US state department concerned by lack of UK help for abused embassy staff

[Turborama]

Source: The Guardian

International diplomats don cloak of immunity to mask trafficking of domestic servants from their home countries

• http://www.guardian.co.uk/news/datablog/2011/jun/27/human-trafficking-us-state-department?intcmp=239">Human trafficking: How the US maps your country

The US state department has expressed concern about the abuse of domestic staff working in foreign embassies in London, saying repeated allegations of mistreatment have not been addressed by the government.

A report on human trafficking published on Monday warned that international diplomats often exploit staff brought from their home countries, and then hide behind the cloak of diplomatic immunity. These workers are especially vulnerable, with some being held virtual prisoners in the embassies, their passports withheld, to work 16-hour days, seven days a week, for low pay. In the worst cases, they are bullied and assaulted.

"We have seen enough allegations of diplomatic abuses of domestic servants in London that have gone unaddressed that we would like to work with our counterparts to come up with – what for want of a better word – an industry standard," ambassador Luis CdeBaca, who heads the state department office to monitor and combat trafficking, said in an interview in Washington.

=snip=

In its Trafficking In Persons Report, at more than 400 pages the most comprehensive survey of human trafficking worldwide, the state department lists examples of modern-day slavery ranging from trafficking for sex to child labour, and includes the abuse of embassy staff.

Read more: http://www.guardian.co.uk/law/2011/jun/27/us-state-department-embassy-staff

[Angry Dragon]

1. Clean up your own house first

[mrs_p]

3. According to the article

the US has measures in place for domestic staff of diplomats - the UK doesn't. Not that the US doesn't sorely lack in other areas of human rights, though.

[Pirate Smile]

4. The people needing help and protection thank you for your great concern about them.

[Angry Dragon]

5. If I remember correctly

I read on DU that the UN came out with a report on human rights violations for the US for the first time ever.

This country goes around the world trying to shape it into its own image. In the process we kill thousands every year. Prop up dictators that support us as they kill their own people. This pisses me off. This is wrong. But you feel I don't care. All I said is the US needs to clean up their own house before they go around and condemn others. Perhaps they could do both at the same time, but I do not see that happening.

[Pirate Smile]

6. Both at the same time I agree with.

The idea that we shouldn't do anything to deal with other problems around the world until we've somehow perfected ourselves, I don't because that will never happen even as we strive for it. Sometimes that is what it sounds like people want.

[No Elephants]

8. We could strive a litte harder, beyond lip service, I mean.

It's the attitude that everything is okay when we do it, but not when anyone else does it, that seems to be the problem.

[EFerrari]

9. The fact is the US uses its fake world's police status to hide its own abuses.

Perfect ourselves? That's rich. Angry Dragon is 100% right. Whenever you hea the State Department criticize anyone for human rights issues, you need to ask who benefits because someone always does.

[Pirate Smile]

10. I wasn't saying we were perfect. I'm saying we aren't but that doesn't mean we shouldn't ever point

out abuses when we see them.

[No Elephants]

7. We've never tried to shape other nations into our own actual image. We know better.

I doubt we've even tried to shape them into a fictional image of us because part of that is that Americans are omnipotent and otherwise god-like and therefore deserve to be kowtowed to by every other nation.

We cannot have other nations believing they are our equals in any way, for feck's sake. No god likes hubris.

Observations aside, after I stopped donating to the Democratic Party (circa 2009), I put a modest amount on my credit card on a recurring basis for Amnesty International. The two events were not coincidental.

[mrs_p]

2. knr