Letter to John Kerry, Secretary of State - Regarding Anti-Trafficking Programs in Nigeria

Letter

Dear Secretary Kerry,

I write to urge you to direct additional resources from existing U.S. assistance programs to Nigeria and neighboring countries toward programs that combat human trafficking. As you have noted, the recent abduction of 276 Nigerian schoolgirls by the terrorist group Boko Haram represents a signal moment in the international fight against human trafficking and the United States should do whatever possible to assist in safely returning these abducted girls to their homes. It is also clear that the United States must do more to bolster anti-trafficking efforts in the region to ensure that outrages like this are not repeated.

As you know, Nigeria and its neighbors, particularly Niger, Chad, and Cameroon, are afflicted by the terrorism of Boko Haram and related organizations. These groups engage in the targeting of children and women for abduction in order to force them into marriage and servitude. The threat by the leader of Boko Haram to "sell [the abducted girls] in the market" is just the latest example of the confluence between terrorism and human trafficking in the region.

In addition to substantial bilateral assistance, Nigeria and its neighbors are key recipients of U.S. counterterrorism and security assistance through the Trans-Sahara Counterterrorism Partnership (TSCTP), Partnership for Regional East African Counterterrorism (PREACT), and West Africa Regional Security Initiative (WARSI). While these programs are important, they do not provide specific assistance to security forces and law enforcement to address the threat of human trafficking perpetrated by transnational terrorist groups like Boko Haram. The resource mismatch is significant: while TSCTP, PREACT, and WARSI were funded at a combined level of $57.4 million in FY2013, trafficking in persons programming across the continent only received $964,000.

I strongly believe that anti-trafficking programming should be integrated into our counterterrorism programs in order to ensure that our security partners in this region are better able to prevent and respond to incidents like the Nigerian abductions in the future. This would entail trained armed forces, local law enforcement, and judicial systems to recognize incidents of trafficking and to proactively protect women and children targeted by terrorists.

Thank you for your attention to this important matter.

Sincerely,

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