Critics Slam US for Raising Malaysia's Human Trafficking Rank

As the U.S. State Department is about to upgrade Malaysia's status on its human trafficking list  , various human rights groups and U.S. lawmakers criticized the move Thursday as “political” in order for Malaysia to be included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade deal.

The State Department's decision was revealed by Reuters Wednesday without further detail on the motivations behind it. In the State Department’s previous annual report in 2014, Malaysia was ranked among the worst countries, along with North Korea and Zimbabwe.

However, such position in the Watch List formally prevents the U.S. administration from including Malaysia in free-trade deals since lawmakers voted on a provision earlier in June in this sense. For this reason, human rights groups and other opponents of the upgrade have been suggesting that the decision was “clearly political,” as they claim the situation of human trafficking in the country has not improved at all in a year.

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“We are outraged by this clearly political decision, which undermines the integrity of the TIP Report and signals that the U.S. is willing to turn a blind eye to modern slavery and grave human and labor rights abuses in order to advance its trade agenda,” stated the U.S. federation of labor unions AFL-CIO.

Earlier in May, 139 graves in camps for human trafficking victims were found near Malaysia’s northern border with Thailand, provoking an international outcry.

“Malaysia has forced labour in agriculture, construction, electronics, textiles and domestic service in homes,” Melysa Sperber, director of the Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking, a coalition of 14 U.S.-based human rights organizations, told Reuters.

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Democratic Congressman Sander Levin, alomg with other Democratic lawmakers such as Senator Benjamin Cardin and Representative Rosa DeLauro, also highilighted the importance to evaluate Malaysia based on the real situation of human trafficking in the country, rather than on U.S. economic interests.

“It is crucial that consideration of Malaysia’s record on human trafficking reflect the realities on the ground and not a glossing over of those realities to assist Malaysia’s participation in TPP. It is essential that expanded trade be based on standards and their implementation, not their evasion or erosion,” said Levin.

Responding to the controversy, State Department spokesman John Kirby told a news conference that the report was not finalized, that the TIP ratings were based on pragmatic assessments and were “something we take very, very seriously.”

Meanwhile, Malaysia welcomed the upgrade, as the country wishes to be included in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) – the biggest free-trade agreement ever reached if finalized, which covers 40 percent of the world economy.