Corker Statement on National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month

CHATTANOOGA, Tenn. – U.S. Senator Bob Corker (R-Tenn.), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, today released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump proclaimed January 2018 as National Slavery and Human Trafficking Prevention Month.

“With the establishment of the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery and matching $25 million contributions from the U.S. and United Kingdom, 2017 was a historic year in the fight against modern slavery and human trafficking but much more work remains,” said Corker. “I applaud the Trump administration, especially Ivanka Trump, for a continued focus on combatting this scourge on humanity both at home and abroad, and I remain committed to working with them to make this issue a priority in 2018.”

Today, in 2017, an estimated 27 million people are enslaved around the world. That’s more than at any time in history. More than two and a half years ago, with input from leading stakeholders and industry experts, Corker proposed a bold, bipartisan initiative to end modern slavery worldwide. Not unlike the role PEPFAR has played in fighting AIDS worldwide, the End Modern Slavery Initiative, which is now operating as the Global Fund to End Modern Slavery, was designed to leverage limited foreign aid dollars and galvanize tremendous support and investment from the public sector, philanthropic organizations and the private sector to focus resources responsibly where the crime is most prevalent. In September, both the U.S. and the United Kingdom announced matching $25 million contributions to the fund.

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