Speeches

Chargé d’Affaires Virginia Blaser 's Remarks
at the Presentation of the 2009 Trafficking In Persons Report

at the Office of the Attorney General
4th Floor, R. Seeneevassen Building
Jules Koenig Street, Port Louis
Thursday, June 18, 2009

The Attorney General, Honorable Rama Valayden

Mrs. Indranee Seebun, Minister of Women’s Rights, Child Development, and Family Welfare

Mrs. Aruna Narain, Assistant Solicitor General

Mrs. Rosemary Anodin, Chief Legal Secretary

Distinguished Guests,

Trafficking in Persons (also called “human trafficking”) is a modern form of slavery, where millions of people across the world are forced into domestic servitude, sex slavery, child labor and child soldiering.  Human trafficking is a clear and grave infringement on an individual’s human rights.  It is why both Mauritius and the United States have worked so hard to improve our independent and mutual efforts against this problem.

So today is a day that we have been looking forward to for a very long time.  It is my great pleasure to present the 2009 Trafficking in Persons report for Mauritius, and I am proud to announce that after six years of hard work, Mauritius is among the world’s leading nations enjoying a position in Tier 1 ranking.

The concerted effort from all parties involved made it possible for Mauritius to meet the “minimum standards for the elimination of severe forms of trafficking”, as required by the U.S. “Victims of Trafficking and Violence Protection Act of 2000.” 

This means that the Government of Mauritius:
--Vigorously investigated and prosecuted acts of trafficking in persons;

--Protected victims of human trafficking and encouraged their assistance in the investigation and prosecution of traffickers;

--Adopted measures to prevent severe forms of human trafficking;  And
--Monitored immigration and emigration patterns for evidence of trafficking in persons and responded with vigorous investigation and prosecution. 

  Our Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, stated that this document is “a guide for future progress…with this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made.”    Well, ladies and gentleman, today it can clearly be said that Mauritius stands as a shining beacon of progress…and I am certain this progress will continue.

The Government of Mauritius has proved proactive and empathetic to the plight of those most vulnerable, such as women and children caught in prostitution.  With this year’s new enactment of the Comprehensive Trafficking-In-Persons bill -- a key reason for Mauritius’ move into Tier 1 -- Mauritius broadened its scope of the problem and will now chart a new course to improve its victim rehabilitation process and meet newer challenges. 

Now that Mauritius has the legal framework to counter human trafficking, the effort from all partners involved must be kept up and public awareness on human trafficking increased.  We also strongly encourage Mauritius develop an inter-agency coordination mechanism in order to facilitate communication and monitoring among all partners combating human trafficking, including NGOs.

As a proud partner of Mauritius in the fight against trafficking, the United States will move forward with you.  Within the past year alone we sent the Officer- in- Charge at the Mauritian Minors’ Brigade to the US on a program that served to broaden his scope of Trafficking-In-Persons and provide him, and his organization, with critical access to the many different agencies combating trafficking-in-persons in my country.  Likewise, in April 2008 we trained over 40 officers from the ports, customs, and other branches on combating human trafficking. 

Through these and other joint programs, I have become quite familiar with the outstanding work performed by all of the pertinent ministries and agencies, such as the Ministry of Women’s Rights and Child Development, the Minor’s Brigade, State Law Office, and the Prime Minister’s Office.  It is through their tireless effort and cooperation with NGO’s like CEDEM that we are able to say that with regard to combating human trafficking, Mauritius now ranks in the top countries of the world. 

I would like to personally thank all the individuals at the Prime Minister’s Office, the Ministry of Women’s Rights, the Attorney General’s office, and other women and children’s rights organizations and NGOs.  Their professionalism and commitment to human rights made it possible for Mauritius to reach this top mark.  Keep up the good work! And …

Congratulations.

Thank You.