Trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-Region
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Tackling human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region World Vision’s End Trafficking in Persons Programme The many faces of human trafficking in the Greater Mekong Sub-region Human trafficking is a serious crime that affects men, women and Myanmar children around the world. It involves putting or keeping someone 119 trafficking cases identified, including 78 bride in an exploitative situation, usually for profit. Exploitation can trafficking, 25 sex trafficking, 12 labour trafficking, involve situations including forced or debt-bonded labour, child 1 forced begging, and 3 child trafficking labour, sexual exploitation, domestic servitude or armed conflict. 325 traffickers identified, 215 arrested The Greater Mekong Sub-region (GMS) is made up of six countries connected by the Mekong River: Cambodia, China, victims repatriated to Myanmar: 118 from China, Laos PDR, Myanmar, Thailand and Vietnam. With limited 226 76 from Thailand, 26 from Indonesia, 3 from Htet htet Oo/World Vision Suriname, 2 from Vietnam, 1 from Malaysia opportunities for safe and legal migration in the GMS, irregular (source: Myanmar Anti-Trafficking Unit) migration is widespread, creating a fertile breeding ground for the trafficking and exploitation of migrants. While the full scale Thailand of human trafficking is difficult to ascertain due to the illegal and trafficking victims provided with interim often undetected nature of the crime, there is a huge amount of 538 care in 9 government shelters evidence that shows that there are diverse forms of trafficking in the GMS: Victims originate from Thailand (31%), Myanmar (33%), Laos (21.6%), Cambodia (11%) and other countries (3.1%) • Men and boys from Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar have ended up on fishing boats in Thai, Malaysian and Indonesian waters. Most commonly trafficked into: • Both men and women have ended up in trafficked situations in forced labour (48%), sex work (36%) and begging (8.7%) (source: Thailand Department of Social Development and Welfare) unregulated factories, mines, construction sites, and agricultural Somluck Khamsaen/World Vision plantations. • Cambodian and Myanmar boys and girls have been forced to Cambodia beg or sell flowers in urban centres in Thailand. 148 suspected traffickers arrested • Women and girls from Laos have been coerced into sexual and 442 victims rescued exploitation or domestic servitude in Thailand. (source: Annual report of the National Committee to lead STSLS) • Women and girls from Myanmar and Vietnam have been 156 Cambodian trafficking victims also repatriated from other countries trafficked into China for forced marriage. (source: Cambodian government delegation report at the COMMIT Senior Officials Meeting 9) • Babies have been abducted and sold in China for adoption. Phaldaracheat Kang/World Vision * None of those depicted in the photos are victims of trafficking. 2 Anti-trafficking status in 2012 China 6,628 1,240 trafficking cases criminal organisations reported and solved identified China 17,000 suspected traffickers put under criminal detention (source: China Government delegation report at the COMMIT Yunnan Senior Officials Meeting 9) province Guangxi zhuang Anita Zhao/World Vision autonomous region More than 14,000 children and 9,000 women rescued Vietnam Vietnam Myanmar trafficking victims released through Lao PDR 850 rescue and self-return 500 trafficking cases revealed and investigated 800 traffickers arrested (source: Report of 130 Steering Committee) On the Vietnam–China border, 158 cases identified, 216 Thailand victims rescued and over 200 offenders arrested (source: Vietnamese government delegation report at the COMMIT World Vision Senior Officials Meeting 9) Cambodia Cambodia Lao PDR 148 suspected traffickers arrested trafficking cases and 442 victims rescued 75 investigated 114 traffickers identified (source: Annual report of the National Committee to lead STSLS) victims repatriated from Thailand, of who 156 Cambodian trafficking victims also repatriated from other countries 195 86% are female and 69% are children (source: Cambodian government delegation report at the (source: Lao Government delegation report at COMMIT Senior Officials Meeting 9) the COMMIT Senior Officials Meeting 9) Nila Douanesouvanh/World Vision 3 Kunming Ruili YUNNAN PROVINCE GUANGXI ZHUANG AUTONOMOUS REGION Lvchun MYANMAR Yen Bai Mandalay Shan VIET NAM LAO PDR Chiang Rai Kayah Savannakhet Yangon Mon Tak Quang Tri Karen Mukdahan Salavan Champasak THAILAND Quang Nam Kanchanaburi Banteay Meanchey Sakaeo Siem Reap World Vision’s End Trafficking PreventionBattambang of the vulnerable Protection of human CAMBODIA in Persons ProgrammeThanintharyi from being trafficked trafficking survivors GMS governments, UN agencies, and manyRanong • Community Prevention Systems: Build • Multi-disciplinary Team Response to Victim non-governmental organisations, including World community ownership to carry out prevention Identification: Support capacity of law Vision, are working hard to combat human activities and set up reporting systems. enforcement agencies and multi-disciplinary trafficking. World Vision’s End Trafficking in • Children’s Clubs: Create safe spaces for partners to carry out investigations and Persons (ETIP) Programme, a regional anti- children and youth to learn how to protect identify victims. trafficking programme, is being implemented from themselves from trafficking and share what • Repatriation and Reintegration Mechanism: October 2011 to September 2016. Working in they learn with their friends. Support governments in repatriating and across the six countries of the GMS, ETIP is • Protection of Migrants: Assist migrants to stay trafficking survivors to their own countries the largest anti-trafficking programme of its kind, safe in source, transit and destination locations. quickly and safely. and comprises three pillar projects: • Reintegration Assistance: Assist trafficking survivors so they are able to fully recover 1. Prevention Pillar Project TION EN PI from their experience and live healthy and 2. Protection Pillar Project EV LL R A productive lives. 3. Policy Pillar Project P R Community Prevention Children’s Systems Protection Clubs of Migrants Promotion of improved anti- trafficking government policies Local level Migrants • Dialogue between Youth and Government: Case Create opportunities for community Advocacy Assistance members, children and youth, and trafficking National Trafcking Dialogue Work with Support survivors to talk to government officials so level victims R between strategic partners victim and coalitions identication youth and A that the government can make decisions government L based on what is really happening to those P Support L I O government Repatriation directly affected. P action Victim & reintegration L empowerment mechanism • Dialogue between Stakeholders and I N C Dialogue between O Government: Work collectively with many anti- Y Reintegration I stakeholders and assistance P government T trafficking organisations to suggest new ways to IL C combat trafficking to government leaders. LA TE R PRO How the three pillars work together as a programme 4 Helping communities Cambodia spotlight take an active role in The chief of a commune in Battambang, Cambodia, trafficking prevention is head of the community trafficking prevention ETIP is working directly with community group. After attending ETIP’s training sessions, members so they themselves can build human he and the group members meet monthly to trafficking prevention groups at the village level. plan activities such as community forums on safe These human trafficking prevention groups migration, identifying vulnerable children and helping help children and adults in villages find out them to return to school, and assisting those that more about the dangers of trafficking and how face problems after migrating for work through they can be avoided, assist the most vulnerable labour recruitment agencies. As a result, more families, and report possible trafficking incidents villagers are now adopting safer migration methods. to government officials so that those in danger “In the past, members of the community never can be protected. When educating parents, informed me or my team if one of their relatives children and youth, the emphasis is not only experienced problems in another country. But since on providing information but actually changing the project started, people are increasingly doing attitudes and behaviours so that more and more so.” He adds, “When suspicious people arrive in young people choose safe migration options. The our community, the community watch group now most vulnerable families are identified through always informs the police and commune council.” home visitors, and proper assistance is provided to those who most need it. To enable people to easily report suspicious incidents, ETIP is setting Albert Yu/World Vision up community watch volunteers and reporting systems so that the police and social workers can be alerted about any human trafficking Thailand spotlight cases. ETIP is helping these human trafficking A community watch volunteer in Mae Sot District, Thailand received a tip that a boy who seemed lost prevention groups to develop strong links with was crying in a local shop. The volunteer discovered that the boy, along with his younger brother, had government officials, such as the anti-trafficking been abandoned there. He informed the ETIP team and then escorted the boys to a safe location. It came committees at the district and provincial levels