An international NGO has filed a request under the US Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) for Washington to release information pertaining to Malaysia’s controversial human trafficking tier upgrade.

In a statement today, Friends of the Earth said it has filed the FIA request demanding the expedited release of all communications by the US State Department over the last two years concerning Malaysia’s tier ranking in the recently released 2015 Trafficking in Persons Report.

The group, backed by various NGOs, raised concerns that the US has compromised its efforts to fight human trafficking in favour of securing trade deals.

“Recent media reports indicate that political appointees meddled in the compilation of this publication by challenging State Department human rights experts’ rating recommendations for 17 politically-strategic countries and inflating the assessment of 14 of these.

“Malaysia’s unsubstantiated upgrade is particularly alarming to the organisations because of its overt importance to the Trans Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA),” said Friends of the Earth.

“Friends of the Earth filed a separate FOIA request last month demanding the release of all communications by Sarah Sewall, undersecretary of state for civilian security, democracy and human rights, regarding this matter,” it added.

Last week, six Democrat lawmakers called on the US State Department's internal watchdog to investigate the removal of Malaysia from a list of worst offenders in human trafficking following concerns that politics may have played a role in the decision.

While the US Congress restricted TPPA negotiations with countries with the worst human trafficking records (Tier 3), of which Malaysia was one, it was reported on the eve of the TPPA negotiations in July this year that Malaysia was upgraded to Tier 2.

Malaysia is on the verge of signing the TPPA, which is to be tabled in Parliament in the coming session that begins on Oct 19, or at a special sitting.

‘Public deserves to know’

The Friends of the Earth’s statement also carried a chorus of indignation from various NGO leaders over the alleged political manoeuvre.

“The decision to upgrade Malaysia raised serious concerns that the US is willing to sacrifice the rights of workers in order to advance the TPPA,” said Richard Trumka, president of AFL-CIO, one of NGOs supporting the FOIA request.

“The public has a right to know exactly who was involved in this egregious decision so those responsible can be held accountable,” Trumka is quoted as saying by Friends of the Earth.

"The United States cannot be a leader in fighting human trafficking if we do not honestly assess the state of the problem for all countries - even trading partners like Malaysia.

The US cannot allow political interests to outweigh the safety and freedom of the thousands of trafficked (persons),” added Alliance to End Slavery and Trafficking director Melysa Sperber.

“The implication that the State Department whitewashed Malaysia's complicity with modern-day slavery in order to ease passage of a trade agreement is something that deserves close investigation,” said Citizens Trade Campaign executive director Arthur Stamoulis.

CWA director of legislative affairs Shane Larson said it is imperative to get to the bottom of how the “harmful decision” to upgrade Malaysia had been made.

“No government should prioritise political gain through a trade agreement over human suffering,” Larson said.

“The public deserves to know what considerations were used to justify an unsubstantiated upgrade in Malaysia’s human trafficking ranking,” added Luísa Abbott Galvão, climate and energy campaigner at Friends of the Earth.