Trade

Today's Washington Post has an op-ed written by Secretary Clinton that calls on governments and organizations around the world to partner against human trafficking. She states:

Trafficking weakens legitimate economies, breaks up families, fuels violence, threatens public health and safety, and shreds the social fabric that is necessary for progress. It undermines our long-term efforts to promote peace and prosperity worldwide. And it is an affront to our values and our commitment to human rights.

and

The criminal networks that enslave millions of people cross borders and span continents. Our response must do the same. The United States is committed to building partnerships with governments and organizations around the world, to finding new and more effective ways to take on the scourge of human trafficking. We want to support our partners in their efforts and find ways to improve our own.

The op-ed appears one day after Clinton released the State Department's annual "Trafficking in Persons Report."

Photo: OLIVER LANG/AFP/Getty Images

This morning, Secretary Clinton released the State Department's ninth annual "Trafficking in Persons Report." The report assesses more than 170 countries on what efforts their governments are taking to stop human trafficking.

To learn more about sex trafficking specifically, I recommend the recent book Sex Trafficking: Inside the Business of Modern Slavery, by Siddharth Kara. (A portion of the proceeds from the book will be donated to Free the Slaves.)

Photo: Robert Giroux/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton will be spending Saturday at beautiful Niagara Falls. During her visit to Canada, her first as secretary of state, she will attend a ceremony to commemorate the 100th anniversary of the Canada-U.S. Boundary Waters Treaty.

More importantly, though, she'll be discussing trade protectionism. Many Canadians are concerned that the Buy American restrictions in the U.S. stimulus law are hurting their businesses.

Photo: DON EMMERT/AFP/Getty Images

Secretary Clinton's official schedule for today:

ON FOREIGN TRAVEL

Clinton is on a two-day visit to Mexico, where will use her diplomatic skills to discuss free trade and Mexico's drug violence. (To read about how the violence might be affecting some people's travel plans, check out the recent FP photo essay: Spring Break Gone Wrong?)

I searched Getty for a Mexico-related Hillary image, and of the very few I could find, the one below stood out. I'm sure there'll be a ton of new images over the next two days, and I'll post the best ones.

U.S. President Bill Clinton walks with Mexican President Ernesto Zedillo, followed by first ladies Hillary Clinton and Nilda Patricia Zedillo, to greet guests during a state dinner at the White House on Oct. 11, 1995, in Washington.

Photo: JOYCE NALTCHAYAN/AFP/Getty Images