The Government of Macau expressed this Thursday “strong indignation and firm opposition” after the United States imposed sanctions for failures in the fight against human trafficking.
“The respective determination of the United States was issued without full knowledge of the information, in light of unrealistic data and based on incorrect information about Macau contained in the aforementioned Report on Trafficking in Persons, (…) in a attempt to cause confusion in international societypostpone the efforts made and the contributions that have always been made in the context of preventing and combating human trafficking,” he defended in a statement released by the Ministry of Security.
The same note highlights that “the work to prevent and combat the crime of human trafficking in Macau has been carried out effectively with the support of the central authorities, (…) there has never been room for dependency and helpnor has any relevant financing or any type of support been received from the United States.”
The Government of Macau further maintained that “the The crime of human trafficking has always maintained a low percentage or an almost zero percentage in society”, which has adopted international strategies and successfully carried out “work related to the prevention and fight against human trafficking and support for victims, (…) committing all efforts to eliminate this global public danger.
The United States announced sanctions on several territories, including Macau, on Wednesday, and sanctions for failure to comply with the rules of the Trafficking Victims Protection Act will take effect next year, according to an executive order signed by US President Joe Biden, September. 29.
US sanctions on Macau apply to “non-humanitarian and non-trade aid”But they also do not allow funding for participation in educational and cultural exchange programs, unless it promotes the fight against human trafficking or is of North American national interest.
It is determined, however, that the sanctions will remain in force until these governments “comply with the minimum standards (…) or make significant efforts,” the decree reads.
In the case of Macau, Joe Biden has also instructed the North American heads of development banks and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to “vote against and make every effort to reject any loan or other use of funds.” of the respective institution”.
The determination, however, lists exceptions.
On the one hand, when humanitarian or trade-related aid is at stake, as well as development assistance that directly responds to basic human needs, as long as it is not administered by or benefits the Macau government.
On the other hand, when this aid also has the potential to promote the fight against human trafficking or is in the national interest of the United States.
Macau is on the US ‘blacklist’ of territories with insufficient measures to stop human trafficking, placing them at level three, in an evaluation in which level four is the lowest.
The US estimates that around 27 million people in the world are victims of human trafficking and forced labor, a phenomenon that mainly affects women, people from the LGBT community (acronym for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) and ethnic and religious minorities.
Source: TSF
