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2008 SESSION

089170293
SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 225
Offered February 25, 2008
Designating December 2, in 2008 and in each succeeding year, as Vietnam Anti-Trafficking Day in Virginia.
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Patrons-- Petersen; Delegates: Bulova, Ebbin and Hull
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Unanimous consent to introduce
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Referred to Committee on Rules
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WHEREAS, December 2nd is designated as the International Day for the Abolition of Slavery, which each year recalls the adoption in 1949 by the United Nations General Assembly of the Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others; and

WHEREAS, the federal Trafficking Victims Protection Act of 2000 makes it clear that combating human trafficking involves the just and effective punishment of traffickers and the protection of their victims as well as the prevention of trafficking; and

WHEREAS, each year, the Department of State is required by law to report to the United States Congress on foreign governments’ efforts to eliminate severe forms of trafficking in persons in order  to raise global awareness and spur foreign governments to take effective actions to counter all forms of trafficking in persons; and

WHEREAS, the Vietnamese-American Voters Association, Inc., (VAVA) is a nonprofit organization based in Northern Virginia that provides civic, social, cultural, and health services to Vietnamese-Americans; and

WHEREAS, the VAVA, as part of its mission, has established a public-awareness forum in which local officials, nongovernmental organizations, community-based organizations, and the media can work together to formulate strategies and make recommendations on combating human trafficking in Vietnam; and

WHEREAS, the purpose of Vietnam Anti-Trafficking Day is to raise public awareness; advocate policies to prevent, suppress, and punish traffickers of human beings; provide victims, especially women and children, with needed services and assistance; reintegrate, rehabilitate, and restore human dignity to Vietnamese trafficking victims, rather than regarding them as criminals; and abolish this modern-day form of slavery in Vietnam and elsewhere in the world; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the Senate, the House of Delegates concurring, That the General Assembly designate December 2, in 2008 and in each succeeding year, as Vietnam Anti-Trafficking Day in Virginia; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate post the designation of this day on the General Assembly's website.