On the eve of the World Cup in Germany, the State Department's big concern is not over whether the US soccer team has a prayer of getting past the Czech Republic and Italy, but rather over the flood of prostitutes expected into Germany from Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa.
The US, in its annual report on forced labor and trafficking in persons, called Germany, which has legalized prostitution, "a source, transit and destination country" for sex workers, the more so during the soccer tournament.
"Due to the sheer size of the event, the potential for human trafficking surrounding the games remains a concern," the State Department said in its report.
It called on the German government to increase police enforcement during the games.
The warning to Germany was a rare slap at a close US ally.
The report did not include Germany in a list of 14 more serious offenders that the State Department says make little effort to control serious problems with trafficking in persons.
Some groups criticized the report, noting that most of the countries cited as the worst offenders -- which can lead to economic sanctions -- are not US allies. They include Iran, North Korea, Myanmar, Sudan, Venezuela, Syria, Cuba and Zimbabwe. The only countries on the list that are close US allies are Saudi Arabia and Belize.
India, Mexico and China were on a separate "watch list" for the second year, prompting complaints that the State Department was trying not to alienate them.
"What we want is for the United States to implement this law without any political considerations at play," said Jessica Neuwirth, president of Equality Now, an international women's rights organization.
In 2000, Congress passed the Trafficking Victim Protection Act, which set out new penalties for slave traffickers and required the State Department to publish an annual report on slave trafficking worldwide. The sanctions are subject to the president's discretion.
Germany legalized prostitution in 2002, and German brothels have been gearing up for the confluence of legal sex and the World Cup, which is expected to bring 3.5 million tourists to the country for the tournament, which begins Friday. Berlin, Cologne and Hamburg have all expanded their red light districts and sex-trade entrepreneurs have opened mobile brothels.
German officials, while defending the country's policy of legalized prostitution, say they nonetheless do not condone human trafficking, and have intensified efforts to rein in the flow of prostitutes into their country in advance of the Cup.
The report says that between 600,000 and 800,000 people, most of them women and children, are trafficked across international borders every year.
RALLYING CRY: Former US president Donald Trump has raised suspicions about why Chinese migrants are going to the US and advocacy groups worry about his rhetoric The US Department of Homeland Security on Tuesday said that it sent 116 Chinese migrants from the US back home in the first “large charter flight” in five years. The flight, which happened over the weekend, comes as Chinese immigration has become the subject of intense political debate in the upcoming US presidential election. “We will continue to enforce our immigration laws and remove individuals without a legal basis to remain in the United States,” US Secretary of Homeland Security Alejandro Mayorkas said in a statement. The department said it was working with China to “reduce and deter irregular migration and to disrupt
‘ONE FELL SWOOP’: Overturning a landmark ruling that said judges should defer to experts would ‘cause a massive shock to the legal system,’ a dissenting opinion said Prosecutors overstepped in charging Jan. 6, 2021, rioters with obstruction for trying to prevent certification of the 2020 presidential election, the US Supreme Court said on Friday, throwing hundreds of cases into doubt, while another controversial ruling struck down 40 years of legal precedent on federal agencies’ ability to regulate critical issues. The matter was brought to the court through an appeal by former police officer Joseph Fischer, a supporter of former US president Donald Trump who entered the Capitol with hundreds of others in 2021. Writing for the majority, Chief Justice John Roberts said prosecutors’ interpretation of the law would “criminalize
The US yesterday wrapped up its first multidomain exercise with Japan and South Korea in the East China Sea, a step forward in Washington’s efforts to enhance and lock in its security partnerships with key Asian allies in the face of growing threats from North Korea and China. The three-day Freedom Edge increased the sophistication of previous exercises with simultaneous air and naval drills geared toward improving joint ballistic-missile defense, anti-submarine warfare, surveillance and other skills and capabilities. The exercise, which is expected to expand in years to come, was also intended to improve the countries’ abilities to share missile warnings —
ELECTION JITTERS: After a call with the party’s leadership, a DNC member said they were being asked to ignore the party’s dire predicament after last week’s debate US President Joe Biden on Saturday attended a triple-header of campaign fundraisers, seeking to reassure high-dollar donors he can still win re-election in November despite a debate performance that sparked panic among many Democrats. Accompanying him at the fundraisers in New York and New Jersey was first lady Jill Biden, who has fiercely defended her 81-year-old husband amid calls for him to step aside. “Joe isn’t just the right person for the job — he’s the only person for the job,” she told one gathering, which featured actors Sarah Jessica Parker and Matthew Broderick among the cohosts. The president is facing a wave