 Secretary Blinken released the 2024 Trafficking in Persons (TIP) Report, a comprehensive, objective assessment of the state of anti-trafficking efforts across 188 countries and territories, including the United States. It documents emerging trends, highlights areas of progress and setback, and identifies effective initiatives combating human trafficking.
Secretary Blinken and U.S. Ambassador-at-Large to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Cindy Dyer, honored 10 TIP Report Heroes – courageous individuals working to fight human trafficking around the globe. They work in the face of daunting obstacles, often at great personal risk. Since 2004, the Department has recognized more than 170 TIP Report Heroes from around the world.
“Their efforts, like those of our government, are rooted in a shared belief - a shared belief in the fundamental rights and freedoms of all people,” Secretary Blinken said at the ceremony. “Trafficking violates that shared belief.”
In honor of the 20th anniversary of the Trafficking in Persons Report Heroes program, here are 20 ways you can help fight human trafficking.
Department Publishes Report on International Religious Freedom
Freedom of religion is a bedrock American belief. Every year, the Report on International Religious Freedom chronicles the state of religious freedom around the world.
“This report advances our vision for a future where everyone is able to choose and practice their beliefs, including the right not to believe or ascribe to a faith,” the Secretary said in a press briefing.
Secretary Blinken Encourages Foreign Businesses to Invest in the U.S.
 Secretary Blinken spoke at the SelectUSA Investment Summit, emphasizing that the United States is the best place to invest, boasting world-class universities, tech hubs, a skilled workforce, and strong legal protections.
During the past three years businesses from across the world invested more than $1 trillion in the U.S., he noted. The U.S. remains the top place for foreign investment in the world.
“We believe that we can create broad-based opportunity for our people while also benefiting people around the world – that our economic success does not come at the expense of others but to our mutual advantage and mutual opportunity,” the Secretary said.
 Secretary Blinken and YouTube’s Global Head of Music Lyor Cohen launched a new partnership that supports the Department’s Global Music Diplomacy Initiative, a worldwide effort to elevate music as a diplomatic platform to promote peace and democracy in support of the United States’ broader foreign policy goals.
At the heart of the partnership is a roster of U.S. Global Music Ambassadors, who build on the legacy of the Jazz ambassadors of the 1950s and 1960s and promote peace across generations of people worldwide.
These ambassadors represent a new generation of American music artists, ranging from emerging artists to established icons, who promote peace through their work and engagement, and demonstrate excellence.
“The need for connection, the need for community is as urgent, maybe even more urgent than it’s ever been,” Secretary Blinken said at the launch. “And all of us – Americans, people around the world – we will be better for the ties that our new ambassadors will be forging.”
WordPlay, another State Department initiative, helps students learn English by listening to pop and indie music. The program brings together musicians from all over the world in a variety of music styles.
Promoting and protecting the human rights of LGBTQI+ persons is a U.S. foreign policy priority.
The Department released the third public report on the U.S. government’s implementation of the 2021 Presidential Memorandum on Advancing the Human Rights of Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Queer, and Intersex Persons (LGBTQI+) Persons Around the World.
On Thursday, Secretary Blinken kicked off the State Department’s first-ever policy convening on LGBTQI+ rights and foreign policy.
“LGBTQI+ rights are human rights. And our government has a responsibility to defend them, to promote them – here and everywhere,” the Secretary stated during a briefing.
 In honor of World Refugee Day, Secretary Blinken stopped at Emma’s Torch, a Washington nonprofit that runs a paid culinary training program for refugees and helps them find jobs in the food industry.
“The work they do exemplifies the best of America: providing a welcoming space for refugees and empowering them with skills to succeed,” Secretary Blinken said on Twitter/X.
Interested in helping refugees in your community? Join the Welcome Corps, an initiative that allows Americans to volunteer in their communities and welcome refugees seeking freedom and safety.
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