We urge the Senate to confirm Cindy Dyer to lead the TIP Office

UPDATE, December 22nd 2022: We are delighted that Cindy Dyer has now been confirmed to the below post

Hope for Justice has convened a coalition of more than 20 leading anti-trafficking organizations and leaders to urge the Senate to confirm swiftly Cindy Dyer, the President’s nominee to serve as the Ambassador-at-Large at the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

The post has been vacant for nearly two years, and in our letter delivered to Senator Schumer and Senator McConnell today (December 9), we urged them to schedule floor time to confirm Cindy Dyer during the 117^th Congress. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee has already voted unanimously on December 7, 2022 to confirm her.

In her statement to that committee on November 30, she said: “In the early nineties when I first began prosecuting cases, human trafficking was not recognized as a crime. We have come a long way since then, due in large part to the Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 and the comprehensive framework it established to recognize human trafficking as a crime, hold traffickers accountable, and provide critical services to victims and survivors.

“If confirmed, I will prioritize maintaining the balanced and comprehensive approach the TIP Office has carefully developed, focusing on the full spectrum of human trafficking and supporting efforts to prevent and respond to the crime by upholding international legal standards, addressing vulnerabilities that traffickers target, and integrating an equity-based approach throughout the TIP Office’s work.”

The letter we delivered is copied below:

December 9, 2022

Dear Senator Schumer and Senator McConnell:

Human trafficking deprives people of their freedom and dignity and is one of the greatest humanitarian crises of our modern world. As the second largest criminal enterprise globally, human trafficking continues to increase at an alarming rate. With over 27 armed conflicts around the world today, instability and violence are increasing the vulnerability of individuals to human trafficking. According to the U.S. Department of State, human trafficking “undermines national security, distorts markets, and enriches transnational criminals and terrorists.”

Thank you for your support and Senate leadership on this issue. To address the scourge of human trafficking, we respectfully urge you to immediately schedule floor time to confirm Ms. Cindy Dyer, the President’s nominee to serve as the Ambassador-at-Large at the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons.

Since January 2021, the vital post of Ambassador-at-Large at the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (TIP Ambassador) has been without a Senate-confirmed leader. On April 22, 2022 President Biden nominated Ms. Cindy Dyer to serve in this key leadership role at the Department of State. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee voted unanimously on December 7, 2022 to confirm her, and we, a community of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and anti-trafficking leaders working to end human trafficking, strongly urge you to confirm Ms. Dyer’s nomination during the 117th Congress.

The TIP Ambassador provides essential and sustained leadership by the United States to combat human trafficking. The Ambassador provides leadership to the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the President’s Interagency Task Force (PITF), the Senior Policy Operating Group (SPOG), the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking, and oversees the production of the annual Department of State Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report. The TIP Report serves as the U.S. government’s principal diplomatic tool to engage foreign governments on their efforts to meet the minimum standards for the elimination of trafficking, as established under the Trafficking Victims Protection Act (TVPA).

Additionally, the grants from the TIP Office are essential to providing foreign assistance to combat trafficking and assist foreign governments in the improvement of their TIP Report ranking. Ms. Dyer understands the power of these strategic investments, testifying at her confirmation hearing: “The TIP Office’s targeted foreign assistance to build the capacity of governments and civil society and protect victims is integral to the Department’s holistic anti-trafficking approach. If confirmed, I will leverage the resources that Congress has entrusted to the TIP Office to advance programming that is informed by the TIP Report and respond to emerging threats and opportunities.”

With the increased armed conflicts and rise in human trafficking globally, we also hope that this funding for vital programs will increase under her leadership.

A seasoned leader serving as Director of the United States Department of Justice, Office on Violence Against Women in 2007 under President Bush, Ms. Dyer has over 13 years as a Texas District Attorney and would later join the U.S. Delegation to the U.N. Crime Commission in 2008. We are eager to see the downward trend in prosecution addressed and reversed under her leadership. Thank you for prioritizing the consideration of her nomination on the Senate floor before the end of the 117th Congress.

Sincerely

Signatory organizations (some have appended their signature since the letter was originally delivered to Senator Schumer and Senator McConnell):

Organizations or anti-trafficking leaders wanting to add their signature to this letter and add weight to our call for Cindy Dyer’s swift confirmation can do so here.