ATEST Applauds Senate Confirmation of Cindy Dyer as J/TIP Ambassador

WASHINGTON – The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) thanks the U.S. Senate for confirming Cindy Dyer to become the next director of the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), with the rank of ambassador. Her appointment by President Biden earlier this year was confirmed by a unanimous bipartisan vote of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this month and by unanimous consent of the full Senate last night.

The J/TIP director is one of the U.S. government’s top anti-trafficking positions. Dyer will oversee an office of about 100 staffers who produce the annual Trafficking in Persons Report – the critical desktop reference that evaluates governmental efforts to fight trafficking around the globe and identifies areas for improvement. J/TIP distributes more than $100 million dollars each year in grants to civil society organizations to combat human trafficking and forced labor and coordinates all U.S. government agency anti-trafficking programs by managing the President’s Interagency Task Force to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons, the Senior Policy Operating Group, and the U.S. Advisory Council on Human Trafficking.

The post has been vacant for nearly two years, and ATEST applauds the diligent bipartisan work by members of the Senate and their staffers to ensure that Dyer’s nomination was fully confirmed before the 117th Congress concludes later this week. She brings a valuable balance of civil society advocacy and public service to the role, which will be essential to strengthening a whole-of-government approach to address both labor and sex trafficking through programs aimed at prevention, prosecution of perpetrators, and protection of survivors.

ATEST is a U.S.-based coalition that advocates for solutions to prevent and end all forms of human trafficking and modern slavery around the world. We advocate for lasting solutions to prevent forced labor and sex trafficking, hold perpetrators accountable, ensure justice for victims, and empower survivors with tools for recovery. Our collective experience implementing programs at home and abroad provides our coalition an unparalleled breadth and depth of expertise.

ATEST member organizations include: Coalition to Abolish Slavery and Trafficking (CAST), Coalition of Immokalee Workers (CIW), Covenant House, Free the Slaves, HEAL Trafficking, Human Trafficking Institute, Human Trafficking Legal Center, Humanity United Action (HUA), McCain Institute for International Leadership, National Network for Youth (NN4Y), Polaris, Safe Horizon, Solidarity Center, T’ruah: The Rabbinic Call for Human Rights, United Way Worldwide, Verité, and Vital Voices Global Partnership.

Contact: ATEST Director Terry FitzPatrick [email protected] | 571-282-9913

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