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Cambodia, Thailand join Indonesia to intensify fight against human trafficking
Responding to the rise in Indonesians who have fallen victim to translational trafficking since the pandemic, the government is linking up with its Southeast Asian neighbors to rid the region of the organized crime that disproportionately targets economically vulnerable people.
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A group of repatriates from among 554 Indonesians rescued from online scam centers in Myawaddy, Myanmar, prepares to board a bus on March 18, 2025, upon their arrival at Soekarno Hatta International Airport in Tangerang, Banten. (Antara/Muhammad Iqbal)
T
he government is intensifying collaboration with authorities in Thailand and Cambodia to combat human trafficking after a troubling rise in the number of Indonesians trafficked to the two Southeast Asian neighbors in recent years.
The Immigration and Corrections Ministry and Cambodia’s General Department of Immigration signed a letter of intent on Monday that marks the two countries' commitment to exchanging information, providing technical assistance and enhancing human resource capacity to protect their citizens from traffickers.
The ministry’s acting immigration director general Yuldi Yusman said Jakarta would also assign a special attaché to Phnom Penh to strengthen bilateral efforts to fight human trafficking and tackle other immigration issues.
"As part of our commitment to combat human trafficking, we will designate focal points in both countries, enhance immigration information exchanges and share best practices for addressing the issues faced by Indonesian citizens in Cambodia," Yuldi said in a statement, as quoted by state news agency Antara.
Yuldi added that the government had adopted a comprehensive strategy to counter human trafficking that involved active cooperation through bilateral, regional and international forums.
It has also imposed stringent sanctions on human traffickers and implemented proactive measures against illegal migration, such as delaying the issuance of passports and halting the departure of citizens suspected of attempting to migrate through illegal channels.
Between January and April this year, authorities postponed issuing more than 303 passports on suspicion of illegal migration, while immigration officers at airports and seaports intercepted 5,000 Indonesians attempting to leave the country as migrant workers via illicit routes.
