U.S. human trafficking report includes U.S. cases for first time http://www.cnn.com/2010/US/06/14/human.trafficking/?hpt=Sbin US: Step Up Pressures on Allies Using Child Soldiers http://www.hrw.org/en/news/2010/06/14/us-step-pressure-allies-using-child-soldiers US human trafficking report dismissed http://www.jamaicaobserver.com/news/US-human-trafficking-report-dismissed Trafficking in Persons Report 2010 http://www.state.gov/g/tip/rls/tiprpt/2010/ HumanTrafficking http://www.humantrafficking.org/ This Monday, the U.S. State Department released their annual human trafficking report, and for the first time, the United States was included in this massive and quite comprehensive work. The 373-page report notes that 13 countries fail to meet minimum international standards in the fight against human trafficking, including North Korea, Burma, and Cuba. Commenting on the report at a State Department event, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton remarked that the report is designed to encourage countries to act quickly to stem the "scourge of modern slavery." Clinton also commented that the report addresses the fact that despite strong enforcement efforts in the U.S., "foreign workers drawn by the hope of a better life in America, are trapped by abusive employers, and there are Americans, unfortunately, who are held in sexual slavery...human trafficking is not someone else's problem." There was a bit of encouraging news in the report, as there were fewer countries grouped together in Tier 3, which is the lowest level of compliance. A number of countries have expressed displeasure with the report, including Guyana. In a statement released on Tuesday, Guyana's Human Services and Social Security Minister Priya Manickchand commented the report "is based on ignorance and this type of reporting is hurting Guyana's friendship with the US." The first link will take visitors to a news piece on the report from the Voice of America which appeared on Monday. The second link will whisk users away to a CNN article on the subject, with additional details on the standings of the US in the report. The third link leads to a news release from the Human Rights Watch organization which comments on the use of child soldiers by US allies. Moving on, the fourth link leads to an article from the Jamaica Observer which comments on Guyana's reaction to the report. The fifth link leads to the complete 2010 Trafficking in Persons Report, complete with video clips, charts, interactive maps, and a letter from Secretary Clinton. The last link leads to the homepage of the Human Trafficking organization. Here visitors can learn about efforts to combat human trafficking around the world, along with research publications, capacity building tools, and their newsletter.