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May 15, 2017

To Fight Modern Slavery, Human Rights Must Come First

In his most recent op-ed for The Hill, Humanity United Managing Director, David Abramowitz, defends the notion that human rights must come first, especially in the fight against modern slavery. Specifically, he counters Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s recent remarks regarding an “America first” foreign policy.

“After working on foreign policy for nearly 30 years, I could not disagree more with Mr. Tillerson or this view. It is a false dichotomy to suggest there is a choice between promoting U.S. values and other core interests.”

Tillerson’s remarks come at a particularly sensitive time, as the U.S. State Department prepares to publish its 2017 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) report.

“Beyond even its damaging rhetoric, the administration’s early actions are undermining U.S. leadership on human rights. Despite paying lip service to fighting human trafficking, the administration’s approach to immigration actually heightens the risk of human trafficking in the United States, making victims less likely to report their traffickers to law enforcement and making them more vulnerable to exploitation.”

Read the full op-ed>>

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