HOUSE OF THE WEEK
An abundance of space at FMI City
CERTAINLY, space is not a problem in this house – once you get there. Over the Hlaing River, 45 minutes from downtown, there is a large one-storey house in a big compound waiting for someone ready to trade time for space. ...moreUS ignoring progress in human trafficking fight: police force
THE head of the Myanmar Police Force’s Department Against Transnational Crime last week criticised the United States for ignoring Myanmar government efforts to combat human trafficking.
“We are disappointed the US continually places Myanmar in the third tier in its Annual Trafficking in Persons report,” Police Colonel Sit Aye said in his opening remarks at the launch of MTV EXIT (Myanmar), a documentary made to raise awareness about human trafficking, on December 18.
“We are somewhat discouraged, as we feel that our efforts, the government and also the effort of UN agencies and international organisations, have not been well acknowledged,” he said at the ceremony, which was held at Yangon’s Sedona Hotel.
The US State Department classifies countries as Tier Three if their governments do not fully comply with the minimum standards on human trafficking and are not making significant efforts to remedy the problem.
“Either way, I would like to reaffirm our commitment to continue to work to our utmost ability and welcome partners to join hands in an effort to tackle this complex issue,” Pol Col Sit Aye said.
He said Myanmar considers the prevention of human trafficking a national cause because it is a serious problem with negative consequences for the nation and its people.
“As human trafficking is also a transnational crime, a strong emphasis has been given to regional and international cooperation. We have strengthened cooperation with neighbouring countries, other countries in the region and international organisations,” he said.
He said 2009 was a significant year for the country’s efforts to fight human trafficking as it had signed two bilateral Memorandum of Understandings (MoUs) on the issue. The first, with Thailand, was signed in April, while in November an agreement was inked with China.
Since the 2005 establishment of the Anti-Trafficking in Persons Law, 443 human trafficking cases have been identified and 1158 offenders have been prosecuted, Col Sit Aye said.
He said 1028 trafficking victims have been rescued and assisted, and an additional 821 victims have been repatriated by other countries.
The Myanmar government spent US$1.6 million combating human trafficking in 2008 and an additional $1.4 million was contributed by UN agencies and internal organisations, according to estimates in a 2008 achievement report of the National Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons.
The five-year plan of action was developed in 2007 and annual work plans have been implemented and reviewed annually, he said.
“Building on 2008’s achievements, governments departments, local organisations, UN agencies and international organisations have continued good work in 2009. The 2009 achievement report will be announced and made public once it is finished,” Pol Col Sit Aye said.
The Myanmar Police Force – the main body responsible for the suppression of transnational crime, including human trafficking – set up the Department Against Trans-national Crime (DTC) in 2004.
Soon after the establishment of the DTC, an Anti-trafficking Unit and Anti-trafficking Task Force were formed.
In January 2010, Myanmar will host the Seventh Coordinated Mekong Ministerial Initiative against Trafficking Senior officials meeting (COMMIT SOM7) in Bagan. Senior officials from the six Mekong-region countries will attend the meeting to review the achievements of 2009 and adopt a 2010 action plan.
