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According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, after drug dealing, human
trafficking (both sex trafficking and trafficking for forced labor) is tied with the illegal arms
industry as the second largest criminal industry in the world today, and it is the fastest growing.
Russia is one of the top ten countries of origin for trafficked human beings, and with its growing
economy, it is also becoming a major destination. Good morning judge, my name is James
Labadorf, and it is for this reason that my partner, Claire Jordan, and I, stand firmly resolved that
the United States Federal Government should significantly reform its policy toward Russia.
Today, we will be presenting to you a comparative advantage case, which means that as long as
we can prove to you that our plan will produce greater advantages than the status quo, we will
have fulfilled our obligation as the affirmative team.

To clarify some of the terms which we will be using throughout today¶s debate round, we will
now move on to 


1. Significantly- having or likely to have impact- important

2. Reform- to change or alter
3. Policy- A plan or course of action, especially one of an organization or government
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/policy
4. Human Trafficking- A criminal activity in which people are recruited, harbored, transported,
bought, or kidnapped to serve an exploitative purpose, such as sexual slavery, forced labor, or
child soldiery
en.wiktionary.org/wiki/human_trafficking
. Trafficking Victims Protection Act- An act to combat trafficking in persons, especially into
the sex trade, slavery, and involuntary servitude, to reauthorize certain Federal programs to
prevent violence against women, and for other purposes.
http://www.state.gov/documents/organization/10492.pdf
Throughout this round, we will refer to this act as the TVPA.
6. Trafficking in Persons Report- [This] annual report serves as the primary diplomatic tool
through which the U.S. Government encourages other countries to help fight all forms of modern
slavery, including forced labor, sex trafficking, bonded labor, debt bondage, involuntary
domestic servitude, forced child labor, child soldiers, and child sex trafficking.
http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/

This report, which is released annually, as required by the Trafficking Victims Protection Act,
places countries into three different tiers, based on their level of compliance with the minimum
standards of the TVPA. On the website of the U.S. Department of State, the tiers are described
as follows:

 c
Countries whose governments fully comply with the (TVPA) minimum standards [which include
prohibiting and punishing serious forms of trafficking in persons, as well as making serious and
sustained efforts to eliminate them.]
  !
Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the TVPA¶s minimum standards, but are
making significant efforts to bring themselves into compliance with those standards

 !"
#$
[Countries who meet the criteria for Tier 2 as well as the following:]
a) The absolute number of victims of severe forms of trafficking is very significant or is
significantly increasing; or
b) There is a failure to provide evidence of increasing efforts to combat severe forms of
trafficking in persons from the previous year; or
c) The determination that a country is making significant efforts to bring themselves into
compliance with minimum standards was based on commitments by the country to take
additional future steps over the next year

 %
Countries whose governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards and are not
making significant efforts to do so


&
Mandate 1: The United States Federal Government will place Russia into the Tier 3 category of
the Trafficking in Persons Report

Mandate 2: In accordance with the Trafficking Victims Protection Act, section 110, subsection
(d), ³the United States will not provide non humanitarian, nontrade-related foreign assistance to
the government of the country for the subsequent fiscal year until such government complies
with the minimum standards or makes significant efforts to bring itself into compliance.´

The United States provided Russia with over seventy million dollars in non humanitarian aid
during fiscal year 2009.

Agency and Enforcement will be any necessary agencies of the United States Federal
Government

No funding will be necessary for our plan. Any incidental costs will be covered by General
Federal Revenues.

Our plan will take effect immediately upon an affirmative ballot.


 
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' (  
Sky News (British news source) ³Russian Prostitution Boosted By Boom´ Published at
http://news.sky.com/skynews/Home/Sky«20080641318224. Published June 6, 2008; accessed
June 22, 2010

From Sky News, June 6, 2008- (quote) ³Unofficial estimates suggest there are as many as
200,000 women trapped in a life of prostitution in Moscow alone.
The problem is also concerning health officials who say the rise in prostitution is fuelling an
epidemic in sexually-transmitted diseases, including HIV.
According to health worker Sergey Dubovsky: (quote) ³We have a 100% growth in HIV
infections in Moscow in just over a year.´ (end quote)

 ! 

)(
 

by Amanda Kloer, Change.org (Change.org is an online hub for social change. We run leading
online communities for 20 major causes ranging from homelessness to women¶s rights to
poverty, and through a team of 100 expert writers and 3,000 nonprofit partners, we serve as the
central platform for launching and promoting movements for social change on the web.) ³Russia
Closes All But Two Human Trafficking Help Centers´ Published at
http://humantrafficking.change.org/b«g_help_centers. Published May 29, 2010; accessed June
22, 2010

From Change.org, May 29, 2010- (quote) ³The Russian government made drastic cuts to its
human trafficking assistance services this week, reducing the number of funded help centers to
just two in the whole country... Russia is perhaps the center of European human trafficking.
Women are trafficked from Russia to Western Europe, and many Eastern European women are
trafficked through Russia. Russian and Eastern European women are also trafficked to ... other
places. And yet, Russian authorities have repeatedly claimed that they have no responsibility for
the men, women, and girls who are lured overseas and then enslaved, or the ones passed through
Russia by foreign nationals. And now, they are making it almost impossible for victims who are
returning to Russia to find help.´ (end quote)

 %& 

) ( 
%

The Not For Sale Campaign (an anti-slavery orginization which combines technology,
intellectual capital, abolitionist groups and a growing network of individuals ljoined together to
end slavery in our lifetime), Updated 2009, ³About Us Slavery´,
http://www.notforsalecampaign.org/about/slavery/

From the website of the Not For Sale Campaign, updated 2009- (quote) The 2006 (Trafficking in
Persons) Report confirms that bias plays a strong role in the evaluation process. Among only a
handful of nations relegated to Tier 3 can be found ... nations [that] just happen to be on not-so-
friendly terms with the U.S. government. Meanwhile, countries like ... Russia ... which [has] an
abysmal record on trafficking, do[es] not receive a Tier 3 ranking. (end quote)
Judge, it is time to stop sacrificing the lives and freedom of these men, women, and children in
an attempt to keep Russia happy with us.

 *"( 


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The Washington Post June 13, 2007 http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn«061202180.html

From the Washington Post, June 13, 2007- (quote) Rep. Christopher H. Smith (R-N.J.), who
sponsored the law that requires the report, said that... ³In previous years, countries such as
Greece, Turkey, Israel and South Korea were placed in tier three. As soon as they got placed in
that category, the governments there closed brothels, arrested go-betweens and liberated
women.´ (end quote)


, 

' 

As shown above, governments are motivated to act when they are placed into Tier 3 of the
Trafficking in Persons Report. Judge, by passing our plan, you will be saving men, women, and
children from lives of hardship and horror. There is no quick fix to the problem of human
trafficking in Russia, but the sooner we start the process, the bigger the difference we can make.

Thank you, and I now stand ready for cross examination.