Powell Cites Exploitation In 10 Nations

Khan was 11 years old when she was kidnapped from her home in the hill country of Laos. She was taken to an embroidery factory in Thailand, and with dozens of other children was made to work 14 hours a day for food and clothing. They received no wages.

"It's called slavery," Secretary of State Colin L. Powell said yesterday in recounting Khan's fate as he released the State Department's annual report on human trafficking. He said the practice affects 600,000 to 800,000 people each year.

"We're talking about women and girls as young as 6 years old trafficked into commercial sexual exploitation, men trafficked into forced labor, children trafficked as child soldiers," Powell said.

In trying to encourage governments to confront trafficking, the State Department holds out the possibility of sanctions against those which fall short. On this year's list of offenders are Bangladesh, Burma, Cuba, Ecuador, Equatorial Guinea, Guyana, North Korea, Sierra Leone, Sudan and Venezuela.

The president will make a decision on sanctions later this year based on whether progress is made in the interim. Last September, Burma, Cuba and North Korea faced economic penalties.