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Stronger regional cooperation sought to combat human trafficking
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Standing up for rights -- Ima Matul speaks about sex trafficking, with US Senator Amy Klobuchar standing next to her, during the second day of the Democratic National Convention in Philadelphia on July 26. (AP/J. Scott Applewhite)
I
ndonesia must ratify the ASEAN Convention against Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children to create stronger regional cooperation, which is necessary to handle the issue, human rights commissioners have said.
"Indonesia is expected to ratify the convention by the end of this year or in early 2017 as we have composed academic texts on the convention as requested by the government," ASEAN Commission on the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Women and Children’s (ACWC) Indonesian representative Lily Purba told The Jakarta Post on Wednesday.
Lily was speaking on the sidelines of the launch of the "Regional review on laws, policies and practices within ASEAN relating to the identification, management and treatment of victims of trafficking especially women and children" report. It contains a set of recommendations on trafficking prevention for all ASEAN member states.
Lily said all 10 ASEAN nations must apply the convention in their respective countries so it would not become a powerless document. Cooperation across all sectors must be strengthened to find an effective solution for the issue, she further said.
ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights’ (AICHR) Indonesia representative, Dinna Wisnu, said early ratification of the convention by all member states was encouraged, noting that Singapore, Cambodia and Thailand had ratified the document, which was adopted last year.
She emphasized the importance of consistent cooperation between relevant bodies across all regions.
"Trafficking in persons is an insult to human dignity. It is a heinous crime as it exploits human vulnerability," Dinna said in her opening remarks at the event. (ebf)
