U.S. allies among worst human traffickers
by Angela Woodall, UNITED PRESS INTERNATIONAL

Citizens of the United States and other wealthy nations help create the marketplace for human trafficking, U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said Friday at the release of the State Department's 2005 trafficking in persons report.

"Responsibility does not rest only with developing countries whose citizens are vulnerable to trafficking because of poverty or corruption or lack of education," Rice said. "Destination, or demand countries -- like the United States and other prosperous nations whose citizens create the marketplace for trafficking, also bear a heavy responsibility."

The report placed four major U.S. allies and oil suppliers -- Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates -- high on the list of countries that have failed to crack down on trafficking. Countries where trafficking occurs are assigned a rating by the State Department based on their efforts at punishing traffickers, helping victims and preventing future incidents.


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