Report: Recession boosts human trafficking

• Photo

  Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton speaks at the State Department in Washington, Wednesday, May 6, 2009 (AP)

The global recession has increased human trafficking, boosting by 30% the number of countries the U.S. State Department is monitoring for possible sanctions, according to the latest annual report.

The 2009 "Trafficking in Persons Report," the first released by the Obama administration, lists 52 countries and territories — mainly in Africa, Asia and the Middle East — that are under scrutiny for their efforts to combat trafficking of people. New names include India, Iraq, Lebanon, Pakistan, the Philippines, the United Arab Emirates, Angola, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Nicaragua and Senegal.

"With this report, we hope to shine the light brightly on the scope and scale of modern slavery so all governments can see where progress has been made and where more is needed," Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton said as she released the 320-page document.

Seventeen nations — three more than last year — face sanctions, which can include a ban on non-humanitarian and trade-related aid and U.S. opposition to loans and credits from the International Monetary Fund and World Bank. But the president can waive sanctions if he determines they conflict with U.S. national interests, the Associated Press writes.

They include long-standing U.S. antagonists — Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, North Korea, Sudan and Syria, for instance — but also such allies as Saudi Arabia and Kuwait.

Read the full report.

Here's a Q&A with reporters following the report's release.