ATEST Urges Leadership to Bring Cindy Dyer’s J/TIP Director Nomination to Full Senate Vote
December 9, 2022
The Honorable Chuck Schumer
U.S. Senate Majority Leader
The Honorable Mitch McConnell
U.S. Senate Minority Leader
Dear Senators Schumer and McConnell,
The Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking (ATEST) urges you to quickly bring to a full Senate vote the nomination of Cindy Dyer to direct the Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons (J/TIP), with the rank of Ambassador at Large. Her nomination to this critical post received unanimous bipartisan support from the Senate Foreign Relations Committee earlier this week. Filling this essential position, which has been vacant for nearly two years, is a matter of urgency as the 117th Congress comes toward a close.
Ms. Dyer brings a valuable balance of civil society advocacy and public service to this key role in the U.S. government’s efforts to end human trafficking and forced labor. She served for more than a decade as Vice President of Human Rights at ATEST member organization Vital Voices Global Partnership, an organization dedicated to advancing women’s leadership. She has served as the Director of the Office on Violence Against Women within the U.S. Justice Department, and as a prosecutor in Texas specializing in domestic and sexual violence cases.
Once confirmed, Ms. Dyer will oversee vital anti-trafficking programs throughout the U.S. government. These include the J/TIP office at the State Department. This office produces the annual Trafficking in Persons Report, a global benchmark publication that evaluates governmental efforts to address human trafficking. The report is an essential tool in urging governments around the world to take more action to address forced labor, sexual exploitation, and other forms of human trafficking. The office also awards tens of millions of dollars annually to anti-trafficking projects worldwide. J/TIP also coordinates the domestic activities of 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.
Ms. Dyer’s leadership skills, steadfast dedication to advancing human rights, and breadth of experience make her exceptionally qualified for these key responsibilities. ATEST looks forward to working with her in strengthening a whole-of-government approach that addresses both labor and sex trafficking through balanced programs aimed at prevention, prosecution, and protection of survivors.
We thank you for your continued leadership and support for anti-trafficking initiatives. Advancing Ms. Dyer’s nomination to a full Senate vote will help ensure that U.S. government programs to combat trafficking are able to operate at peak effectiveness.
Sincerely,
The Member Organizations of ATEST
- 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
- Vital Voices Global Partnership
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.
Contact: ATEST Director Terry FitzPatrick ([email protected] | Phone 571-282-9913)