[00:00.44]The United States has promised not to give up its fight
[00:04.64] against human trafficking.
[00:07.09]The State Department's 2015 report on human trafficking was released this week. 
[00:13.40]It examines the illegal movement of people for forced labor or sex.
[00:19.64]The report says human trafficking 
[00:22.68]is a $150 billion a year industry
[00:26.24] that enslaves some of the world's more than 230 million migrant workers.
[00:32.72]At a State Department event Monday, 
[00:35.64]Secretary of State John Kerry said 
[00:38.60]fighting human trafficking is a "battle against money. 
[00:42.56]It's a battle against evil."
[00:45.04]He added, "It's a fight we absolutely have to win. 
[00:49.48]It is a modern day, human rights challenge of enormous proportions."
[00:54.88]But there are questions about whether the wording of the report 
[00:58.80]was not strong enough on some countries.
[01:01.96]The report lists 23 countries as Tier 3. 
[01:06.76]Those are countries that are failing to meet minimum standards to fight human trafficking. 
[01:12.64]The list includes Iran, Syria, Russia and North Korea. 
[01:18.84]Siddharth Kara is with the Harvard Kennedy School in Massachusetts. 
[01:23.84]He questioned some of the report's findings.
[01:27.84]"It's a little curious that after 12 years on Tier 3, 
[01:30.96]Cuba is upgraded shortly after the opening of diplomatic relations 
[01:37.16]and Malaysia, which was on Tier 3 last year, 
[01:39.88]upgraded one notch higher, 
[01:43.08]around the same time that the president's pursuing a fairly ambitious Trans-Pacific Trade program." 
[01:48.80]Mr. Kara and other observers wonder why the United States and its allies 
[01:54.32]have not done more to help with Yazidi women and children.
[01:58.68]Ameena Saeed Hasan is a Yazidi activist.
[02:02.76] She says many families are suffering because of the group known as Islamic State, or Daesh. 
[02:09.92]"Every time we raise this issue with the international community,
[02:14.64] they say the first objective is to defeat Daesh and this will take a very long time."
[02:19.68]Activists warn the longer victims of human trafficking suffer,
[02:24.32] the worse the physical and emotional effects will be,
[02:28.32] making recovering more difficult.
[02:31.36]Secretary of State John Kerry says 
[02:34.24]the report should read as a call to action. 
[02:37.60]But he and others say while the progress has been made, 
[02:41.72]the fight against human trafficking will surely last "for some time to come." 
[02:47.41]I'm Jonathan Evans.