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Justice Officials Debate Response to Human Trafficking in Lao PDR

Crime and human trafficking officials met in Vientiane to learn about measures to combat human trafficking, at a four-day workshop.

The UN Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) organised the workshop jointly with the Ministry of Justice, titled ‘Strengthening of the Legal and Law Enforcement Institutions to Prevent and Combat Human Trafficking.’ The workshop, from April 3-6, is the third of its kind. The purpose is to raise awareness and understanding among law professionals, line ministries and different authorities in order to prevent and combat human trafficking, the Vice Minister of Justice, Mr La Singdala, said. Talks will revolve around the need to adopt and amend the UN Trafficking in Persons Protocol and the Transnational Organised Crime Convention. There will also be a focus on the particular requirements of doing this within the Lao legal context, according to a press release. This is necessary if there is to be a coordinated and unified response to the global challenge of human trafficking.

The workshop will outline the need for a practical and realistic case study approach to identify and quantify human trafficking. The work done in this area was very important, Mr La said. We hoped that after the workshop participants would have a greater understanding of international conventions and Lao criminal law and that this knowledge would equip them to combat human trafficking on a national and international scale.

An expert from the UNODC in Vientiane, Mr Richard Philippart, observed that slavery had reappeared during the last 10 to 20 years in a different form, perhaps in an even worse form. It is now what we call ‘human trafficking’ or ‘trafficking in persons’.

Men are found working on fishing boats, fields, mines and quarries or in other dirty and dangerous working conditions. Women, boys and girls, are trafficked into a diverse group of industries such as textiles, fishing or agriculture, or maybe into one of the worst forms of exploitation - sexual exploitation, he said. Many countries are involved as either source, transit or destination countries, Mr Philippart said.

South East Asia was often seen as a source region for trafficking and the situation in the Lao PDR was of great concern. Human trafficking is one of the worst violations of human rights and is widespread and growing. It is one of the most profitable activities of organised crime groups worldwide and generates an estimated profit of over US$30 billion, he said.

Criminals want to make money and they will always try to be one step ahead to avoid prosecution. Mr Philippart added that this criminal phenomenon did not respect borders. The response requires strong and committed cooperation. Judiciary and law enforcement networks must prove that they can be stronger, more connected and more efficient than criminal networks.

An equally transnational approach must apply to protecting and rescuing the victims of trafficking, particularly the most vulnerable, who are usually women and children. “Combating human trafficking should be a top priority,” Mr Philippart said, adding that just a few days ago UNODC launched the Global Initiative to fight Human Trafficking, which would strengthen anti-trafficking networks to generate coordinated response.

Adapted from: Meuangkham Noradeth. Justice officials debate response to human trafficking. Vientiane Times. 6 April 2007.