage might be thinking, "duh, of course you should have to prove you can pay." But such a concept is a little revolutionary in the diplomatic community.

If this new system works, bringing domestic help to the U.S. would involve heavier oversight than ever before, hopefully protecting young women from being exploited as servants in diplomatic homes here in the U.S. The new restrictions will also require diplomats to pay their domestic servants in a traceable form, such as checks or direct deposit, and require embassy chiefs to personally approve the servants their employees wish to bring with them. The idea is to create a greater level of accountability for all workers within the embassy system; there should be an account of how many people are here and how much they are getting paid.

What the State Department has not agreed to, however, is any degree of flexibility in their diplomatic immunity policy. Since 2000, there have been at least 42 cases of human trafficking by state officials with diplomatic immunity. Their immunity status makes these crimes extremely difficult to prosecute. It also means that even in cases where abuse or human trafficking are suspected, the State Department cannot monitor the day-to-day functioning of an embassy or residence. As long as immunity remains fully intact, prosecuting diplomats for trafficking crimes is incredibly difficult.

These regulations are a band-aid -- albeit one which might stop the bleeding. But further reform in the system is the only thing that will fully heal the wound.

Photo credit: isafmedia