Rubio Campaign Press Release - This Won't Completely End Modern Day Slavery

Last week, the Senate passed a bill I sponsored with Senator Shaheen called "The Girls Count Act." The focus of this bill is to support the rights of women and girls in developing nations by helping their countries establish birth registries.

Ensuring that every child is acknowledged at birth by official records is a vital way to protect children from the dangers of exploitation and human trafficking, which devastate millions of young lives every year.

More than 50 million children around the world were not registered at birth in the past year, most of whom were girls.

In addition to leaving them vulnerable to horrific violations of their basic human rights, this also leaves them excluded from vital services in their countries, such as education and medical care.

As Americans, I believe we are called upon to defend the rights of the vulnerable and oppressed whenever possible, and I am proud of the way this bill advances that cause.